Saturday, July 30, 2011

Swim Fan

I watch My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. I watch this show because:
1) it’s fucking awesome
2) it entertains me
3) it’s funny
4) it’s produced by the same woman who helped make The Power Puff Girls
5) flawless animation
6) solid storylines that while are a little corny, are fun to watch
7) wonderful songs
8) to sum it up perfectly, it’s fucking awesome

You can watch all the episodes on Youtube.

I would gladly call myself a fan. I’ve “liked” the official Facebook page, seen all the episodes and I’m currently waiting for the second season to start. I’ve seen fan-made videos, read fanfiction, and after some Googling I’ve even learned the names of some of the lesser (and background) characters.

The best thing about Googling the background characters is I was able to learn some fan-made histories. There is a pony named Derpy Hooves. Derpy is a special pony; she isn’t all there; lost a few marbles; retard. The first time Derpy appeared, she was at a party and her eyes were crossed. Every appearance afterwards, Derpy has done something to further the idea that she is a functioning retard. Some fans have even decided that Derpy has a daughter who loves Derpy and helps care for her.

Another fan favorite is Caramel. Caramel was named by the writers and even has a few lines, but some fans have decided that Caramel is gay and in a relationship with a stallion by the name of Big Macintosh. The fanfiction and fanart for these two are really cute and highly recommended.

Although none of it is true, I loved learning these fan-facts and it makes re-watching episodes more fun. And yet, I would never have thought to name a background character, let alone makeup a history. And herein lies the problem, I’m only a causal fan.

There are some people who love a show/book/movie/anything so much that it becomes a part of their identity. I have a friend who after seeing Lord of the Rings, became obsessed and filled her life with anything LOTR related. To this day whenever I see anything LOTR, I think of her. In middle-school (junior high) a group of friends did the same thing with Pirates of the Caribbean, this time to the point of changing their names to Jack, Will and Swann. Eight years later and two of them still respond to Jack and Will.

But it is not just tv shows/movies/books that I detach from, it’s life experiences too. I put a wall between me and the world, and I have no idea why. I know I keep secrets from people (like not telling my roommate I was gay) because I don’t want to get too close to people. I understand that, you can’t hurt me if you don’t know me.

But take this example. I saw Ellie Goulding in concert in March. The building had two floors, the bottom was directly touching the stage but the top floor had a better view. My friend and I choose the top floor. Before the show, I remember looking down on the first floor and thinking There are two options for this show. 1) I could watch from up here or 2) I could experience it down there.

We ended staying on the second floor and I’ve come to realize that I almost always choose "see" instead of "experience."

I wish I could finish this post with a vow to change, but I seriously have to ask myself if I can? And if possible, do I want to?

-Z