I know I didn't, so thankfully I found them here: http://mlp.wikia.com/wiki/Baby_Cakes (in the Trivia section) Now, I'll copy/paste the trivia items here that are relevant to my concerns: -A Psycho reference can be heard in the background music. -There is also what seems to be a Trainspotting or Grudge reference in the scene where Pound Cake is walking on the ceiling. -Pinkie Pie's musical motif is based on Aquarela do Brasil, a Brazilian samba standard from the 1930s. -Pinkie's instructions for the crib mirror a line from The Simpsons episode The Last Temptation of Homer. I'm not sure if the 3rd item on that list counts as inappropriate. I've never heard of the movie before now, and English Wikipedia is blacked out right now. These allusions concern me. MLP is rated TV-Y and is marked as e/i, which means that not only does the show have to be appropriate for children as young as 3 (if I understand the definition of the TV-Y rating properly), it has to be educational and informational. Therefore, how could they possibly be allowed to make these allusions? I mean, the Simpsons isn't patently adult, but it's still no where near appropriate for the (originally intended) audience of MLP. Those horror movies, at least one of which (Psycho) is rated R, are no where near appropriate for 3 year olds. I'm 15 and even thinking about those movies creeps me out. Oh, and a brief disclaimer, unless you're an adult, I would recommend against watching those movies. Even if you are 18 or older, in my opinion it's not only a waste of time but a bad idea to fill our minds with those types of things. Anyways, back on topic: Do you think it's inappropriate for these allusions to be there, in terms of ratings and such? Do you think it's morally wrong for those allusions to be there? Why or why not? Or do you think it's just not important? Why do you think the writers put these allusions there? Sorry for all the questions, I'm just pretty confused about this. Thanks for your help.
I personally enjoy these references. i think its just another way in which the writers are acknowledging the fact that bronies exist, and that they want us to stay. if they were anything more than references, like things that would actually affect the plot, then maybe i would disagree, but since theyre just sorta a nod towards the adult fanbase, i support and enjoy them. as for the ratings, if it doesnt affect the plot then i dont think the ratings will change, but who knows with the crazies in the FCC
I see no problems with things like that. Like in season 1, " someone Spiked the punch" No kid is going to understand those kinds of references.
Those references are Parental bonus, and well made, bad parental bonus get parents cringing in fear their kids understand them (in a recent episode I heard Fluttershy shouting "Shoot", what I understand is a Flanderized version of "Shi#")
To be honest, I think a 3-year-old would see, say, Pound Cake walking on the ceiling, and just think "Oh, that baby pony is walking on the ceiling because he's a pegasus and they can do that", not "Wow, that HAS to be a reference to something inappropriate, I'll have to check that out". It's just a little parental bonus/shout out to older viewers in general. There have been various other allusions in the show to more mature media (The Big Lebowski, 127 Hours), and personally, I like it. It's like an easter egg. Why? I like MLP, granted. I like lots of cute, heartwarming stuff. But I'm not all sweetness and light; I also love a bit of gore. Trainspotting (the movie which the ceiling-walking scene is a reference to) is a great, bleakly funny film with some fantastic characters and some of the most memorable scenes in movie history. OK, so it's about heroin addicts, but it is perfectly possible to gain something from a work, be it literature, art, movies, or TV, that isn't particularly positive. It can make you wonder what you'd do in that situation, or what goes through the mind of the antagonist/protagonist, which, oddly, can lead to a greater sense of understanding. I happily watch films like Trainspotting, love a good zombie/slasher flick, enjoy the odd silly action film where hundreds of nameless mooks are gunned down within the blink of an eye, and have seen some rather warped foreign films that are incredibly explicit. I'm not bragging about this; my taste in harmless entertainment is no more or less valid than anyone else's, but my head isn't constantly filled with morbid, violent images or anything. Occasionally, when angry, I like to imagine these scenarios, and, oddly, they calm me down, thus allowing me to be more tolerant of whoever is making me angry. Imagine them getting eaten by a horde of ravenous zombies/me kicking them off a cliff then making a terrible pun about it, clear my head, smile, and move on. That's the joy of imagination; even when you're imagining something fairly dark, it can be wonderfully therapeutic and just as helpful as imagining a kitten with butterfly wings or a mosquito in a funny hat (although I imagine those things too). Point being, enjoying dark things will not typically warp your mind unless your mind was rather malleable in the first place.
Yeah, like I'm sure someone has already said in this thread, kids wouldn't notice little things like that. Or rather, they wouldn't take those things as references to darker/more mature material. They're just little things to offer older people (adults, etc.) a titch more entertainment. I know, for instance, that I notice many more things in shows from my childhood when I watch them now.
but one thing, i'm not an adult (i'm 13) yet but i pretty much knew the pound cake walking on the ceiling scene was a refrence to trainspotting
This sort of thing is a recognised trope if I remember called 'Getting Crap Past the Radar'. I don't think I haver to tell you guys that it's been going on for ages. I guess it's just extra likely to be attempted thanks to the third audience: us (the first and second being young girls and their parents watching with them, respectively). Here's my source. They've been doing this for a while. And not only them, of course.
