hey y’all ! I saw a couple of y’all point out how I left out an important part of this episode. In the compromise made the buffalo DO also receive a strip of land. I’m sorry for leaving this part of the episode out of the video and I realize that leaving it out makes my opinion more skewed. I planned to reupload the video with this extra analysis but ultimately this small strip of land still supports my point in that I thought the compromise was unfair. It wasn’t intentional to leave it out. I just genuinely forgot and I’m super sorry about that cuz I know it is an important part of the episode. I hope y’all can understand and I’m sorry for any confusion I caused because of this
And this huge point that you left out makes your entire video useless. They can still perform their sacred tradition after the ponies cut down trees to make the path for them. They're now sharing the land, the trees grow where they buffalos don't need to run. You're complaining about nothing
to me I thought that even though they received this strip of land that the compromise wasn't a fair exchange. When they were talking about how the settler ponies refused to move their trees in the ep one of the characters says, "we are stuck here" which subtly points out how because of the refusal to move the trees they were kicked out of their home by default kinda like how the Lorax was kicked out of his home to get a bigger picture. So while they do get that strip of land which is important as Applejack points out herself in the argument of who should keep the land that the land they are arguing over is the only flatland available to grow crops and that the settler ponies need it for survival. But that means now that the buffalo are going to have to depend on the settler ponies for survival for food. This point is also subtly brought up in the scene where they are eating food with the buffalo because it also points out their lack of resources because of the new area they had to move to because of how unappetizing the food looks but it's never technically confirmed. But a lot of these subtle lines and scenes seem to be an allusion to something deeper going on in this ep. If I got the chance to go back and remake this video this paragraph would prob be the analysis I would put in for it so I get what you're saying and leaving it out of the video was a mistake but like I said I think it only further proves my point. I think the creators could have thought of a better compromise for this ep because of this. That's a lot of words but I love to analyze this kinda stuff lolololol , thanks for your comment ! :]
@@lemoncakess Little Strongheart specifically calls that piece of land their "stampeding ground" which makes it clear that they need it for their tradition, not to grow food. The chief confirms this, each time he's asked why they need the land he only names the tradition. While that may be the only piece of land the settlers can grow non-native plants on, that isn't true for the buffalos as they eat other plants that have adapted to the harsh environment. And just because Rainbow Dash didnt like their food, that doesn't mean it's disgusting. Pinkie thought it tasted amazing and she is known for appreciating good traditional food of other cultures, while Rainbow is often presented as a picky eater. So they won't depend on the settlers for food, the apple pies are just an additional treat (Rainbow doesn't even like pies either). When they said they're stuck they refered to their stampeding route, not being able to move forward there as the trees block their way. But after the path is cleared for them, that problem is resolved, they can continue their sacred stampede and the settlers are allowed to use the rest of the land for their apples.
that could be what they are referring to as well but that's how I interpreted the episode. I would hope that the food they were showing wasn't supposed to represent traditional food because of how they negatively portrayed the food by making the food look unappealing to the audience. The apple pies are the biggest part of the deal when the Buffalo guy is proposing his compromise he says he will allow the orchid to stay because of its fruit and pies. It's not explained on screen how they came to the compromise of bringing down the trees to make way for the trail we only see Applejack whistle and the ponies get to work bringing them down. Because it's shown in this order it makes it seem like them getting their land back was their treat rather than the food. With the compromise the Buffalo guy made, the settlers didn't have to give them the land showing that they prioritized the food over their sacred ground. Which to me showed how bad their lack of resources was. When they say they are stuck I still interpret it as being stuck in another land representing that they were forced out of their land. It wouldn't make sense if they owned that land and used it just for stampeding and for them to live in a place that makes it impossible for them to plant crops. That argument Applejack makes with Rainbow Dash I think still can be used in reverse in why the Buffalo are disadvantaged in the survival argument. I think it would have been more fair if the land was more evenly split rather than just one strip of land on their stampeding grounds. I know the main reason the buffalo needed these grounds back in this ep was because of the stampeding grounds but ultimately this decision still doesn't seem fair because of how I interpret those scenes as them having a food problem. Mainly because I think their problem still isn't solved because of how they will now have to rely on the ponies for food. While I disagree with you, I see where you are coming from!
@@lemoncakess but why interpret it like that when the literal Chief says something else? Little strongheart calls it their "stampeding ground", the chief says it's their "stampeding trail". The answer you're looking for is right there. If they needed it for food they would've said so, but they didn't. Instead, the chief explains throughouly that their trail goes through that land, and that's why they need it. They got that trail in the end and were happy. This whole thing only becomes an issue if you disregard the buffalos own words. I'm not American and I can imagine that this topic is a very sensitive one over there, but while I know what happened in reallife was terrible, I must remind that this is just a show and in this particular episode all the problems got resolved if trusting the buffalos words, which we should, unless you think they're dishonest characters that lie to the audience.
I'm Native American and could see what they were trying to when I watched it, so I wasn't too mad, but they REEEAALLYY could have portrayed the natives better. I know they had the solution be "just share the land!" because it's a kid's show and they're aiming to teach kids good lessons but this is just NOT the way to go.
I think the thing that interests me the most about it was the fact that they tried to make the new "stampede grounds" by cutting down a single row of trees, which doesn't really account for the stampeding affecting the surrounding trees, and the fact that their stampeding grounds have been forever changed around them, so they don't have the same view at all. It's cool to get easy access to food, but a single row for stampeding between a huge apple orchard doesn't sound ideal.
