Analyzing Lessons - The Fear And Understanding of Prejudice
Another week, another . . . couple episodes morals discussed. Should I make these longer? I try to keep these entries from exceeding a certain length so more people read them.
One of these days I'm gonna start giving shorter breakdowns of each moral and doing more episodes per entry. I have to hit burn-out sooner or later.
Before going to the next episode, /u/Logarithmicon's thoughts on the moral of Bridle Gossip that he shared last week.
Bridal Gossip plays with its moral in an interesting way. I've always liked it as one of the best episodes in terms of actually delivering a subtle, meaningful moral - because beneath the very superficial "Don't judge Zecora by her cover" presentation, I think it also does something far more impressive with its moral: It also applies it to the racists in turn.
While some of what they spout amid their panic is undeniably absurd tripe, there's also elements of it that also make sense: Zecora does a lot of funny stuff with potions, comes from a land far away they know nothing of, and seems to calmly live in the middle of the hell-forest filled with monsters and abominations. And it's not a mob of nobodies that falls victim to this terror, but the same characters we know to be sweet-hearted, caring individuals.
In the end, it is education - not beating them over the head with their wrongness - that helps to resolve the situation. Bridal Gossip's lesson, thus, is also "Don't judge racists as just being racist. Look in to why they've come to be so fearful or angry, and attack the problem at its core."
I was going to respond to this last week but didn't because . . . I'm actually not sure. Anyway, this comment reminds me of a comment I made a long time ago from the POV of a pony in Ponyville responding to accusations of racism. Here's an excerpt;
Honestly, we didn't even know she wasn't an Earth Pony until after the fear of her was cleared up. She'd always emerge from the Everfree forest totally covered in a cloak, pawing at the ground like an angry pony would but just doing it in the middle of a field, and when spoken to would speak in rhyme as if casting spells. Keep in mind at the time, many believed the Everfree forest to be a place where no pony had ever come out alive. I'll admit, we were overly-defensive and reactionary. Some ponies started some rumors and they spread. Ponies can get into such a skittish herd mentality sometimes, but the problem wasn't racism.
As for real racists, I agree. Real racists are just letting natural unconscious biases get the better of them, much like conspiracy theorists and the desire to seek patterns and meaning in random events. To be honest, I've felt similar instincts, but I know well enough to not put weight on them. But going back to the first meetings between Europeans and Africans, I can see how people used to humans having white skin could be perturbed by humans of a totally different color. Before then, Europeans probably only saw skin of a different color in the event of disease. It probably also didn't help that when someone has very dark, pure African skin, their eyes and teeth stand out FAR more than on someone who is pale.
It also hasn't been THAT long since the civil rights movement for racism to disappear. People that harassed and attacked black people in the sixties are people's living grandfathers today.
I think modern white supremacy is just as much a cult luring in vulnerable young men as it is about hate, and white supremacy and conspiracy theories/paranoia also seem to have a lot of overlap.
And without even further ado, next episode on the list.
Winter Wrap Up
This is the first moral in the series that's phrased as having two parts.
First part:
"It helped me to learn that we all have hidden talents, and if we're patient and diligent we're sure to find them."
Before any of the Cutie Mark Crusaders were ever introduced, this is the show's first moral about self discovery.
The show's whole approach to self-discovery, at least in the first five seasons, reminds me of the book So Good They Can't Ignore You by Cal Newport, which emphasizes the matching of the skills you've developed to the needs you observe in your field, as opposed to following the age old advice of following your passion. I'll have more to discuss on that when the CMC get their marks. In this episode, Twilight finally found her place by stopping and noticing the problems that Ponyville had, rather then try whatever struck her fancy where she wasn't actually needed.
Second part of the moral:
"And as always, with good friendship and teamwork, ponies can accomplish anything…"
This is true in real life too. One day ponies will rise up and dominate the earth.
Call of the Cutie
This is another episode where the morals of the show questions the fears of anyone who keeps their love of the show a secret.
"Sometimes, the thing you think will cause you to lose friends and feel left out can actually be the thing that helps you make your closest friends and realize how special you are.."
And sometimes it's the thing that gets you fired from a job. Or just ostracized.
I guess this is more something to be judged on an individual basis; how likely you think it is that someone in the room will stick up for you. I've said before how the moral to this episode and Suite and Elite seem to almost be 'Have your secrets revealed in a big crowd where it's more likely you'll meet someone who's your ally'.
That said, the choice of whether or not to share a secret doesn't even necessarily have to do with whether you'll lose or gain friends. More likely, you may just want to keep other people from making you feel like shit. Though I guess even than, a version of the lesson still applies.
But how likely is it that answering the question of what you did today with "I worked on an analysis of My Little Pony morals" is going to lead to an increase in friendship?
Not a rhetorical question.
I think one of the purposes of this show is to simply show the most optimistic possible outcome, as indicated by the use of the word "sometimes". The word appears 13 other times in My Little Pony's friendship lessons, mostly in the first four seasons.
I guess it's easier to believe things will turn out well in real life than in a cartoon.
But I say the word "believe". It's not that I've never had a negative experience due to liking MLP, but so far the people who've given me flak for it has been . . . predictable.
I'm sure you've heard someone say a variation of "If someone gives you flak for liking this show, they're just a dick." I used to think this meant "If someone gives you shit for liking MLP, dismiss them as people." but perhaps a better interpretation is, "The people who make fun of you for something, tend to be folks that even normal people recognize as assholes." I think there's a fear that perfectly decent people will turn into bullies the moment they find out you like MLP. It's worth pointing out that, regardless of Diamond Tiara's reaction to blank flanks, she stands out as an unlikable snob.
Yes, liking MLP does give a wrong and misleading impression to people unfamiliar with the show. But perhaps that shouldn't be the concern. The question should be, "How do people react to something that they don't understand? Do they ask questions, or make judgments, and what does it say about them?"
I guess it goes back to what I said about racists earlier. We're all human. We're all judgmental, pattern-seeking, a bit paranoid and conspiratorial and even a little racist. And we're all going to be "the other" to somebody else. How someone reacts depends on what kind of person they are, as well as the relationship they have to you.
Still skeptical about letting people know I'm analyzing My Little Pony morals though.
Submitted May 30, 2019 at 06:36AM by Crocoshark
via reddit https://www.reddit.com/r/mylittlepony/comments/busmo1/analyzing_lessons_the_fear_and_understanding_of/?utm_source=ifttt
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