Subculture has always been a popular subject of documentary films. Perhaps the most conspicuous of American subcultures is fandom. Whether it is sports, celebrities, or other icons of pop culture, there is a fine line between passionate interest and borderline obsession. Unfortunately, the further outside the popular mainstream that fandom is, the more misunderstood and marginalized it becomes.
Being a card-carrying geek since the early 1980s, I can remember when being a "gamer" meant playing "Dungeons & Dragons" and not being the target demographic for a $70 billion electronics industry. I also remember parents and kids alike getting swept up in the "Satanic Panic" drummed up by the likes of Tipper Gore, Jack Chick's "Dark Dungeons" religious tract and the made-for-TV stinker "Mazes & Monsters."
Although fantasy and fandom is mainstream big business these days, it's still not easy being a fan of what even other geeks consider "fringe." Enter the Bronies, the mostly male adult fans of "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic," an animated show based on the well-known children's toys. The Bronies (a portmanteau of "bro" and "pony") are unabashed in their love and admiration for a show ostensibly intended for little girls. This is the fandom that even grizzled 30-year D&Ders like me raise an eyebrow at when we cross paths every August at Gen Con in downtown Indy.
So it was with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation that I went into Brent Hodge's "A Brony Tale." The promotional materials predictably played up the absurdity factor, and the Bronies are low-hanging fruit for anyone looking to make them the punchline for a film. With that in mind, I figured the best I could hope for on behalf of the poor, defenseless Bronies was something along the lines of Roger Nygard's "Trekkies," a 1997 documentary that presented the hardcore "Star Trek" fandom as equally weird and admirable while producing cringe-worthy laughs throughout.
The film centers on voice actress Ashleigh Ball, whom we learn voices two of the most popular characters on the animated "My Little Pony" show, Applejack and Rainbow Dash. The documentary follows her as she prepares to attend BronyCon in New York City and her first extended interaction with the Brony fandom. Ball is friendly and down-to-earth, and seems a bit naive about the Brony phenomenon considering she is one of the show's stars, although I suspect she's playing it slightly coy on purpose. Nonetheless, she is likable and the perfect focal point for the documentary as the audience can easily identify with her as an outsider and share her reservations about the Bronies. As she says early on in the film about the Brony phenomenon, "The pervert alarm, for sure, went off in my head when I first heard about it."
As Ball prepares for the upcoming convention, the film introduces a variety of Bronies to help illustrate and explain the fandom. What emerges is a sympathetic portrayal of the "typical" Brony (although there really is no such thing): shy, socially awkward, tolerant and yet somehow courageously open about their love of a simple children's show. Most of them readily admit that it is kind of weird, and that they understand why people don't understand, but they can't explain it for any reason other than that it simply makes them happy.
The film also features a pair of psychologists who offer some analysis of the phenomenon. The available research indicates overwhelmingly that the suspected deviant behavior often derisively attributed to Bronies is untrue. The vast majority is heterosexual and well-adjusted, showing lower levels of anxiety, neuroticism and depression than average. If anything, the actual "weirdness" most people identify with the Bronies comes from the fact that the group defies typical gender roles. Those roles are deeply ingrained in American culture and there is inevitable backlash when those socially accepted boundaries are stretched. One has to look no further than the evening news to see how prominent and polarizing issues such as gay rights, gender equality, and body image have become recently.
The psychologists also offer an interesting explanation for the popularity of the subculture, suggesting it is a reaction to the harsh reality of the post 9/11 world, and they convincingly compare the Brony movement to the rise of the Beatniks or the Hippies following earlier times of war and economic and social turbulence. And really, that sort of escapism is the core of *any* fandom, whether it's fantasy football, reality television, celebrity gossip, hip-hop or comic books. The reason so many are attracted to pop-culture fandom is that it allows us to shut out all the anxieties and pressures of the real world for a little while. And in the case of the Bronies, it's hard to judge a group whose chosen escape is embracing a show that teaches concepts like friendship, love and kindness.
As Dusty "Dustykatt" Rhoades, a motorcycle mechanic and the self-proclaimed "World's Manliest Brony" says in the film: "All they are are people who like a cartoon show. That's it."
"A Brony Tale" is by no means a definitive documentary on the topic. The director is a close friend of Ball's, so it's not surprising the finished product is upbeat and sympathetic to the community of fans of her show. This is not hard-hitting investigative journalism, but if you dig deep enough into any group of people, you would be sure to find a dark and ugly side. In that way, Bronies are no different than any group, and the film does little other than gloss over those questions in the form of half-acknowledged reservations from outsiders.
Still, the film is well-crafted with top-notch production, editing and direction. And in focusing on the positives, it sheds light on a fandom that most people (myself included) simply know nothing about. Overall, "A Brony Tale" is an entertaining and enjoyable look at people who choose to be happy. Unlike Nygard’s Trekkies, the Bronies seem to know the joke’s on them, and they've chosen to simply smile and laugh along with us.
4 Yaps
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArzxQ60s4EE&w=514&h=289]