As a kid, I never realised this because I was very younger and didn't know much about colonism because like.. How is a 4 year old supposed to know about such a heavy subject? I'm now 17 years old and know a decent amount about colonism, the imagery is enough to tell me this episode was definetly going to be a controversial one. They could have found a lesson/theme for kids WITHOUT painting the colonists in the right. This is insanely disappointing, they could have handed the lesson of compromising in a million different ways that didn't have to involve something like this. This is so disappointing and sad, I love MLP. Why would they do this? Being forced to give up a tradition is serious. And maybe I'm thinking too much into it, but the native Americans being buffaloes and having red-ish fur is a bit...?
to be fair, this was also the time when people wore native headpieces to Coachella and the Washington football team was still called.... that... other name... I'm so glad people can now look at this episode and see the colonialism apologetics from a mile away, and why they're a dreadful message on any show. There are other questionable episodes, like a matter of principals, which feels a lot like it's excusing abuse under the pretense of "that's just the way they are". The show is still amazing, but that's why moments like these feel all the more aggravating plunges from grace.
@@M0ONCommander I feel like it also bears mentioning that this was season 1, before they really found their footing with the show. There were a LOT of questionable "lessons" like this in it, the other most pressing example being Zecora's introduction. I was an out and proud Brony from like Season 2-4, and I don't remember many other examples of stinkiness like this in the series. It genuinely is pretty good, it just had growing pains, which is pretty normal for shows starting out.
Probably because it was trying to teach kids in the 21st century how to compromise because how dare children learn to take both parties into consideration
I never watched mlp or anything, but it's crazy that as a Native American if I were a kid imagining how I would fit into this universe full of beautiful, colorful, magical ponies, I would instead be a bulky buffalo with a feather headband because of my race ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
well id assume this represents moreso the ones that are like living away from more modern civilizations and such, at least thats sorta what id assume, i dont think it represents like every single person of that race as a whole, since of course theres also black coded characters in the show that are ponies, and not zebras
@simnm8057 which native American culture? Native American is a broad term that describes people from South America to Canada. Also. It's more of a problem of how the Buffalo are portrayed. Implying native American cultures do nothing but stampede is beyond racist. Especially if you want to say native Americans are violent stampeding wild animals.
even tho Pinkie's song is iconic, the message behind it is so dark. "You gotta share, you gotta care". Why are you gotta share and care about someone who literally stole your land and even killed your people if we are talking about real life history. I think in the show they could make it fair if PONIES let go of their interests, not the buffaloes. They gave away their culture for ponies' culture food
im pretty sure it wasnt intended to be malicious and moreso shows pinkies naivety on certain things, and it was of course intended to be the wrong message since it just makes everyone angrier due to her ignorance on the situation
The song is so good(ooc) and I always got mad they hated it. Although, to be fair to them, can you imagine someone coming to a land dispute to sing Barney songs at you?
at least one thing this episode was really good at was showing Rainbowdash repping her element pretty much. She heard what had happened and stuck with it when she chose where her loyalty laid on the issue. The representation of Native Americans as Buffalo is definitely iffy though, but I don't think all Poinies are suddenly white. At least taking into account the way discrimination between Earth Poines, Pegasi, and Unicorns genuinely exists within this universe. It may really only be shown in extremeties typically, but it likely does exist in the background. Just a brief thought I had from thinking about the first Hearth's Warming Eve episode and how easily Chrysalis was able to turn ponykind on each other with a few rumors.
Yea some ponies like Saffron Masala and her father seem to be Indian or Asian representing ponies. There's also Mistmane who seems to be from a part of Asia as well. So there's a chance that there are other ponies from different cultures too maybe Arabic or from northern countries. So it's certainly something to know that there are ponies with different cultures yet they chose buffalos to represent the native Americans... Edit: after reading one comment I just realised those ponies came wayy later than the episode in the video so yea...
I don’t think all the ponies are meant to be white, I think species changes depending on where someone is from instead of what their race is supposed to be, which reflects how actual horses work since one type of horse can have several different color patterns. For instance, there were Indian ponies in the episode about the food critics in Canterlot, and I think I recall some ponies in a later season who were meant to be black. Ponies *from* Saddle Arabia (I think that’s what it’s called) were Arabian horses though, which I actually thought was a cool detail.
*Me, who hasn't seen the episode in literal years:* Come on, it can't be that bad... *Watches the video:* Oh, it is that bad. I feel like the moral of "compromise" could have been fine in any other context. Like, I see what they were going for, but the setting they put their "compromise" analogy over was just the biggest yikes. They really think they didn't think about the implications when they were putting the video together. If I had to rewrite the episode, I'd instead just have two families who both want to build an orchard on the same plot of land, and they fight over it or something, and it ends with them sharing the orchard or something. (Like it's some of feud.) Has the same compromise moral without any of the weird/yikes colonial undertones.
yep. the false equivalence between the native americans and the colonizers always super sucks. i get that you dont want to discuss the kinds of things that actually happened back then, like, genocide, but then maybe yu just shouldnt touch on it
They did end up sharing the land, the creator of the video is lying. If you watch the episode, they cut down the trees to make a path for the buffalos tradition, the trees can grow all around the path, not disturbing the buffalos.
@rj-4922 I think you're missing the point that the land wasn't the pony's to take in the first place. The problem isn't the compromise moral (again any other context it wouldn't have the yikesy implications). The problem the episode's setting has certain historical implications and "oh the pony's stole the Buffalo's land but it's ok because they share it now" is kind of yikesy with the historical implications. If someone stole your PS5, it would be BS if the court said "oh you should just share the PS5."
@@tigerbear5845 I would agree if it hadn't been the buffalos themselves giving the ponies permission to grow apples on their land. The buffalos only need the land for their stampeding tradition, with some of the trees being cut and making a path for their stampede, they're fine with apples growing on the rest of the land where they don't run anyway, in exchange for apple pies. Also, this was the buffalos idea. I would be perfectly fine with sharing my ps5 on times I'm not playing anyway in exchange for some tasty pies.
Yeah, this whole episode was CRAZY, man. The part I feel like everyone leaves out is the name of the chief's daughter, Little Strongheart. Like, dude, that's a JK Rowling level stereotypical name. Who was in charge of that???
