weesh Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Pinkie Pie never was one to do anything on the beaten track. I suspect that she was expected to follow in the family's footsteps too, which is why she was so nervous when she threw that first party. She was afraid that her family would object to her forging her own path.As for the source of names, if CMs can be predestined, names might well be too.I think my discomfort with the idea that their names and cutie marks determining the future comes from living in the modern American culture, where independence and self-determination is so highly valued. My understanding is that these are relatively recent philosophies. There is nothing intrinsically wrong about others leading you towards a purpose or passion, but it feels bad because figure-it-out-on-your-own is what is expected of many of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dessa Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 I think my discomfort with the idea that their names and cutie marks determining the future comes from living in the modern American culture, where independence and self-determination is so highly valued. My understanding is that these are relatively recent philosophies. There is nothing intrinsically wrong about others leading you towards a purpose or passion, but it feels bad because figure-it-out-on-your-own is what is expected of many of us.Certainly, modern American values find their way into the show, but my impression of Equestria is that it is much more collectivist than the western real world. Community is so strongly emphasized, sometimes over the individual.Look at Winter Wrap Up. Twilight could certainly have used her powers to do a lot of that stuff, but she didn't because it didn't fit the community standard. The thing about ponies is it seems that they're always happy with their cutie marks. It implies a destiny chosen in harmony with a pony's disposition. One might imagine an unborn soul even making a choice about their potential future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weesh Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Certainly, modern American values find their way into the show, but my impression of Equestria is that it is much more collectivist than the western real world. Community is so strongly emphasized, sometimes over the individual.Look at Winter Wrap Up. Twilight could certainly have used her powers to do a lot of that stuff, but she didn't because it didn't fit the community standard. The thing about ponies is it seems that they're always happy with their cutie marks. It implies a destiny chosen in harmony with a pony's disposition.Community is so important, but it feels counter-cultural somehow. Popular songs are inundated with "I"s and "me"s. Is this why the show was so refreshing before I could even start to explain why it was enjoyable? Which is better? To be lead into a fulfilling purpose by those you trust most? Or to strike out on your own to find a unique purpose? Or something in the middle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombiedalmations Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 Community is so important, but it feels counter-cultural somehow. Popular songs are inundated with "I"s and "me"s. Is this why the show was so refreshing before I could even start to explain why it was enjoyable? Which is better? To be lead into a fulfilling purpose by those you trust most? Or to strike out on your own to find a unique purpose? Or something in the middle?I would just say that as long as it was fulfilling, it'd be right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Mint Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 hi hiI always thought that one of the great things about how they portrayed cutie marks in MLP was how its a blend between individualism and community that shows that the two of them aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. No matter what a pony's special talent may be, there's always a place for them to help out, and because they have something to do that they enjoy doing, helping out is not a burden but a blessing for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weesh Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 I always thought that one of the great things about how they portrayed cutie marks in MLP was how its a blend between individualism and community that shows that the two of them aren't necessarily mutually exclusive. Isn't every talent both personal and shared? They certainly can't escape being personal, but if they are completely useless to the community, then are they really talents? If you are skillful at insulting people, that may fit the definition of a talent, but who would consider it such? Getting a cutie mark that was completely individualistic would be sad.I would just say that as long as it was fulfilling, it'd be right. I agree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Mint Posted January 5, 2012 Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 hi hiWho would have thought that a loopdy hoop would be a special talent? I certainly wasn't very impressed at first, I mean, who was? I said, "Thats not a special talent!" and then the writers went and spent the next few minutes showing me just how wrong I was. And all it took was a little creativity.There's so much wasted potential in our world, and people think that you have to fit into a predefined mold in order to be of any value, but this is a direct refusal of that notion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weesh Posted January 6, 2012 Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 There's so much wasted potential in our world, and people think that you have to fit into a predefined mold in order to be of any value, but this is a direct refusal of that notion.Other examples from the show include the fulfillment without a romantic relationship, and a generous character who is not also footstool. As disgusting as Daimond Tiara and Silver Spoon acted, I love the idea of the cuteceañera. The gifts of everyone should be celebrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverleafBreeze Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 Oftentimess,a pony's name could be a clue to what their cutie marks,and what their talents will be, I believe that before she had gotten old and became a grandmother,GS's name was just Smith. She must have been a wild and feisty filly and mare,if her granddaughter Aj, is any comparrison. And as for the CMC,I'm going to make a guess on what their CM and their talents will be.Scootaloo: her talent may be with her scooter,or with races involving racing vehicles = CM is probably a wheel or scooterSweetie Belle: I think that singing will be her talent = CM is a musical noteApple Bloom: her talent may be something to do with apple trees = CM might be a growing tree sprout Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ginger