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Good on Hasbro.
Hasbro edited that horrible, horrible scene from "The Last Roundup" and just made it a thousand percent better:
Of course the internet has been exploding today with bronies pissing themselves with rage over the fact that Hasbro "killed" Derpy. And sending death threats to Yamino and other fans who spoke out against the original version, etc.
Jesus pony-collecting Christ, the grossness of this fandom sometimes. If this had been the original scene in the first place you know the bronies would have been creaming themselves over how much they loved it. Does changing the voice and removing one mention of her fandom nickname from the scene really "ruin" it in any way?! The new voice is way cuter and who the fuck cares if your (arguably quite offensive) fandom nickname is mentioned in the show or not. This edit is probably the best possible way that Hasbro could have fixed the problem - it barely changes anything about the scene at all, but still makes it way more adorable and way less ableist, so hooray because EVERYBODY WINS - yet the bronies are really determined to throw an internet temper tantrum over this, aren't they.
Oh well. Hasbro is great, this show is pretty great, but the fandom has gotten horrible over the past year, news at eleven.
Of course the internet has been exploding today with bronies pissing themselves with rage over the fact that Hasbro "killed" Derpy. And sending death threats to Yamino and other fans who spoke out against the original version, etc.
Jesus pony-collecting Christ, the grossness of this fandom sometimes. If this had been the original scene in the first place you know the bronies would have been creaming themselves over how much they loved it. Does changing the voice and removing one mention of her fandom nickname from the scene really "ruin" it in any way?! The new voice is way cuter and who the fuck cares if your (arguably quite offensive) fandom nickname is mentioned in the show or not. This edit is probably the best possible way that Hasbro could have fixed the problem - it barely changes anything about the scene at all, but still makes it way more adorable and way less ableist, so hooray because EVERYBODY WINS - yet the bronies are really determined to throw an internet temper tantrum over this, aren't they.
Oh well. Hasbro is great, this show is pretty great, but the fandom has gotten horrible over the past year, news at eleven.
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Also: Wow, I just looked at the comments for the video. Wow. I don't even like this fandom anymore.
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That being said, I thought the first recording was somewhat amusing, but I do prefer....er....Ditzy Doo's...(I think that's the other name they've used for her in the past) new voice compared to the old one. It has a better sound to it, while the previous one seemed...rather forced and unnatural to the actress.
This is why I usually keep my opinions to myself when it comes to things like this, and NEVER post comments on places like youtube lol. Saves lots of drama. There does a exist a quiet minority with level heads, but you wouldn't know it with the...outrage....that keeps exploding.
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I do love the hypocrisy of the bronies in how they're treating others- I see them complain constantly about the treatment they get in other communities, and now they're doing the same thing. (Plenty of them have pointed out said hypocrisy though, so they're not all clueless)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6PgRSli5ylA
Something good/creative from the community.
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Speaking of the fans, I'm gonna put this out right now: the "Derpy Hooves" obsession is one of the grossest things about the fandom. While the fandom is wonderfully enthusiastic and creative, this aspect alone has prevented me from getting too involved in this fandom. I really don't get offended by many things, but oh my God does this part of the fandom offend me so much.
Although I don't talk about personal stuff online too often, I will say that I've been pretty involved with nonprofits that help those with disabilities throughout my life. I've been around these communities often enough to know them pretty well, as well as how the people outside groups like Best Buddies react to them. I spent every day in high school my junior and senior year watching my kindhearted friend Guillermo get teased by assholes who would teach him to say or do inappropriate things, pretend to be his friend and put him into uncomfortable situations while laughing derisively at him, or straight-up make fun of him. They found it funny; I found it disgusting and cruel. The brony obsession with Derpy Hooves and all of the macros, fanart, reaction, etc, in my opinion, derives from the same vein of that behavior, sans most of the intentional malice.
"Derpy" people are funny, and its silly how they can't seem to do things right, bless them!<=NOT A TOLERANT DISPOSITION BRONIES. Don't kid yourselves. All of these comments about how the portrayal of Derpy Hooves is tolerant because it portrays those with disabilities in a "positive way" are ridiculous. How was the original scene "positive" to those with down syndrome? Was Derpy able to do something productive and helpful, or was she portrayed as a sweethearted screwup? Was Rainbow Dash understanding or was she agitated at Derpy? Actually, I want to mention something about the "sweethearted screwup" thing, since that's what most "tolerant" people think of those with disabilities. Yes, the people with disabilities that I have met and befriended are among the kindest, most life-loving people, but using that trait coupled with the "screwup" bit doesn't make Derpy or other special needs characters more well-rounded as a character (or less stereotypical, seriously guys). Derpy was still shown to be wrecking havoc and costing the city lots of money for the damage. Um. Most individuals with special needs aren't blissfully happy all of the time; they can also get frustrated at themselves and feel upset or angry, and their temperaments and attitudes are just as diverse as those in the general population.