I think this episode would have been much better if the Buffalo weren't represented being native americans and were just other cowboys who happened upon the land the same time as the ponies. It would still have some problems, but it wouldn't be so blatant.
I recently was binge watching mlp with my partner since they have never seen it and when we got to this point. I was like bruh I hated this episode so much as a kid and now its just worse when u have a full brain to understand whats happening💀
@@scribblecloud where im from colonization is a big thing and taught at a young age (history) you learn and understand it. So by the time I saw this i could see those undertones and it honestly made me uncomfortable as a viewer. Worse now tbh with a full mind and education to.
@@Tumaien4 ah I see. I was saying that cause I had a similar experience as an egyptian whos right next to a country thats well... yknow. So when I watched that episode I also got like "hey this dont seem right" vibes
No I dont think everyone in mlp is white. One of my favorite characters, Saffron Masala, (i think thats her name) and her dad are clearly Indian. I’m sure there are many other races within mlp, but tbh they are all horses in the end. Just like how we are all humans💜
Saffron masala was added into the show YEARS after this episode in an attempt to be more diverse. The only other obviously non white character character from earlier on is zecorah. And even she is problematic. She’s supposed to be “African” but they threw in a bunch of random things from all over Africa and the umbrella “African” accent. Africa is a whole continent. We do not all share the same culture.
I didn't even think about the later season characters, I was just thinking about the literal different pony races. Sure there isn't much obvious different culture differences when we are in ponyville, but I always noticed how different things were in towns in the show that were primarily a certain pony race. Cloudsdale is extremely uniquely for pegasi and how their culture is with being able to fly with the architecture for example.
@@ksskss6594To be fair it's emplayed that Zecora it's a traveler. If she arrived in Equestria she also probably visted loads of countries in her hom continent and has collected things from all over. I get the accent tho...
@@skylarlark1989 they weren’t. And there isn’t “African culture” Africa is the second largest continent in the world. In a single country there can be 30 cultures. I can’t just take aspects from Inuit culture and Aztec culture and put them together just cause they’re both from North America.
I remeber this episode made me viscerally uncomfortable as a kid. So much that id try and pretend it wasnt on. It just felt so strange and the conclusion didnt make to much sense. They should have honestly just left the topic alone.
Me sisters and I rewatched MLP recently and…yeah… I was watching this and was genuinely confused. Like, just because the ponies had tasty apples doesn’t take away the fact that the buffaloes were there first. They should’ve kept that land.
Personally I feel like it’d be way better to have the episode end with the apple family noticing how the stampeding makes the apples fall, and so then it helps them harvest their apples faster. Seeing it as good for them in that way could lead to them being more open and willing to understand the buffalo’s culture, and then the apple family and the buffalos are able to share cultures and stuff - obviously not perfect, but would definitely fit in an early mlp episode in a much more respectful way
3:13 Tho i agree with you, you forgot one detail, the Buffalos do at the end have a part of the land (even tho it's very small), im not defenfing this episode im just correcting this little mistake
That was the one thing that really bothered me about this review lol Yes, the episode is pretty tone-deaf, but this video almost feels like a purposeful misrepresentation of what happens because of how it glosses over the fact that there //is// technically a "compromise" in the sense that the buffalo are still able to partake in their yearly tradition, just only through a portion of the land. The video even shows the clip of them cutting down the trees so I'm not sure how that could have been missed 😅
@@wolfencaticus what bothered me about the episode is that the settler ponies said they needed the apples to feed their town so they couldn't remove the tree just for them to pick off the apples of the trees to make pies to throw it at the native buffalo later on.
didnt you leave out the whole part where they DO cut down the trees to leave a trail for them to run? doesnt make it better because it was their land in the first place, but it felt disgenuous to leave it out
They said they couldn't move the trees because they need to provide food for the town and then later when they were picking all the apples and boarding up the houses I thought they were planning to move but they made pies from the same Apple they said they needed to feed the town just to throw it at the buffalos
Tbh not only do I like this episode, its one of my personal favorites of the early era. Its funny, exciting, and had a new locale to explore. I think the episode at it's worse is awkward because it's using a western setting and the real life parallels clash with the pastel pony universe. I always felt this episode's infamy was blown way out of proportion. When I rewatched it for the first time, I was expecting this thing to age horrendously and to my surprise, all I was greeted with was a decent albeit awkward episode about sharing. I don't think the writers meant any malice when making this. They clearly went with a Western theme simply because they thought it would be a fun aesthetic to play around with. Idk man some things aren't as deep as people make them out to be. Hell, I'd argue there have been other episodes later on with far more toxic and offensive messages than this ever had. I see a lot of comments talking about how this episode painted the settlers as the correct ones and that they got their wish when the bison exchanged their land for apple pies but guys, it's a gag ending. This clearly was not meant to be taken as claiming the settlers were in the right. It's a comedic episode that wasn't preaching anything.
It really hurt me when Rainbow Dash said “nobody” instead of “nopony.” I would’ve been fine with the anypony/somepony/nopony references if they were actually consistent with it.
I think they might have been going for what happens in real life where our land is shared with cities and towns, a lot of places where I live have to acknowledge that they are on native land, hell it may have been animated on native land. But in the episode it's closer to someone making a farm on the rez and but the farms over sacred grounds, it just wouldn't happen in real life, a more realistic approach would be just the buffalo being upset with their land being used without permission, where free pie could be a genuine compromise.
The fact this was the worst mlp episode really says how good this show was. I mean I don't justify this episode. It really does feel unfair, but the series took off way more as the later seasons progressed. I feel like very early Season 1-Season 2 were a little rocky. This episode wasn't the WORST peice of media I've ever seen, but it is not that great morally.
