The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Mana Minori on June 20, 2020, 02:23:18 PM
-
I ask this because some of the synopsis have particular wording that makes it clear what decade this is going to be from and cater to- words like “tablet” and “selfie” already make the whole magical fantasyland feel out of the new series. But do you guys think that referencing technology and such like this (albeit it was already heavily done in EG) is going to age PL very poorly, and that whatever next generation might look upon this won’t really be left with an understanding of these technological and terminology fads and phrases?
-
Nah, but I don't expect every piece of media to age well. This isn't meant to be another FiM.
-
But watching people trying to figure out past tech is funny. Ever see a group of teens try to work a tape recorder? :lol:
-
Nah, but I don't expect every piece of media to age well. This isn't meant to be another FiM.
I'm wondering if FIM will age well, given the amount of nods to cultural trends outside of the series that apparently intersect it at certain points. But then, no kids show really ages well in all respects, IMO. They all have to cater to the kids of "now" so they're not thinking of the kids of "tomorrow".
Ironically sometimes it's the shows/stories that don't try to supersede age that manage to become timeless. I mean, kids still love Winnie the Pooh, and it's more than a little bit dated.
-
I'm wondering if FIM will age well, given the amount of nods to cultural trends outside of the series that apparently intersect it at certain points. But then, no kids show really ages well in all respects, IMO. They all have to cater to the kids of "now" so they're not thinking of the kids of "tomorrow".
Good point, I had it's motives of being an educational and sweet show in mind but I definitely think the pop culture stuff will age quite poorly. The blink and you'll miss nods are probably fine and are basically par for the course at this point, but I keep thinking about the 100th episode and the entirely too long focus on the Dr Who pony and the Lebowski ponies.
And your last sentence reminds me of like...wooden block toys and toys that aren't made out of plastic that adults will want to buy their kids. Of course, once the child is placed in a grade school and builds their own tastes, they veer towards the gimmicky toys that are full of surprises. I'm sure there are exceptions but I had no interest in playing with the wooden dollhouse my mother had stashed from her childhood in the garage, it's not as cute as this little toy mouse. Look, her head bobbles!
There's an analogy there, got kind of muddy. :P
-
I'm pretty sure it will age about as well as all those old totally radical shows about a bunch of cool, skateboarding, surfing, slang-talking kids.
-
It probably won’t but honestly, what’s the big deal if it doesn’t? I agree with Taffeta, in hindsight a lot of kids media doesn’t age super well. Sometimes its kind of fun to see where the show was “dated” if that makes sense! Seeing old technology fads in the 90s and early 2000s in comparison to now in old shows is interesting in its own right, to me anyway. As also mentioned by others, FiM had a lot of gags and references that I don’t see aging well.
I don’t expect pony life to be high tier comedy or writing or anything, but the inclusion of technology or current trends does not automatically make a show feel dated. If the writing is solid and the situation is timeless, the story will still be good regardless of what tech the characters are using or what time period the show is based in.
-
It probably won’t but honestly, what’s the big deal if it doesn’t? I agree with Taffeta, in hindsight a lot of kids media doesn’t age super well. Sometimes its kind of fun to see where the show was “dated” if that makes sense! Seeing old technology fads in the 90s and early 2000s in comparison to now in old shows is interesting in its own right, to me anyway. As also mentioned by others, FiM had a lot of gags and references that I don’t see aging well.
I don’t expect pony life to be high tier comedy or writing or anything, but the inclusion of technology or current trends does not automatically make a show feel dated. If the writing is solid and the situation is timeless, the story will still be good regardless of what tech the characters are using or what time period the show is based in.
This is a good point. Just using Jem as an example - you can't get a lot more set in a specific time and space than Jem is, with its reliance on records, cassettes (one CD does appear right near the end! Gasp!). And there are things in it that maybe wouldn't make the cut now (Rio's anger management issues and some of the other incidents spring to mind). BUT Jem is still a pretty popular show, probably BECAUSE it's stuck in that time period. It's not a kid's show, but as Stranger Things has shown, people love nostalgia as a backdrop anyway.
It's absolutely about the quality of the media and not the cultural properties.
As much as I'm not a huge fan of the G1 series, the stories hold up in the 21st century (for the most part, there are some howlers). What doesn't is the animation because of how far it's now moved on. But then we can assume the same will apply to anything produced now scrolled forward x number of years.
So it's not the age but the quality of the production. Reasons I think FiM has a better chance than PL, but that ultimately it will be up to the people who grew up with FiM to make it go the distance, since on it's own it's just another show in a massive sprawl of other shows in a time period where shows are ten a penny and the popular thing to do. PL has even less to make itself unique because it's so trying to 'get with' the current culture. Which means IMO it will probably be lost and forgotten fairly fast...except maybe by diehards or people who study culture in animation trends.
-
I think reference technology will either help it age well, or simply not age it at all, due to how I see the whole idea of mentioning technology in shows.
