Dear Escapist Friends,
recently the film adaptation of the widely succesful cartoon show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic hit cinemas and as a film enthusiast I didn't hesitate to watch it. I'm not as familiar with the cartoon as I used to be so I can't claim to be up to date with it past the third season 3 but I like to think I have a pretty good grasp on its overall themes. What Friendship is Magic does is to present and explore an utopian matriarchal society through the eyes of 6 archetypal but nevertheless believably realized members of that society.
You have Twilight Sparkle, the intellectual, as the leader, the kind of person who would rise to the top in a society free of the patriarchal obsession with physical strength and the demonstrative display of power.
You have Applejack, the worker, the practically minded farmer from a family of farmers. The interesting thing about her is her subversion of the archetype of the cowboy which she resembles in both appearance and demeanor, but instead of the rugged individualism the cowboy represents she is motivated by altruism rather than self interest.
Rainbow Dash is probably the character of the Mane 6 embodying the most typically "masculine" traits, being brash, cocky, competetive and arrogant. This makes her, very deliberately, come off as immature and aggressive. Plase note that these attributes are, for the most part, treated as flaws to be overcome for her to realize her true potential. It's obvious why in a matriarchal society there'd be an expectation for these traits to be reigned in (no pun intended), yet the general philosophy of tolerance and the attitude of true harmony only being able to exist where there's individuality makes it possible for her not to be an outcast but a respected member of society just like everyone else.
Rarity is the aesthet. She's an artist, working in fashion, with the intention of creating things of genuine beauty as every artist does, in their way. The show doesn't take an entirely uncritical approach to her profession, it's very well aware that art is only genuine as long as it doesn't get overtaken by materialism, which Rarity has a tendency to indulge in. This is her deciding character flaw. There's a thin line between the eternal struggle for true, transcendent beauty and the decadence and vanity that seems so tempting on your way to create it. This makes her, for an artistically minded person such as myself, the most intriguing and the most relatable character in the show
Fluttershy, on the other hand, is more in line with a shamanistic understanding of the world and the unity between nature and civilization. As a very meek and mild mannered equine she prefers the company of animals to the company of her fellow ponies who are... also, technically, animals but please stay with me. One of the things making equestrian society superior to human society is its unity with nature, free from the exploitation that has become such a deeply internalized part of our life.
And at last there's Pinkie Pie who is a very odd character easily dismissed as mere comic relief. But there is more to it than that that I find very important to adress. She's The Fool, a character who unites childlike innocence with great knowledge we only occasionally get to glimpse at. Pinkie Pie is a transcendent character, she, perhaps best, represents the underlying philosophy of feminine superiority. It's no coincidence that she is colored pink, the colour traditionally associated with feminity. She represents the state of pure bliss and joy a person can reach when they're free of of the influence of masculine control. If we put it in context of her upbringing on a rock farm under the eyes of her father, in all likelihood a stern and humourless patriarch, she's representative of someone who has gained her own independence and reached a higher mental state of pure joy other ponies can only aspire to.
I know this is a bit of a lengthy introduction for a thread that is meant to be not about the series but about the motion picture but I found it important to contextualize a few things before delving into the themes of the film. The film plays off of Twilight Sparkle being elevated to the status of princess at the end of the third season. This in itself is interesting when looking at the other three princesses. Celestia representing the sun and with it enlightenment and clarity, Luna representing the night and with it the ambigous, dreams, those things that are on the fringe of our perception. And, of course, Cadence, who represents love and compassion, seemingly being the most down to earth of the group. Next to these three rulers embodying very abstract concepts Twilight appears to represent something else entirely, perhaps the concept of reason and logic rising to stand next the more mystical ideas the other three represent.
But I digress. The film starts with a concept of who we are told is a popular singer in the world of Equestria poetically named Songbird Serenade, voiced by Sia who sang that Cheap Thrills song they keep playing on the radio. If we look at Sia's design she represents a contrast of light and dark, a duality if you will, which cleverly foreshadows a larger theme in the film. Her long awaited concert gets interrupted by an invasion of sinister forces represented by by a unicorn named Tempest, whos defining feature seems to be her broken horn. This is a subtle shorthand for a type of feminine emasculation, if you will, she was violently robbed of a defining part of her identity. She is working for a monkey creature calling himself the Storm King, voiced by Liev Schreiber, known for putting his son into really fruity costumes. Now, there's some significance to this as a monkey of any kind is probably the closest this show will ever come to representing humans. He's also male, which is not entirely unheard of but nevertheless somewhat unusual for Friendship is Magic antagonists. So the idea here is very clear, Tempest is a female servant, to a male dictator, representing the opression women face in a patriarchal society. Watching the film we recognize this as a violation of the natural order of things. Why would this capable, independent female listen to the orders of a questionably competent man? And as this crosses our mind we can't help but face that in our world, this is normal. Only one of countless hard hitting realizations the work provides us with.