It is a straight up bad episode for sure. Didn’t even like AJ or RD in it. They wouldn’t let Strongheart and Braeburn speak at all even though those two were fine with hearing the other character’s side. You can tell Strongheart and Braeburn were becoming uncomfortable with RD and AJ. And the portrayal of the natives are just uhhhhh…. And you’re right about that compromise too. To me though the worst episode goes to that final Daring Do episode…
I mean tbf I don’t think the compromise was that crazy. It was “you can use our land if you pay a tribute for us and leave enough room that we can continue to use it”. The way it was portrayed as both sides were wrong to argue is funky because it was on the settlers to come to the Natives with their request for use of the land instead of just snatching it up, but the agreement itself is fine. There just needed to be more emphasis on how the settlers were wrong to just take what they wanted without speaking to the people already there and not try for any kind of cooperation or coexistence from the beginning.
I watched this recent and for some reason i didn't realize that there was colonising in this episode and i liked the episode!Am i stupid for not understanding that this episode is horrible and controversial?
[● I actually remembered this episode recently and how boring it was to me because I never got the appeal of the stereotypical indians. What the fuck is so great about them that people cling to them with their fingernails (speaking because I've met people like this, and literally live with one). Also, HORRIBLE MESSAGE. "You can have our land because apples are delicious, sharing is caring!" IF SHARING IS CARING, THEN DON'T TAKE SACRED LANDS WTFFFF I'm sure there is LITERALLY any other place the apple family can plant their trees. A compromise would be to tear down the trees that are taking up land they aren't meant to occupy, then if the buffalo are olay with it, find a place on the land that wouldn't disturb anyone, including the land itself. Another thing I think is worth mentioning is that, at least based on my learning (please correct me if I'm wrong), they would not say "that land belongs to us". In Indigenous cultures, land doesn’t belong to humans, it belongs to itself. They would most likely say "that land is not yours to take". The land they walk is alive like any other creature, and it should not have to be altered in a way that is not natural to itself, unless the land truly is okay with that, and there are signs that show if the land is okay with it or not. For example, in a book called Braiding Sweetgrass by Potawatomi botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer, she states that if a tree does not want to be cut down, then its bark will be tougher to cut through, and it will not fall easily. That's just what I learned, though, and if I'm incorrect, feel free to tell me what I got wrong, because I'm non-Indigenous and just trying to pitch into the conversation with what I personally know.]
In my opinion, I disagree with you saying that the deal made wasn't fair because at the end the buffalos did get to stampede on these grounds and keep their tradition alive; which was the only thing they wanted to do. They didn't just get apple pies in return; the apple pies were just a bonus. Plus, the settler ponies got to keep their city and their apple farm. So it is a win-win.
definitely an ..... unfortunate episode. even back then i raised an eyebrow at the conclusion, like... i'm sorry, what? iconic jokes aside, what the hell was that?!?!
It is shown in the middle of the ep when they are talking about their land being stolen that they are in this like fruitless land where they can’t farm ( Apple Jacks words) or stampede and then at the end of the ep they show that they do get one strip of land to stampede thru but besides that it’s presumed that they have to stay in this fruitless land because we never see the settler ponies leave their town or see discussion about having some of the land good for farming
honestly i have no idea how this episode was even greenlit. even for 2011 standards this is bad. every time a show has one of these episodes, it always reminds me of how the British colonists treated the Aboriginal Australian people and the unfair treatment they still receive today, and since i live in Australia it's a subject that riles me up a lot because i would generally consider myself an ally to the First Nations people here. they're an important part of this country's history and culture. the British colonists did some absolutely horrible and fucked up things to the First Nations people, erased their culture, their language, their families and their heritage by assimilating everything into what they wanted society to be. and it was really bloody violent, too. like there were legit massacres and genocides that happened and i've heard that the Stolen Generation is _still_ happening to this day, despite the apology that was made years ago. because of that, i just cannot sympathise with the whole "oh but the settlers have good reasons too!" thing because, uh, _no,_ you're stealing their land and using it without the knowledge or blessings of the native people who live there and have their own connection to it. that's an objectively terrible thing to do to native people and has really horrific implications. uncommon MLP L, very disappointed that this episode went the way it did.
the whole message of a compromise is good idea for an episode but /not/ in this situation. IMO when it comes to portraying issues like colonialism or racism in fantasy, if it’s obvious which fictional groups relate to real-life groups (like how the buffalos so clearly represent native americans that even a 5 year old would easily pick up on it) it gets messy quickly. Also the whole message of its fine for the “settler ponies” to have their farm, despite that the buffalo’s land was taken, does feel pretty icky maybe if they did the episode with less blatant parallels and and actually good compromise (which frankly is hard to think of, maybe relocating the farm to land with less importance to the buffalo?) it could work but that’s kind of a stretch
Was this really an episode people liked when it aired? I remember folks hating the song....yeah, wait, that's all I remember. I felt iffy about the plotline and I remember some folks talking about it too but it would've made a larger splash if aired today tbh.
Yeah it’s dumb, but in retrospect; season one was when the show was still finding its footing. Unfortunately it was always a hit and miss throughout the series.
Tbh this is one of my favorite episodes, it’s hilarious all the way through 😂 Yeah it’s about Native Americans and stuff, looking at it at face value might seem bad But it’s really all about miscommunication and realizing that sometimes two people don’t view situations the same way simply because they didn’t talk to each other You should find a compromise in it so everyone is happy 😌👌🏻 And you might say the settlement won, but really nah, if the buffalo made that decision, then they made that decision, why think of what YOU want thing to go, if they decided that they wanted to enjoy pie and still have land to roam even if it’s a little less, then so be it, no one forced anything, they made that choice And it’s honestly a great message, I’ve had friends who have been mad at each other all because one person saw it in a different light and once I pointed it out, they then realized how dumb they were for not talking it through lol
Hi. Thank you for the video. I like that you do a mix between anime and cartoons, it's nice and i love your content. Congratulations in 3k subscribers, on your way to 4k subs and beyond. A Condition Called Love, it's a new romance anime for this season and the manga is very cute, i hope it doesn't get toxic. Both the anime and manga are ongoing but your thoughts on it would be great. 57 chapters for now while the anime is on episode 6.
