A popular show for children that first aired in 2010 became popular amongst both children and adults, quickly gaining traction and a large fanbase. The show created its own subculture and radically changed the internet during its first few years. “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” was created by Hasbro, an American entertainment company, as a marketing ploy to target young girls’ fascination with magical ponies. Many fans were inspired to make their own MLP-inspired animations or comics and others made their ponysonas, but a select number pursued an unexpected devotion to the kids’ show; the most well-known of these groups was the Bronies.
‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic,’ is about a group of six ponies whose friendship is built throughout the nine seasons of the show. It consists of ‘the Mane Six’: Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Apple Jack, who travel on magical adventures and faced many controversies together. The episodes explored friendship lessons and gave each mane her own unique personality to represent the Elements of Harmony, which they used to defeat powerful villains. Inspired by the TV show ‘My Little Pony (1986)’, Lauren Faust directed MLP and ran it until 2019, airing its last episode and ending the saga that touched the hearts of many of its viewers. Although some characters were her original works of art, a few she created at a young age, the characters were heavily inspired by the 1986 version, as Faust was a huge fan of the show when she was a child. Despite the show’s original intent to market Hasbro’s toys to children, ‘My Little Pony’ unexpectedly exploded around the globe.
Online, 4chan was a popular website where the MLP fandom could interact with pony fans; it became the center of online conventions and discussions of the show. During the show’s rise in popularity, the internet was bombarded with comedically ironic MLP content, while others shared serious art media to display for other devoted fans. Due to the MLP material that was heavily pushed onto the platform, other fandoms became enraged by the show’s loud and extreme popularity. It was viewed as obnoxious, and many 4chan users began protesting the show and its fans. The massive hate MLP encountered was fought by an even greater force of its fans, and the hate was retaliated against through the creation of other social media outlets that centered their focus only on pony content; Bronies created these websites. By then, the term ‘brony’ was widely used on the internet in late 2010 to refer to the male segment of the fanbase. Its unexpected rise became a strange phenomenon, considering this community also included the complete opposite of the show’s target audience. Regardless, it encountered a massive growth spurt in the My Little Pony community. Many people were surprised to see adult men attending conventions for a show aimed at kids. Despite the backlash this community faced, it continued to grow into other parts of social media, becoming a sensation for better and for worse.
Impact of Bronies
During 2011, the Brony community continued to expand across the nation and eventually the world. This massive group caught the attention of the show’s producers, who showed great enthusiasm when their marketing strategy attracted a larger demographic than their initial expectations. This pushed for the occurrence of the first BronyCon, which further fueled the fans’ growing passion for the cartoon show. The con allowed many of its fans to publicly express their enthusiasm for the show, as people arrived at the con dressed as characters, came equipped with their figure collections, opened up shops to sell their MLP art and often waited in long lines to meet the voice actors. Their community grew, despite the show’s last episode that aired in 2019. Due to the show’s spinoffs, the community remains alive and continues to prosper.
