#donnerfiesta

My transformative work is a (yet to be filmed) My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic meta fan film. It is a short film that specifically explores the brony fandom by showing what it may be like in a few years, once the hype has settled and the show is on the verge of completion. The film follows Nathan, a former brony, who is visiting a brony friend of his, Frank, to watch the series finale. From there, they talk about the show using information that is currently known, as well as information I have speculated could happen in the show’s future.

            The main concept explored in my film, and the one we discussed in depth in class, is the idea of fan policing. The reason I explore this concept is because it seems to be particularly applicable to the brony fandom, especially recently. The show is not discussed as much now as it was when the fandom started, and whenever it is, the fandom is usually brought up, often in a negative light. On a personal level, I’ve found myself avoiding talking about the show, I don’t watch every new episode immediately as they come out any more, and I’ve certainly noticed fewer people wearing t-shirts featuring characters from the show. Even within the fandom, enthusiasm seems to be low, both out of growing disinterest in the source material and the apparent need for distance from the “less savory” aspects of the fandom.

In the film, the protagonist largely shies away from the brony fandom out of shame. He knows that there is nothing explicitly harmful or shameful about enjoying what he wants and reacts harshly to harsh judgment from his peers, but he still tries to tone down his expressed enjoyment of the show. In addition to this, he appears to show disdain for his friend’s vocal enthusiasm. However, Frank does not share Nathan’s shame, and that shamelessness spreads to Nathan. If I had to pinpoint a central argument that my film makes, it’s that shame is entirely at the discretion of the person feeling ashamed, and it is their call to judge whether they should feel ashamed or not.

It’s not at all unreasonable to say that as music has evolved, filk music has evolved with it. This is true both in the style of the music and in the distribution of the music. As genres like folk fade out of style and more people listen to genres like hip-hop and electronica, the musical styles of filk change to reflect modern tastes. Musical trends, such as sampling and remixing and the use of electronic instruments, have made their way into fan music. Meanwhile, just as the internet has given amateur musicians a venue in which to share their music, it has also allowed fan musicians to share their music outside of the convention environment. While the music may sound different and be heard through different means, the overall themes of filk are still present and fanmade music remains just as relevant as ever.

When Henry Jenkins described L.A. Filkharmonic’s “Science Wonks, Wimps, and Nerds”, a Star Trek fan song about being a Star Trek fan, I was reminded of a My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic fan song I had heard a while back called “Proud to be a Brony”. In the song by YouTube user BlackGryph0n, the singer states, “I used to hate that I liked My Little Pony. Not any more. I’m proud to be a brony”. It’s meant to be mildly humorous, but it also gives a sort of “Being a fan of My Little Pony is awesome!” vibe.

Another line in the song states, “Many try to make me feel embarrassed, but their attempts have been in vain, for though they tell me I’m the one with problems, they’re the ones who are insane.”. As Jenkins would say, this “[E}voke[s] the negative stereotypes of fans circulated by the mass media, yet inflect[s] them in the directions more sympathetic to the community’s own interests-pushing them to absurd extremes, celebrating their transgressiveness rather than accepting them as rebuking, redefining them in terms which proclaim the pleasures and idealism of fandom” (Jenkins, 260-261). Songs like this go to show how fans can still have an anthem in the digital age.

Fans have even come up with their own subgenre of rap called “nerdcore” (which Jenkins mentions in the discussion question to which I’m responding). One of the most prominent nerdcore artists is MC Frontalot. While MC Frontalot may sound like any other rap artist, his lyrics are full of nerdy references that create a niche appeal for his music. For instance, the lyrics of his song “It Is Pitch Dark” humorously pay homage to 1980’s text-based video games. Henry Jenkins quotes filk artist Meg Garrett, who says “If you ‘get’ the joke, punchline or reference and laugh when the rest of the fan audience laughs, it reinforces the sense of belonging, of ‘family’, of shared culture” (Jenkins, 260). The genre of music may be different, but the overall sense of community from the mutual understanding of obscure references stays strong.

It’s interesting considering the “Us” vs. “Them” nature of fandoms proposed by Joli Jensen in her essay “Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization”, and how that applies to my standing within the fandoms of which I am a part. It’s almost more like a “Me” vs. “Some” vs. “Others”, instead. By that, I mean that I tend to look down on the “Us” just as much as the “Us” looks down on the “Them”.

  In regard to the fandom of “Invader Zim”, it’s not uncommon for there to be the fans who sort of downplay their interest in the show and the obsessive fanboys and fangirls who pay attention to an especially popular character (GIR), and tend to recite catchphrases on a regular basis (so the “hysterical mob”, basically).

  To be honest, the people who downplay their interest kind of annoy me because they make an effort to put down the “obsessive” fans who are totally innocent in their vocal enjoyment of the show. What is the harm in reciting a catchphrase and writing fan fiction (that may or may not be good) and drawing fan art (again, which may or may not be good) anyway? It may be kind of annoying, but it’s not really anything worth complaining about. I’ve never quite understood why those kinds of people would ever feel threatened by vocal fans, but Jensen actually gives a sort of reason for it. She states, “As a member of a crowd, the fan becomes irrational, and thus, easily influenced”.

  It’s nice to put a reason to the prejudice. I can even understand how if a group of fans are easily influenced, then they will take what they are a fan of entirely at face value without being critical. That being said, the reason for the prejudice still isn’t totally accurate. There are plenty of fans who vocalize their fandom while also being critical of what they enjoy. If anything, the fans who downplay their involvement and criticize enthusiasm tend to be a bit overly critical, to the point where it almost seems like they don’t even like whatever it is they claim to enjoy.

  It seems as though Jensen agrees with me, for the most part. She actually does say “If we instead associate ourselves with those ‘others’…then we are less likely to succumb to the elitism and reductionism that so far has characterized the research and literature on fans and fandom.What I am suggesting is that we respect and value other people as if they were us, because they always are.”. The truth is, the perceived “hivemind” is made up of individuals. To lump them together as though they are the same inferior, easily-influenced person is misguided.