The episode, JUST to me, is good. I love the iconic fluttertree, the way AJ was treating her tree like her baby, the pinkie song had been remixed tons of times like every other pony song, i could care less about getting critical over the message or representation or whatever. Everyone just wants to bitch about things all the time. Tons and tons of bronies and reactors watched the episode 10 years ago no problem. I just skimmed through the video looking at the images to see what episode exactly you were discussing. So eh im guessing you dont like the message or the way the Buffalo were portrayed or maybe come off as stereotypical but eh its a fun episode. I really like the fight at the end, especially when the sheriff decided to tank the hit from the raging Buffalo. Really cool. Oh and we cant forget Pinkie's 4th wall break right at the end. Good times. Thanks for reminding me how fun this episode is lol
I don't see the issue with the idea that everyone in ponyvile is white. There's lots of places like that. Specially small rural farming towns. And maybe you were just using it as a placeholder for footage. But I wouldn't recommend. using the disney Pocahontas as a history source. Even by the standard of Hollywood films about Native Americans, there's better and more accurate stuff out there. It's been a long time since I've seen this episode. But I remember the resolution being differnt. It wasn't that the buffalo just give the ponies their land. But more like shared ownership. It's still usable for their sacred stampeding, but it has the apple trees too. Still not a great episode. But not quite ponies get what they want. Buffalo get nothing.
Pretty sure the reason why she uses Pochaontas Disney as images it's not because she considers it an "historical source" but because it's 1) Animated visuals in a video about an animated show 2)For good or bad ingrained in the public conciousness, so it more easly gets the point across.
I understand where ur coming from, but at the end of the day, it’s a kids show, and it’s not about what the deal was, it’s about how they made an agreement and stopped fighting. Obviously in real life, it would be at a much larger scale.
Listen, I’m not gonna pretend that this is a great episode - it’s not even really a good one - but I have some feelings about you misrepresenting it. The land the ponies built the orchard on is one that seems solely for tradition purposes, as the buffalo camp is located elsewhere. After discovering how good apples taste, the buffalos come to an agreement to carve a path for their tradition and to receive a share of the fruits of the rest of the orchard. This is not unreasonable at all, and while yes, having this message portrayed with the trappings of settlers vs Native Americans does give it a kinda questionable undertone, it’s literally not the same situation as that. The ponies did not kill any buffalo or spread malicious diseases to them or force them into small reservations. They planted an orchard in one sacred spot and came to an agreement with the buffalo on how to rectify the situation, that’s all they did.
I only first watched the show a few years ago as an adult and this one was an instant skip as soon as I saw the Buffalo designs cause I knew exactly where this was going. So I’ve never actually seen it myself but watching this video I’m kinda getting the vibe of they had good intentions but severely messed up on the execution. Also yeah, equating certain animals to specific cultures has always felt very strange and I get the vibe they didn’t really think it through
I see more and more hate for this episode and I'm glad about it. A thief is a thief, you don't compromise with them. Never seen a judge telling a victim of robbery to "be nice and share" with the criminal. And for good reasons.
I remembered when I re watched this episode, the part where they started throwing the pies, it legit triggered me bc it’s clearly like supposed like a metaphor for a bullet and it literally triggered my trama.
Already left a comment, but if you want an episode of a show that actually handles the colonialism issue without the... *_yikesy_* conclusion, check out the Clone Wars episode Trespass. (Spoilers) +The dude who pushes for the colonial mindset is the antagonist who only makes things worse. +The Talz are portrayed sympathetically. They don't want a war and just want the colonizers to leave. +Ends with the Tals sovereignty being recognized, and that yes their land is indeed theirs and not the colonizers to steal. Actually handles the issue instead of cramming a "compromise" moral into a wild west colonial setting without thinking of the implications.
Putting race on cartoon horses, that have been around since the 80s….I’m a fan and I take it for what it is. A cute show that was all about selling toys. It’s not that deep
My b I wasn’t trying to give them races just throwing out theories of what having Buffalo represent Native Americans could imply for the MLP universe, thanks for ur comment ! :]
@@skylarlark1989 yes it is. that is clearly the intention. if have watched the episode and missed this then you lack fundemental media analysis skills to an extent that i dont feel like this discussion would be at all productive no matter what i say.
Dude really? Ok… here we go 1: it’s a CARTOON! Who the hell CARES?! 2: the Chief Settler Pony didn’t make the offer, the Chief Buffalo did! He proposed that they keep the land and offer up pies- bro if someone gives you an offer that benefits you more, you’d take it. It’s got nothing to do with racism or historical accuracy, it’s a lesson that clearly you missed. Rainbow got to witness 1 side of the story, AJ got the other- conveniently AJ got the side she favored, so clearly she would blindly defend her family, so it’s justifiable Rainbow got mad. Twilight’s letter was right! They had to know and understand both sides of the story to grasp and resolve the problem fairly, which they did. Now why did I write so much? Because otherwise you wouldn’t know and understand my viewpoint, so I used this episodes lesson to make my point, showing that it was actually a correct and valid lesson. And if you didn’t read my of this, then you’ve kinda got no room to argue about Friendship lessons when you couldn’t be bothered to read 2 paragraphs lol
hey I did read ur comment ! this video is just an analysis on my interpretation and my opinions on the ep. Friendship is magic tho so if you interpret it differently that’s fine like I said these are just my thoughtz! Thanks for ur comment ! :]
I mean, the buffalo made the decision. He thought it was a fair deal and took it. You arent really an authority to decide that. 😂 Also, your whole "all ponies are white" comment is ridiculous. They are the color they are. Perhaps they avoided color alltogether and just used human culture as a relatable way for kids to get involved in the story. This is one of the more progressive shows I've seen, so its pretty wild people are out here getting offended. Guess yall need something to make videos about tho. Edit: didn't they also make a path for the buffalo to run? Thats compromise. They decided to share the land in a way that benefits everone. Now the buffalos can havs some delicious pie after a long run. PLEASE stop comparing a childs show to real life.