Quick side note: why are people comparing this to shows like "Ed, Edd n' Eddy" and "Spongebob Squarepants?" Although I haven't really watched either of these shows (and don't care to, to be honest), any "special" characters in these shows are NOT comparable to Derpy Hooves. Those characters were designed that way from the onset and are not created from a fan reaction to a background character's animation error (was it originally an animation error? I could be wrong about that). Secondly, those shows, to my knowledge, base their humor on things that appeal to the lowest denominator, whereas MLP is more clever with its writing. And MLP, unlike the previously mentioned cartoons, tries to impart important life lessons about friendship, kindness, and acceptance for its viewers. It's so stupid to say "if its 'okay' for those other shows, why is Derpy offensive?!" We're comparing apples to oranges here, and I should mention that most shows that feature characters with disabilities either present them one-dimensionally or botch the character royally. Most characters with special needs in media aren't done well, period.
Next time Derpy Hooves appears in the show (though I personally hope she doesn't, since she only feeds this ignorant ugliness), she better be doing something that reveals a talent of hers, or something like that. Like my friend Guillermo, who is using his love for movies and theater to study it as a Theater Major at UCF (the second largest university in the nation). Or another friend, Robert, who's fascination with weather patterns and hurricanes led him to pursue a career in meteorology. That would be a truly positive portrayal, not a gross caricature.
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...Are people really trying to compare "Derpy" to Ed, Edd, n Eddy and Spongebob? WOW. I can't speak for Spongebob but in the case of Ed, Edd, n Eddy I'm going to guess that people are trying to argue that if the character of Ed is acceptable then "Derpy"'s original portrayal should be too? Except that Ed is NOT comparable to "Derpy". At all. You're right, it's apples and oranges. According to the words of the creator of Danny Antonucci, the creator of Ed, Edd, n Eddy, the character of Ed was BASED ON HIMSELF and not intended to have any sort of disability, despite having a deep voice and being a dim-witted space case. Homer Simpson has a deep voice and is a dim-witted space case too, but (as far as I'm aware) nobody reads him as having a disability. He's just a dumb, lovable screwup because sometimes cartoon characters are dumb, lovable screwups. The same is true for Ed in Ed, Edd, n Eddy and Spongebob in Spongebob Squarepants. These aren't characters that the audience associates with having disabilities, and it's bullshit to assert that they are. "Derpy," however, IS a character that the Derpy-obssessed part of fandom has always associated with having a disability - from the very beginning nearly all of the fanfic about her has portrayed her as having either a physical or cognitive disability, some of it much more positively than others - and yes, it is REALLY GROSS how a certain portion of the fandom is acting as if they're being fucking oppressed because their "right" to laugh at a character that was portrayed as a gross caricature of a disabled person is somehow being infringed upon. Ugh.
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I work for Prudential as a field worker and I work with a girl with down syndrome, who happens to be the daughter of one of my mother's long time friends. Seeing the fandom's reaction, what little I've seen of it, about the change in Derpy's voice makes me sick. And you're absolutely right, people with disabilities aren't always happy. They get frustrated, especially when they cant convey their feelings.
Everything you typed are my exact feelings on this matter.
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I probably shouldn't even bother reading Youtube comments at this rate; 95% of Youtube comments are mindnumbingly inane, offensive, or just outright pointless and stupid.
It's good to know that some fanfic authors have been able to portray her with a disability in a positive manner (though I imagine you'd have to wade through pages of failtastic attempts to find a gem). I think that MLP could've made something good from a character with a disability. With how they've built up the Ponyville community, it's not out-of-place to give Derpy a role that emphasizes a strength of hers. At my high school, Robert did the morning weather report as part of the school's morning news. He loved to track hurricanes and cold/warm fronts, and he could answer almost any question about weather that you could think up. Especially during Hurricane Season, that's an extremely valued skill in Florida, and many students went to him for advice and updates.
