In the following introductory video to the burgeoning Brony subculture, one of ‘The Bronies’ says something that reminded me of a quote from the pilot episode of Girls (sorry I’m not sorry): “I could be a drug addict, do you realize how lucky you are? I mean, it doesn’t have to be heroin, it could be something more insidious like pills, which are legal and which a lot of kids do all the time, and then slowly they become totally useless. They seems really high-functioning and then it just ruins them.”
That’s kind of what’s happening here, except you can substitute ‘pills’ for ‘an entire community of likeminded individuals devoted to sharing the magical lessons of friendship derived from each episode of the recently revived 80s animation My Little Pony.’
What follows then is a fascinating glimpse into a slightly left-of-centre and slowly-emerging subsection of Bronies and their female counterparts, the Pegasisters, who together form part of a two-thousand strong Australian quorum producing fan art, fiction and attending national and international conventions where delegates bro hoof [fist bump] with likeminded rainbow equine enthusiasts, all the while seeming relatively high-functioning. Chances are, unlike pills, this hobby won’t ruin anyone or anything.
Produced by Patrick Abboud of The Feed, you can catch this story and others like it on demand or weeknights live from 7:30pm on SBS2.
ICYMI, last week we talked to The Feed’s Marc Fennell – That Movie Guy – about said show, crying during films and whether he’s Team Margaret or Team David.
