caprisun-stone

[caprisun-stone]

Some of the tags you used on this are prime examples of it, too. A lot of them I’m not into, but for the ones I am a fan of/have context for:

• My Little Pony – (presuming this specifically is about FiM and not older gens) This one’s a doozy. Overarching through the series, there are clear themes of feminism and various social issues like overcoming inequality in favor of unity.

Female characters are repeatedly seen in positions of power: Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Twilight (eventually), and even smaller government roles like Mayor Mare. It is clearly a society that one could argue as matriarchal.

Albeit an episode that fumbles the depiction of indigenous North Americans and the actual devastation caused by settlers, there is an entire episode on colonialism in season one. This show has been political right out of the gate. (“Over A Barrel”, S1 E 21)

The character duo Flim & Flam are literal caricatures of how hypercapitalism will eventually lead to cut corners no matter what product you make. A prime irl example: notice how almost everything is made of polyester instead of cotton nowadays?

There is also an entire episode that focuses on a race-based class division that formally existed in Equestria between unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies; and how this was overcome in favor of the unified society that exists in the present within the show. (“Hearth’s Warming Eve”, S2 E11)

There is literally an entire plot point later in the series about differences make us special and useful in society, and a society that treats us entirely as equals with no exceptions (not equality in a modern liberal sense, but rather a quasi-communist one) is one of toil and strife. (“The Cutie Map”, Parts 1 & 2, S5 E1-2)

The series even had queer representation! The literal pilot episode included a gay-coded (albeit stereotypically so) character, Steven Magnet. Queer relationships have been heavily suggested in canon over the years, and even today you can find official MLP pride merch on sites like Hot Topic.

MLP: FiM is seriously one of the most political shows of its kind and its time. I could go on and on, but tbh I think I might try to present this point at a conference sometime.

• The Amazing Digital Circus – it is heavily implied from the start that everyone but Caine was an office worker for whatever company made the game they are now trapped in. It is a story of escapism from late-stage Capitalism via isekai. These people, albeit perhaps non-consensually (as far as we know, since none of the characters fully recall their pre-Circus lives), escaped the dreaded office lifestyle so many in the western world deal with and are sick of for a colorful world fantasy of adventure. I literally attended a conference on class struggles in popular culture a few months ago with the presentation titled “I Was Overworked at my Office Job So I’ll Present on Isekai in Another World”.

• Undertale – Undertale is an inherently political game. It is a story of moral and immoral choices, which are directly tied to consequences that follow the player. Even resetting the game does not erase these choices, much like how in life no harm can be undone without those remembering the suffering inflicted upon them.

The backstory itself can easily be argued as race relations: it is a war between humans and monsters, and they are in the Underground as a result. This is even a political issue within the game itself, like Gerson stating that he believes that a return to the surface is foolish because humans would kill them on sight, and the fact that Asgore’s opinion on it has changed from reflecting his own.

Side note on LGBTQ+ representation and defying gender norms: Mettaton is heavily implied to be under the transgender label, and his change from ghost to robot to EX/NEO can be interpreted as a transition allegory. However, he also keeps his pink theming (sans original robot body) and androgynous appearance (for all forms) regardless of this transition, signifying a break in traditional gendered color theory. Additionally, there is the entire story of the lion NPC in Hotland that is entirely a transfeminine subplot. This NPC is even seen in Deltarune in feminine clothing, further confirming this.

I could go on about the politics of Undertale, but I’m gonna be honest: it’s on my capstone/thesis shortlist and I’m not giving that all away for a Tumblr post.

For the love of God, stop putting politics into cartoon, anime, manga, comic, and video game characters!

Whether left or right! It's unbearable! And if the characters existed they would be disgusted!

[caprisun-stone]

Some of y’all are clearly too young to have read Bell Hooks and thus understand the phrase “the personal is political”.

If you want politics out of your media, you’re gonna have to stop consuming media entirely. No piece of media on this earth is truly apolitical.

For the love of God, stop putting politics into cartoon, anime, manga, comic, and video game characters!

Whether left or right! It's unbearable! And if the characters existed they would be disgusted!