@coconutdoughnut-do3nk Asking a question like that is implicative tho. In the context, it certainly feels important. Of course, everyone is entitled to an option, but I have to oppose this one. It's so easy to just like at Amy situation through the racist scope because it is a sad, yet common thing. I just think there needs to be more solid basis for it, because implying someone or something is problematic in that way can be just as damaging as the other side of the coin. Let's just save the finger pointing for actual issues, yeah? Hell, I don't even remember that episode all that well, but I've watched the show through 5 times now and have not once gotten any sort of negative vibes from it.
hey y’all !
I saw a couple of y’all point out how I left out an important part of this episode. In the compromise made the buffalo DO also receive a strip of land. I’m sorry for leaving this part of the episode out of the video and I realize that leaving it out makes my opinion more skewed. I planned to reupload the video with this extra analysis but ultimately this small strip of land still supports my point in that I thought the compromise was unfair. It wasn’t intentional to leave it out. I just genuinely forgot and I’m super sorry about that cuz I know it is an important part of the episode. I hope y’all can understand and I’m sorry for any confusion I caused because of this
And this huge point that you left out makes your entire video useless. They can still perform their sacred tradition after the ponies cut down trees to make the path for them. They're now sharing the land, the trees grow where they buffalos don't need to run. You're complaining about nothing
to me I thought that even though they received this strip of land that the compromise wasn't a fair exchange. When they were talking about how the settler ponies refused to move their trees in the ep one of the characters says, "we are stuck here" which subtly points out how because of the refusal to move the trees they were kicked out of their home by default kinda like how the Lorax was kicked out of his home to get a bigger picture. So while they do get that strip of land which is important as Applejack points out herself in the argument of who should keep the land that the land they are arguing over is the only flatland available to grow crops and that the settler ponies need it for survival. But that means now that the buffalo are going to have to depend on the settler ponies for survival for food. This point is also subtly brought up in the scene where they are eating food with the buffalo because it also points out their lack of resources because of the new area they had to move to because of how unappetizing the food looks but it's never technically confirmed. But a lot of these subtle lines and scenes seem to be an allusion to something deeper going on in this ep. If I got the chance to go back and remake this video this paragraph would prob be the analysis I would put in for it so I get what you're saying and leaving it out of the video was a mistake but like I said I think it only further proves my point. I think the creators could have thought of a better compromise for this ep because of this. That's a lot of words but I love to analyze this kinda stuff lolololol , thanks for your comment ! :]
@@lemoncakess Little Strongheart specifically calls that piece of land their "stampeding ground" which makes it clear that they need it for their tradition, not to grow food. The chief confirms this, each time he's asked why they need the land he only names the tradition. While that may be the only piece of land the settlers can grow non-native plants on, that isn't true for the buffalos as they eat other plants that have adapted to the harsh environment. And just because Rainbow Dash didnt like their food, that doesn't mean it's disgusting. Pinkie thought it tasted amazing and she is known for appreciating good traditional food of other cultures, while Rainbow is often presented as a picky eater. So they won't depend on the settlers for food, the apple pies are just an additional treat (Rainbow doesn't even like pies either). When they said they're stuck they refered to their stampeding route, not being able to move forward there as the trees block their way. But after the path is cleared for them, that problem is resolved, they can continue their sacred stampede and the settlers are allowed to use the rest of the land for their apples.
that could be what they are referring to as well but that's how I interpreted the episode. I would hope that the food they were showing wasn't supposed to represent traditional food because of how they negatively portrayed the food by making the food look unappealing to the audience. The apple pies are the biggest part of the deal when the Buffalo guy is proposing his compromise he says he will allow the orchid to stay because of its fruit and pies. It's not explained on screen how they came to the compromise of bringing down the trees to make way for the trail we only see Applejack whistle and the ponies get to work bringing them down. Because it's shown in this order it makes it seem like them getting their land back was their treat rather than the food. With the compromise the Buffalo guy made, the settlers didn't have to give them the land showing that they prioritized the food over their sacred ground. Which to me showed how bad their lack of resources was. When they say they are stuck I still interpret it as being stuck in another land representing that they were forced out of their land. It wouldn't make sense if they owned that land and used it just for stampeding and for them to live in a place that makes it impossible for them to plant crops. That argument Applejack makes with Rainbow Dash I think still can be used in reverse in why the Buffalo are disadvantaged in the survival argument. I think it would have been more fair if the land was more evenly split rather than just one strip of land on their stampeding grounds. I know the main reason the buffalo needed these grounds back in this ep was because of the stampeding grounds but ultimately this decision still doesn't seem fair because of how I interpret those scenes as them having a food problem. Mainly because I think their problem still isn't solved because of how they will now have to rely on the ponies for food. While I disagree with you, I see where you are coming from!
@@lemoncakess but why interpret it like that when the literal Chief says something else? Little strongheart calls it their "stampeding ground", the chief says it's their "stampeding trail". The answer you're looking for is right there. If they needed it for food they would've said so, but they didn't. Instead, the chief explains throughouly that their trail goes through that land, and that's why they need it. They got that trail in the end and were happy. This whole thing only becomes an issue if you disregard the buffalos own words.
I'm not American and I can imagine that this topic is a very sensitive one over there, but while I know what happened in reallife was terrible, I must remind that this is just a show and in this particular episode all the problems got resolved if trusting the buffalos words, which we should, unless you think they're dishonest characters that lie to the audience.