I could watch something that mentions something like VHS tapes and cassettes, and they don't even look like they've aged badly, even the ones that look like, and are products of their time, it doesn't affect the aging at all to me. Even if I can look at something and think "Yeah, this aired in the 80s/90s/whenever..." for example it doesn't make me think "This hasn't aged well", even if the technology is dated in someway. So even if Pony Life ends up looking like a product of the 2010s/2020s it won't stop it aging well, and might even help it age nicely as it could have the nostalgic value.
Not to mention that "Old technology" isn't even confusing, or at least it doesn't have to be. You could very easily release a modern cartoon with old technology, or even a combination of old and new, and it looks fine. It so much easier to look back on older technology these days that kids stand more of chance at understanding them, possibly due them being used on TV and the like, or maybe they just know.
So yeah, I don't think it will age the show badly at all.
-
even if Pony Life ends up looking like a product of the 2010s/2020s it won't stop it aging well, and might even help it age nicely as it could have the nostalgic value.
Totally agree - it's not intended to be timeless and they are not aiming for classic! I think of it like a time capsule.
-
MLPonies using modern tech will never not look silly to me. It was silly in Pony Tales and it was silly in FiM. Probably even weirder in FiM as their world was supposed to be High Fantasy but then you got stuff like casinos, skyscrapers and remote controls. Even the ponies in the G3 specials had electricity. I remember them using microwaves and other electric kitchen utensils. And they held them via magnetic hooves :lol:
If Pony Life wants to use tablets and touch screens in a world that is obviously more like ours I really don't care.
It's part of making the characters do more relatable daily life things, I guess. Pony Life will have the same effect as Pony Tales. In a future where everyone will communicate via brain implant the tablets will look outdated. Just like the Tales ponies being on big clunky phones is outdated now.
Something that will definitely not age well is dialogue or parodies based on current celebs, movies, music.
That is something FiM already overused. And ofc, nobody but diehard Bronies will remember all the shoutouts to Brony fanon.
-
MLPonies using modern tech will never not look silly to me. It was silly in Pony Tales and it was silly in FiM. Probably even weirder in FiM as their world was supposed to be High Fantasy but then you got stuff like casinos, skyscrapers and remote controls.
To be honest, I kind of find it easy to ignore that Tales used technology to be honest, even though I'm actually the opposite of you, seeing as I find it was more obvious in that cartoon than it was in FiM, as they actually had TV in the former where they didn't in the latter.
Having things like casinos and skyscrapers do not stop the subject being of the fantasy genre to me, maybe it's because my favorite Final Fantasy games are mostly in modern settings, so that ultimately defined for me what a fantasy genre could be (in fact they look far more modern than FiM does.) Basically, they blend in well for FiM for me, and don't stop it looking like a fantasy show at all.
Something that will definitely not age well is dialogue or parodies based on current celebs, movies, music.
That is something FiM already overused. And ofc, nobody but diehard Bronies will remember all the shoutouts to Brony fanon.
The former will, in my opinion, age better than technology, as those things (people in the celebrities case) will always have fans, and the appreciation for them lasts longer than their "time" as it where. Especially music, that stuff is eternal.
The brony references... yeah, I get that; I'm probably the most brony out of this forum, and even I don't know what some of their references are (did they really do that much? Because I didn't actually see that many other than mostly "Brony-Famous" ponies being used a lot, and said ponies being paired up the way bronies feel they should be), but like everything mentioned, including the above that I said would age well (in my opinion, perfectly) it all just adds to the nostalgia of it, including the brony stuff.
It's aimed at a particular part of the fandom, yes, but it still meant something. It's like how in my project, there might be some more brony related shout-outs done out of nostalgia, providing I know how to include them without breaking up the "illusion" of the show, but at the same time (and more so) I'll be including shout-outs to the actual My Little Pony franchise, also out of nostalgia and appreciation for it.
-
Only time will tell.
-
I think whether it will or not hinges on how important to the plot those things are. If they are just little background things they will just fade into meaninglessness.
-
I don't like ponies and technology mixing. But, I'm not really worried about the shows aging well. I don't think that should be a thing. The internet makes it possible for people to get any "in" joke now and those kinds of oldie references have actually gotten kind of popular.
-
I'm pretty sure it will age about as well as all those old totally radical shows about a bunch of cool, skateboarding, surfing, slang-talking kids.
Lol, this. It isn't of the highest quality - to say the least... I couldn't sit through the 15-something minutes of the first episode. PL has a very distinct style and filler fodder storylines. Won't make much of an impression IMO. I don't think it is meant to, either. Maybe they had to keep something going to keep the trademark (or copyright, whatever the difference is) on the names? Or just keep MLP on the shelves in-between main gens.
-
The internet makes it possible for people to get any "in" joke now and those kinds of oldie references have actually gotten kind of popular.
Not all in-jokes as some would rely on kids immersing themselves in an adult online subculture that is far from kid-friendly :lol: But I get your point.
And I also agree with you that nostalgia is a big factor in some things aging better than others. Like, people thought the rainbow unicorn trend would have died by now but it's only getting stronger. Demand for pastel pony stuff will be around for a long while to come and these cartoons will get reruns, the toys popping up at yard sales and fleamarkets.
Kinda like Keypers, Lady Lovely Locks or Moondreamers is still huge with people who like cute and kitschy stuff, despite its age and never getting a popular reboot.