Mint Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 hi hiI had a thought today. Suppose your special talent was insulting people. If you're good at insulting people, you must have some kind of understanding of what causes emotional distress. So perhaps after you've matured a bit, you could turn that around and use that understanding to help council people who've been bullied. I betcha there's a lot of ways different talents could be used for good or ill depending on how you choose to apply them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosewind Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 I'm hoping tomorrow we'll get a flashback or something to give some insight/history of Granny Smith. She couldn't have always been Granny, right? If it was she must have had a very interesting fillyhood with a name like that.Or I could just let the creative license of the show go and ignore all the existential pre-determinism and how it occurs for our ponies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TenthSpeedWriter Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 My assumption has always been that some of the more obvious ones (Photo Finish, for example) were nicknames, assumed names, or the like. Maybe there's just a rampant streak of nickname wit among Equestrians.Sometimes you just have to accept things as cartoon logic, y'all. xD; Otherwise, you're going to have as much luck as you would explaining Wile E. Coyote's anvil-accordian hypothesis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosewind Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 I think part of the conundrum is that no other cartoon series quite like FiM has ever come along. The character design is amazing, which puts the fanbase in a weird position because we want to know more about the characters in the series we love, while the series itself has to carry itself as a cartoon and not get too deep.Am I making sense with this? I feel like I'm on the cusp of something interesting here. Weesh, anyone? Input? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dessa Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 You guys, her name was always Granny Smith:There a kind of apple, just like Braeburn. It didn't seem unusual when she was young because she has a Granny Smith apple on her flank.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granny_Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weesh Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 I had a thought today. Suppose your special talent was insulting people. If you're good at insulting people, you must have some kind of understanding of what causes emotional distress. So perhaps after you've matured a bit, you could turn that around and use that understanding to help council people who've been bullied. I betcha there's a lot of ways different talents could be used for good or ill depending on how you choose to apply them.As satisfying as that is, I would argue that the talent you are describing is not insulting people, it is in understanding people. Now that I think about it, my suggestion was unsatisfying. The cutie marks are much broader than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoderBrony Posted January 7, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 hi hiI had a thought today. Suppose your special talent was insulting people. If you're good at insulting people, you must have some kind of understanding of what causes emotional distress. So perhaps after you've matured a bit, you could turn that around and use that understanding to help council people who've been bullied. I betcha there's a lot of ways different talents could be used for good or ill depending on how you choose to apply them.You could make an argument that Steve Jobs' special talent was insulting people. Of course, he also changed the music industry, the cell phone industry, the animated film industry, etc. Maybe he had a bad case of the Cutie Pox as a kid, and that's what was really hidden under his black turtleneck: dozens of cutie marks.Coder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dessa Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 As satisfying as that is, I would argue that the talent you are describing is not insulting people, it is in understanding people.Now that I think about it, my suggestion was unsatisfying. The cutie marks are much broader than that.Insult can be used productively for political satire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverleafBreeze Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 You guys, her name was always Granny Smith:There a kind of apple, just like Braeburn. It didn't seem unusual when she was young because she has a Granny Smith apple on her flank.http://en.wikipedia....ki/Granny_SmithIf you have seen the episode Call of the Cutie Mark,you might have remembered that Apple Bloom had stated that Granny Smith's cutie mark is an apple pie,not a granny smith apple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dessa Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 If you have seen the episode Call of the Cutie Mark,you might have remembered that Apple Bloom had stated that Granny Smith's cutie mark is an apple pie,not a granny smith apple.Touche. I was visualising Big Mac's CM, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davroth Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 We might know for sure very soon. Isn't the next episode scheduled about Granny Smith? Like.. today? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MousaThe14 Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 So, about those names.... Filthy Rich and Stinking' Rich? I didn't pay attention to their Cutie Marks but who names their kids Filthy and Stinkin'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackFang Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 So, about those names.... Filthy Rich and Stinking' Rich? I didn't pay attention to their Cutie Marks but who names their kids Filthy and Stinkin'?badass parents, thats who.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
weesh Posted January 7, 2012 Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 I love how the sign is longer than the building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
accountdeleted Posted January 8, 2012 Report Share Posted January 8, 2012 I think that there would be a lot of name changes. Or maybe mares do have psychic ability.Or what if the names predict the cutiemarks?...Or perhaps its a cartoon! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MousaThe14 Posted January 9, 2012 Report Share Posted January 9, 2012 Or perhaps its a cartoon!True, but leaving it at that misses the point that we're geeks and overthinking this sort of thing is half the fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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