Coming to VOD tomorrow, Friday, September 13: BRONIES: THE EXTREMELY UNEXPECTED ADULT FANS OF MY LITTLE PONY
Laurent Malaquais’ survey of the subculture around what is ostensibly a show for little girls made its debut at LA’s Equestria convention last November. It went on to screen at the Kansas City FilmFest, and was released on DVD this past February. FilmBuff now makes the doc available on Amazon, PlayStation, and Xbox.
For those who have not stumbled upon the phenomenon before, bronies are adult males who are obsessed with the cartoon MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC, the latest iteration of the children’s show/toy tie-in series geared to pre-adolescent girls. Malaquais’ film, which notably made five times its goal via Kickstarter, profiles a number of men and boys involved in the subculture, from Daniel, a Brit with Asperger’s, and Alex, from a small town in North Carolina, to brony DJs The Living Tombstone from Israel and LaserPon3 from the Netherlands, as they attend various brony fan conventions. Other bronies, as well as creators and performers associated with the TV show, reflect on why the series has resonated with adults, including the supposedly strong writing and music, as well as the somewhat simplistic idea that the show’s moral lessons reconnect adults with their childhood. While it’s clear that bronies appreciate the camaraderie and positivity that is encouraged by their shared interest, the talking heads heavy (and hopelessly overscored) doc as a whole fails to sufficiently or convincingly explain why this show has generated the interest it has, and seems unlikely to connect with the unconverted – even if there are some nice moments, such as the response the deposed show’s creator Lauren Faust receives at the main US convention. But beyond this, one main sticking point should be addressed: the aspect that apparently makes the brony phenomenon “extremely unexpected,” as per this doc’s title, is that they are predominantly heterosexual – belying the general assumption, repeated many times here, that one would have to be gay to be a fan of a cartoon about magical girl ponies. This unfortunately generates an undercurrent of low-grade homophobia throughout the doc – subjects, or their non-brony family or friends, constantly allude to the apparently worrying idea that bronies might be gay or perceived as gay, and, aside from asserting that they are not gay, the bronies never call out the homophobia that would make it a problem if they were. Aside from the inclusion of interview subject Purple Tinker, the founder of BronyCon, who is transgender (though if it’s mentioned here, I missed it), LGBT bronies are conspicuously avoided, suggesting a fear that even acknowledging that they exist might somehow besmirch the rest of the subculture. For a group that is predicated on the idea of friendship and positivity, this pointed exclusion is decidedly troublesome.
what (not) to doc 