Unpopular opinion time

@Cosmas-the-Explorer
They did in fact tried that. Wasn’t clear enough.

@Cosmas-the-Explorer
I don’t know. I do take it as exactly what you say. The episode targets at some of the more over-complaining fans. I mean some of the points they make are pretty spot on and I can also see they’re making fun of themselves a little bit. (I think Pinkie Pie’s bit is partially to show they acknowledge they can make Pinkie Pie too funny.) There are also the subtle hints that say there are fans who just appreciate the characters like Amethyst Star and White Lightning. I guess those are just too subtle but I like the fact that I can find things to show they do appreciate the fandom.

This episode is about the negative side of the fandom. They’re not gonna show a bunch of fanboys who absolutely adore Fluttershy because they know there are people who do. I know there are Fluttershy complainers out there. I know, but honestly they only show about 4 ponies crowding Fluttershy over her “learning the same lesson”. It kind of proves they know those fans are only few and far between. I believe there are definitely a lot of Rarity haters in the fandom though. That one seems pretty accurate to me too.

Also you want mean spirited in this episode? Imagine if they did the Applejack background pony joke. That’d really put the fandom in a very negative light.

I enjoyed the episode and I can admit there’s some truth to it. But I can also admit I’d probably hate it if it came after a particular bad string of episodes(like if it came out after Newbie Dash or 28 Pranks Later). The episode came out though after a string of some of the strongest episodes the show has had which probably worked in its favor

I think writers are allowed to vent through their art. It’s not to everyone’s liking, but nothing is.

The funny thing about Fame and Misfortune is that you knew exactly which users it would upset.

@DerpyFast
Which is really just poisoning the well of discourse around it.

I liked Fame and Misfortune, and especially loved the song.

Pipp’s lessons that “her fans love her for her” make me cringe a little because based on my experiences with social media, that’s just not true. Her mistakes in MYM and TYT would have led to her to being deflamed so many times.

@Cosmas-the-Explorer
@Mr.Myoozik
Not to mention it’s strawmany because virtually everybody is a jerk.

“That’s how online communities are”. Yeah, but that’s because geographic proximity between jerks is meaningless online with connected screens worlwide. Realistically speaking you go to a physical convention and most people often mention how healthy and easygoing is the environment.

Has it been a single or a small sample of jerks I’d make sense, but making everybody a jerk actually kills the suspension of disbelief. The story gets consumed by a message and stops being entertaining.

Larson himself mentioned he regrets making the episode and who can blame him, venting alone is usually terrible to make a story.

It also has a terrible side effect: unless the show is a black comedy or purposely dire like a barbarian tale, making everybody an unlikeable jerkass makes you feel no interest for how the story goes nor what happens to the characters. To quote Lucifer:

If everybody is horrible in Equestria then let them die by Tirek or Chrysalis.

Is not a mouth piece, is a lighthearted show. Regardless of toxic fandoms (not innocents themselves) the point of a story is tell a tale and the purpose of internet mods is filter jerks. Each with their role.

@Twi Clown
I feel Twilight herself has already done just that. They’re not dead yet but it is what the ponies deserved.

@TheQuietMan
If it is what you think it is, it’s not. Because there was an active part of her, rather than you know…let natural selection do it’s magic without any intervention.

@Zabilac
Pipp is Pewdiepie.

@Twi Clown
She sort of took their magic away. Sort of.

@TheQuietMan
AKA…Not natural selection, she still intervened. So she didn’t let them learn the lesson the hard way. Lucifer did it better at that.

I for one I don’t feel like is canon to me tho.

@WaynePonePone
Yeah, as an admin of the FiM Wiki for around 5 years at that point, I thought that the portrayal of some of the less friendly aspects of the fandom was spot on - particularly the stuff with Fluttershy (since I had seen that exact sentiment, several times, at some points almost verbatim to what was said in the episode, expressed in various places)

‘Fame and Misfortune’ is not meant to be an accurate representation of the fandom. It’s vent art.
That happens to very accurate in more than one instance.

@Jonny Manz
Didn’t know you were a Wiki admin. That’s cool!

@Tiger beetle
Hard to call it vent Art when the guy who wrote it has publicly denounced it. Iirc he’s gone on to say a lot of the ideas in the episode was at Hasbro’s request

@Tiger beetle
no.

@Twi Clown
Yeah… and showing that the only non-jerk fans were the fillies Princess Twilight met in the beginning gave a sort of implied “well, the show isn’t even for them anyway, is it?” message. (Which, granted, maybe bronies needed a bit of sometimes, but still.)

@Latecomer
Needed a lot of at times, but yeah

@Kiryu-Chan
Never said it was entirely Larson’s vent art, more than one person worked on it, he just has the writing credit. Also if he were already instructed to write this, regardless of how much this episode is actually is him, that doesn’t mean he never inserted his own opinions into it, even if he ends up regretting how it turned out.

Yeah that’s a pretty bad message since it enables influencers and social media stars to continue what they’re doing and think that they’re above any real consequences just because they have legions of fans. To name an RL example, rapper Nicki Minaj is going mentally insane right now and her rabid fanbase is enabling her just because of their devotion to her, so this message can have a negative effect.

Also, the song slaps tbh