I'm Native American and could see what they were trying to when I watched it, so I wasn't too mad, but they REEEAALLYY could have portrayed the natives better. I know they had the solution be "just share the land!" because it's a kid's show and they're aiming to teach kids good lessons but this is just NOT the way to go.
I think the thing that interests me the most about it was the fact that they tried to make the new "stampede grounds" by cutting down a single row of trees, which doesn't really account for the stampeding affecting the surrounding trees, and the fact that their stampeding grounds have been forever changed around them, so they don't have the same view at all. It's cool to get easy access to food, but a single row for stampeding between a huge apple orchard doesn't sound ideal.
As a kid, I never realised this because I was very younger and didn't know much about colonism because like.. How is a 4 year old supposed to know about such a heavy subject? I'm now 17 years old and know a decent amount about colonism, the imagery is enough to tell me this episode was definetly going to be a controversial one. They could have found a lesson/theme for kids WITHOUT painting the colonists in the right. This is insanely disappointing, they could have handed the lesson of compromising in a million different ways that didn't have to involve something like this. This is so disappointing and sad, I love MLP. Why would they do this? Being forced to give up a tradition is serious. And maybe I'm thinking too much into it, but the native Americans being buffaloes and having red-ish fur is a bit...?
to be fair, this was also the time when people wore native headpieces to Coachella and the Washington football team was still called.... that... other name...
I'm so glad people can now look at this episode and see the colonialism apologetics from a mile away, and why they're a dreadful message on any show.
There are other questionable episodes, like a matter of principals, which feels a lot like it's excusing abuse under the pretense of "that's just the way they are".
The show is still amazing, but that's why moments like these feel all the more aggravating plunges from grace.
@@M0ONCommander I feel like it also bears mentioning that this was season 1, before they really found their footing with the show. There were a LOT of questionable "lessons" like this in it, the other most pressing example being Zecora's introduction.
I was an out and proud Brony from like Season 2-4, and I don't remember many other examples of stinkiness like this in the series. It genuinely is pretty good, it just had growing pains, which is pretty normal for shows starting out.
Probably because it was trying to teach kids in the 21st century how to compromise because how dare children learn to take both parties into consideration
I never watched mlp or anything, but it's crazy that as a Native American if I were a kid imagining how I would fit into this universe full of beautiful, colorful, magical ponies, I would instead be a bulky buffalo with a feather headband because of my race ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
well id assume this represents moreso the ones that are like living away from more modern civilizations and such, at least thats sorta what id assume, i dont think it represents like every single person of that race as a whole, since of course theres also black coded characters in the show that are ponies, and not zebras
@@scribblecloudlike who?
I mean buffalos are associated with native american culture
I dont see anything wrong with this at all
@@simnm8057 Which culture?
@simnm8057 which native American culture? Native American is a broad term that describes people from South America to Canada. Also. It's more of a problem of how the Buffalo are portrayed. Implying native American cultures do nothing but stampede is beyond racist. Especially if you want to say native Americans are violent stampeding wild animals.
even tho Pinkie's song is iconic, the message behind it is so dark. "You gotta share, you gotta care". Why are you gotta share and care about someone who literally stole your land and even killed your people if we are talking about real life history. I think in the show they could make it fair if PONIES let go of their interests, not the buffaloes. They gave away their culture for ponies' culture food
im pretty sure it wasnt intended to be malicious and moreso shows pinkies naivety on certain things, and it was of course intended to be the wrong message since it just makes everyone angrier due to her ignorance on the situation
@@skylarlark1989kids shows can have dark themes 💀
The song is so good(ooc) and I always got mad they hated it. Although, to be fair to them, can you imagine someone coming to a land dispute to sing Barney songs at you?
No, they literally cut down some trees to make a path for the buffalo's stampede.
“this land is your land, this land is my land” aah song
at least one thing this episode was really good at was showing Rainbowdash repping her element pretty much. She heard what had happened and stuck with it when she chose where her loyalty laid on the issue.
The representation of Native Americans as Buffalo is definitely iffy though, but I don't think all Poinies are suddenly white. At least taking into account the way discrimination between Earth Poines, Pegasi, and Unicorns genuinely exists within this universe. It may really only be shown in extremeties typically, but it likely does exist in the background.
Just a brief thought I had from thinking about the first Hearth's Warming Eve episode and how easily Chrysalis was able to turn ponykind on each other with a few rumors.
Yea some ponies like Saffron Masala and her father seem to be Indian or Asian representing ponies. There's also Mistmane who seems to be from a part of Asia as well. So there's a chance that there are other ponies from different cultures too maybe Arabic or from northern countries. So it's certainly something to know that there are ponies with different cultures yet they chose buffalos to represent the native Americans...
Edit: after reading one comment I just realised those ponies came wayy later than the episode in the video so yea...
@@yabrofenko(hey just fyi India is in Asia :3)
@@skylarlark1989 …Indians are of Asian descent tho? Asia is more than just east Asia lol
I don’t think all the ponies are meant to be white, I think species changes depending on where someone is from instead of what their race is supposed to be, which reflects how actual horses work since one type of horse can have several different color patterns. For instance, there were Indian ponies in the episode about the food critics in Canterlot, and I think I recall some ponies in a later season who were meant to be black. Ponies *from* Saddle Arabia (I think that’s what it’s called) were Arabian horses though, which I actually thought was a cool detail.
*Me, who hasn't seen the episode in literal years:* Come on, it can't be that bad...
*Watches the video:* Oh, it is that bad.
I feel like the moral of "compromise" could have been fine in any other context. Like, I see what they were going for, but the setting they put their "compromise" analogy over was just the biggest yikes. They really think they didn't think about the implications when they were putting the video together.
If I had to rewrite the episode, I'd instead just have two families who both want to build an orchard on the same plot of land, and they fight over it or something, and it ends with them sharing the orchard or something. (Like it's some of feud.) Has the same compromise moral without any of the weird/yikes colonial undertones.