Tempest conquers Equestria's capital Canterlot and incapacitates the three Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadence. So I ask you to think about what this means: The forces of male oppression have defeated both the representation of light, darkness and love. Leaving only the Twilight Sparkle to save them. When the belief in the abstract order of things fails us the one thing we can and have to rely on are our own intelligence, a valuable lesson to be learned indeed. She, along with her friends set out to find the only one who's able to help them, the queen of the hippogryffs. To do that they have to venture outside of Equestria which is perhabs one of the most important aspects of the film. We see what lies outside Equestria and what we see is a lawless wasteland. For the first time we realize that the Equestrian utopia is only a small fraction of a bleak and hopeless world. They enter a dilapidated town where compassion seems to be all but dead and money is the only language its inhabitants speak. It's clear commentary on the nature of capitalism as a means to maintain control while destroying the living conditions of those living under it. They make friends with a catlike creature who, maybe for the first time, is confronted with genuine love and compassion. On their way to the mountains the hippogryphs live on they travel with a group of airship pirates, notably under a female leader, who are working for the Storm King. Please note how a symbol of lawlessness, like pirates, have become willing collaborators to a repressive king. It demonstrates, quite clearly, the natural progression between american style libertarianism and blood and soil fascism that's more apparent now than it has ever been before. Nevertheless, they eventually get to mountain that used to be home to the Hippogryphs only to find it abandoned. As it turns out, they have turned into mermaid-like creatures called seaponies through a kind of magic. The, once again, calls back to the theme of duality, water and air, underground and overground. We get to know two of these so called Seaponies: The queen and the princess, mother and daughter. The daughter is trusting and generous as to where the mother is paranoid and borderline xenophobic. We see two very familiar attitudes. Now, I don't think it's farfetched to say that they represent the political left and the political right. The struggle between the self-serving protecionism of the old elite and the more forward thinking but, at points, overly idealistic internationalism of the young.
In an attempt to trick the Queen, all of the Mane 6 except for Twilight try to socialize with her, while Twilight attempts to sneak in to the throne room to steal the pearl critical for defeating the Storm King. Here we first get a glimpse of Twilight Sparkle as a flawed character, willing to work behind her friends back for her own interest. This leads us to examine Twilight Sparkle critically as a person: She's intelligent and well meaning, sure, but does that justify the means? The larger theme of the series is spelled out right in the title: Friendship is Magic. It's not the individual that's a force for good, true success can only be achieved through cooperation. Twilight betrays this principle in this scene and gets punished harshly for it. She's banned from the Sea Ponies realm, captured by Tempest and her forces and abducted to be taken to the Storm King. In a society such as Equestria the greates mistake one can make is that of acting selfish. This isn't a statement in favour for collectivism, after all time and time again the series has made clear just how important individuality is, it's a statement in favour of altruism.With Twilight captured nothing stand between the Storm King and the power of the four princesses. And this is how even a near perfect society like Equestria can fall: by betraying its core principles because they might seem irrational or inefficient. Because Twilight thought she could sacrifice objective moral standards whos necessity is self evident to a functioning society in favour of what she thought was a greater good Trump, I mean the Storm King, and all of his blatant masculine elitism, could complete his takeover of a formerly free society.
But likewise it would betray the series overall theme of hope in the face of adversity if the film ended on such a dark note. With the help of the friends they made along the way, almost all of them former adversaries like the Pirates or Capper the Cat, the other five ponies are able to take back Canterlot. One could read a message of redemption into this and it's certainly there, but it's hardly all there is to it. There's also a political dimension to it: To make allies is more important than to just defeat your enemies. What's important isn't only raw strength, it's also support. They are able to fend of the Storm King's troops and corner him. The Storm King, in a last attempt to hold onto power summons a tornado to wipe out Canterlot entirely, even betrying his ally Tempest. This might be one of the most poignant messages in the movie: There is no such thing as benevolent dictator. Those who come to power by force will never hesitate to use this force even against their own allies. To trust in the good will of a tyrannical ruler is to lay your own safety into the hands of someone motivated only and exclusively by self interest. At this point Tempest sees the error of her ways and abandons the Storm King, joining forces with the Mane 6. The last piece of the puzzle falls into place, the last remaining ally of the enemy turns onto him. Tempest, the broken mare who had been taken advantage of by the manipulative forces of male power recognizes her own independence and with her help the Storm King is defeated, the captured ponies are freed and the festival which bookends the motion picture can finally resume.
Basically, the movie tells a very condensed version of the fall and resurgence of an utopian society by first callenging and then reasserting the society's core values. It would have been very easy and surely very tempting to take a critical, deconstructivist approach to the series' themes and motives but instead of subverting it demonstrates their universal truth and inherent value. It's a very hopeful and inspiring narrative about triumph over the forces attempting to destroy our society. In this context My Little Pony: The Movie can only be called a great triumph on both a narrative and philosophical level, up there with all time great works such as Tarkovsky's "The Sacrifice", Fellini's "La Strada" or Snyder's "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice". It's a monumental work sure to be remembered for decades to come.
