A few days ago, this article in Canada's National Post newspaper was published. It's a fairly in-depth look at how our fandom is faring as the FiM era draws to a close. Maura Forrest's piece seems a decently researched article on the whole – for example, she acknowledges 4chan's place at the very beginning of the fandom's story. She also makes the fair point that, eight years in, it's hard for many/most fans to sustain the initial rush of excitement that being a brony brought.
It's nice that Forrest's article doesn't take the easy route of either assuming every brony is the stereotypical unemployed "neckbeard" or overplaying it the other way and making out we're all the CEOs of FTSE 100 companies. There's due regard paid to our tendency to buy custom merch (eg plushies) in preference to Hasbro's, too. There are a few little slips, such as the implication that there was a consensus among fans to hate Twilight's ascension, which wasn't true even in 2013. Not many, though.
Forrest touches on some of the modern grumbles, such as the ever-growing cast meaning less of a focus on the Mane Six, the quality of today's episode writing and those leaks from late 2017. There's also the fair comment that a fandom based around a single TV show, which was always going to end sometime, does have something of an "expiry date" built in. On the positive side, there's a bit about VanHoover being built in the wake of BronyCAN's expiry in 2017.
The subject of conventions is one that could fill articles by itself, and here in the UK the situation is somewhat complicated by the fact that our largest Pony con isn't just about one show but rather about the My Little Pony franchise as a whole. But I think that point I mentioned in my first paragraph plays a large role: it's been eight years and the shine was always going to wear off a bit for many people. Whatever your thoughts, I do recommend the National Post article to every fan with a reasonably open mind.
If there was a 'brony golden age', I think it ended four or five years ago. <.< This is an interesting thing to have written on, regardless.
ReplyDeleteDepends how you define "golden age", I suppose. I've encountered people who'd say anything after S1 was too late to qualify.
DeleteSmaller might be better, and the fandom will never entirely die. For supporting evidence, consider that there is a fandom and convention (still running) centered around a terrible 60's horror-soap called Dark Shadows.
ReplyDeleteOf which I have never heard! Though I don't feel desperately inclined to change this...
DeleteIf the fandom hasn't already, then I predict it'll reach a plateau soon enough, at least until we see what G5 has in store. Can't forget that!
ReplyDeleteThe FIMFiction site statistics indicate decreases in all major activity over the years, especially after 2015, and are probably at least somewhat indicative of wider interest. Of course, that says nothing about any individual fans and their commitment, but it does suggest the "golden age" of fan participation was mostly focused on the first four to six seasons.
Myself, I hope those fans mentioned in the article keep the conventions going. Not that I ever attended any or have a personal interest, but in these waning years it'll be necessary to put in the extra effort for others. Think of how many friendships may yet endure because of them. I cheer their efforts.
But I have to admit in the end that, for me, this whole decline is mostly a curiosity rather than anything I'm personally alarmed by. My interest was chiefly in the show, and even then only for so long as I liked watching it.
Socials and cons hold no interest to me. My online interactions were a fine bonus, but I'm losing my incentive to stick to them for much longer. And as far as merchandise goes, I only got a handful of DVDs and didn't care about the rest. Again, show first and foremost.
For me, it'll simply join those other nostalgic shows like classic The Simpsons and Batman: The Animated Series. I'll still rewatch the golden oldies fondly, wherever the franchises have gone here and now.
I suspect there are an awful lot of people in your box, so to speak. It's just that those of us like me who are active in the fandom and do take part in its social side tend not to think about that very much. Perhaps we should do so more. For us, while the show is at the heart of things, the continuing interest doesn't actually require it.
DeleteI was at my local meetup this weekend, and though we talked a lot about the show, a lot of that talk was nostalgic: "Favourite episodes from Season 2" and the like.