Why can't they try that for Derpy? After this fiasco, Hasbro probably isn't going to touch the character with a 50 ft pole in any meaningful way, so my hopes aren't high.
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(Anonymous) 2012-02-26 10:57 pm (UTC)(link)Also I don't really see how "Derpy" as a name is that offensive, I thought it just meant to have a, well the expression that comes up if you google image derp, not a crack towards people with mental disabilities (but please correct me if I'm wrong).
I also don't see why they had they had to uncross her eyes.
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Well, since you asked, I am going to correct you. This is the first image that comes up when I do a Google Image search for "derp." This one is in the top ten. So is this one. This is clearly a term that mocks the appearance and behavior of people with disabilities. The reason that the term is applied to people without disabilities making funny faces or acting stupid is because calling somebody "derpy" means "you're looking and acting like you have a disability, lol!" It's the same as calling a person "retarded." Even if you weren't aware of the fact that the term originated as slang to mock people with disabilities, the fact that there are people all over the internet speaking out about how the term is used to mock people with disabilities - even in the comments of this very post, right here - means that that's probably something you should be listening to.
I also don't see why they had they had to uncross her eyes.
They didn't. Her eyes are still crossed.
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(Anonymous) 2012-02-26 11:54 pm (UTC)(link)no subject
And I agree with the statement that using the word "derpy" is like using the word "retarded". I used to drop "retarded" like a bomb every day. "Oh my god, that's so retarded!" "God, he's such a retarded jerk." Finally, one of my friends told me to shut up because her brother had a mental disability and that was just offensive to use it so casually. And ever since that day, every time I find myself slipping and saying "retarded" as an insult-an event that thankfully hardly happens anymore- I immediately correct myself. I've honestly never even used the word "derpy" in any way because I know what that means, and no, it's not just some meme that you can say anytime you feel like it.
I came across this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cg-_HeVNYOk) and wanted to throw up. Everyone's trying to manipulate everyone else. The fact that fandom thinks that this is what "Derpy" would think when thousands of people are laughing at her disabilities every time she appears onscreen is sick. Well, to me, at least. I don't know.
You know, from the first time my friend showed me "Derpy" videos and was laughing and telling me how goddamn funny she is, I never laughed. Maybe half-heartedly. But I never thought she was funny. My face would fall every time cannon showed her screwing up. I agree with a previous comment that the next time they show her, she better be doing something well. Goodness.
Well, now that that's out of my system. I really hope they don't show "Derpy" again for a while. :<
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(Anonymous) 2012-04-05 03:37 pm (UTC)(link)So I happily agree with you that the new cut happened for a reason and is great and less offensive. Though I think they went about it the wrong way aside from the voice change- why does she have to not be named Derpy anymore and have normal eyes? And still be an idiotic klutz who causes overexaggerated chaos? It would be great if the world could still have a cross-eyed character who was not stereotyped AT ALL, rather than a "normal" pony filling the same ditz role.
Anyway this is a major league lurker going back to her pit XD
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they went about it the wrong way aside from the voice change- why does she have to not be named Derpy anymore and have normal eyes?
I don't know why people keep saying that her eyes were changed, because they're still crossed in more frames than not.
As for the pony being "not named Derpy anymore" - well, no. It's not like they officially changed her name to something else. They just omitted saying her name altogether. So if the fandom wants to name her Derpy, she can still be Derpy to the fandom. Honestly, this is the best possible compromise that Hasbro could have made. They didn't take anything away from the fandom at all, not even the name of the pony in question. I don't understand why the Bronies are still complaining in that regard. It's not like Hasbro actually changed her official name to something else! The Bronies were perfectly happy when "Derpy" was just a fan name and now that we're back to that status quo, people are complaining?!
So in short, I think that Hasbro went about this in all the right ways. But the Brony fandom over the past year has been developing an extraordinary sense of entitlement, hence them throwing a gigantic temper tantrum when Hasbro actually changed the show to make it cuter and funnier while at the same time NOT actually taking the name "Derpy" away from the fandom.
It would be great if the world could still have a cross-eyed character who was not stereotyped AT ALL, rather than a "normal" pony filling the same ditz role.
So, if I'm reading this right: You think that a cross-eyed character who is named "Derpy" and is "an idiotic klutz" and who is acting in "the ditz role"... is NOT a stereotypical cross-eyed character?! 0.o