The ironic part is that later in the series they have an episode with the plot you described. And the episode is pretty good.
yep. the false equivalence between the native americans and the colonizers always super sucks. i get that you dont want to discuss the kinds of things that actually happened back then, like, genocide, but then maybe yu just shouldnt touch on it
They did end up sharing the land, the creator of the video is lying. If you watch the episode, they cut down the trees to make a path for the buffalos tradition, the trees can grow all around the path, not disturbing the buffalos.
@rj-4922 I think you're missing the point that the land wasn't the pony's to take in the first place.
The problem isn't the compromise moral (again any other context it wouldn't have the yikesy implications).
The problem the episode's setting has certain historical implications and "oh the pony's stole the Buffalo's land but it's ok because they share it now" is kind of yikesy with the historical implications.
If someone stole your PS5, it would be BS if the court said "oh you should just share the PS5."
@@tigerbear5845 I would agree if it hadn't been the buffalos themselves giving the ponies permission to grow apples on their land. The buffalos only need the land for their stampeding tradition, with some of the trees being cut and making a path for their stampede, they're fine with apples growing on the rest of the land where they don't run anyway, in exchange for apple pies. Also, this was the buffalos idea.
I would be perfectly fine with sharing my ps5 on times I'm not playing anyway in exchange for some tasty pies.
They cut down enough trees for the buffalo to do their stampede. He didn't just say "You can take the land"
Thank you, I was looking for a comment like this
I still don't like the episode personally, but the ending was seriously misrepresented in this video
Yeah, this whole episode was CRAZY, man. The part I feel like everyone leaves out is the name of the chief's daughter, Little Strongheart. Like, dude, that's a JK Rowling level stereotypical name. Who was in charge of that???
I think this episode would have been much better if the Buffalo weren't represented being native americans and were just other cowboys who happened upon the land the same time as the ponies. It would still have some problems, but it wouldn't be so blatant.
this episode and the one where rarity was trying to “posh-ify” that one ethnic restaurant were so icky to me
WHATTT I DONT remember that ep what season was it ?
@@lemoncakess i just found it, it’s spice up your life s6 e12!!
AAA TY for looking imma have to rewatch
Wait she was in the wrong tho at the end right? And Pinkie Pie was right that they didn’t need to make their restaurant more Western
@@KKpompom yeah rarity was in the wrong in the end and they returned the restaurant to the way it originally was
I recently was binge watching mlp with my partner since they have never seen it and when we got to this point. I was like bruh I hated this episode so much as a kid and now its just worse when u have a full brain to understand whats happening💀
im curious, why did you hate it as a kid? /gen
@@scribblecloud where im from colonization is a big thing and taught at a young age (history) you learn and understand it. So by the time I saw this i could see those undertones and it honestly made me uncomfortable as a viewer. Worse now tbh with a full mind and education to.
@@Tumaien4out of curiosity, where r u from?
@@drfudgecookie5800 I don’t wanna share that info but just think pick any of the many places that have been screwed over by the United States
@@Tumaien4 ah I see. I was saying that cause I had a similar experience as an egyptian whos right next to a country thats well... yknow. So when I watched that episode I also got like "hey this dont seem right" vibes
No I dont think everyone in mlp is white. One of my favorite characters, Saffron Masala, (i think thats her name) and her dad are clearly Indian. I’m sure there are many other races within mlp, but tbh they are all horses in the end. Just like how we are all humans💜
there is also that one pony that works for photo finish from green isn’t your color. i’m pretty sure she is asian
Saffron masala was added into the show YEARS after this episode in an attempt to be more diverse. The only other obviously non white character character from earlier on is zecorah. And even she is problematic. She’s supposed to be “African” but they threw in a bunch of random things from all over Africa and the umbrella “African” accent. Africa is a whole continent. We do not all share the same culture.
I didn't even think about the later season characters, I was just thinking about the literal different pony races. Sure there isn't much obvious different culture differences when we are in ponyville, but I always noticed how different things were in towns in the show that were primarily a certain pony race. Cloudsdale is extremely uniquely for pegasi and how their culture is with being able to fly with the architecture for example.
@@ksskss6594To be fair it's emplayed that Zecora it's a traveler. If she arrived in Equestria she also probably visted loads of countries in her hom continent and has collected things from all over. I get the accent tho...
@@skylarlark1989 they weren’t. And there isn’t “African culture” Africa is the second largest continent in the world. In a single country there can be 30 cultures. I can’t just take aspects from Inuit culture and Aztec culture and put them together just cause they’re both from North America.
I remeber this episode made me viscerally uncomfortable as a kid. So much that id try and pretend it wasnt on. It just felt so strange and the conclusion didnt make to much sense. They should have honestly just left the topic alone.
"Oh that didn't age well....." The episode
Me sisters and I rewatched MLP recently and…yeah…
I was watching this and was genuinely confused. Like, just because the ponies had tasty apples doesn’t take away the fact that the buffaloes were there first. They should’ve kept that land.
Personally I feel like it’d be way better to have the episode end with the apple family noticing how the stampeding makes the apples fall, and so then it helps them harvest their apples faster. Seeing it as good for them in that way could lead to them being more open and willing to understand the buffalo’s culture, and then the apple family and the buffalos are able to share cultures and stuff - obviously not perfect, but would definitely fit in an early mlp episode in a much more respectful way
3:13 Tho i agree with you, you forgot one detail, the Buffalos do at the end have a part of the land (even tho it's very small), im not defenfing this episode im just correcting this little mistake
That was the one thing that really bothered me about this review lol
Yes, the episode is pretty tone-deaf, but this video almost feels like a purposeful misrepresentation of what happens because of how it glosses over the fact that there //is// technically a "compromise" in the sense that the buffalo are still able to partake in their yearly tradition, just only through a portion of the land. The video even shows the clip of them cutting down the trees so I'm not sure how that could have been missed 😅
@@wolfencaticus what bothered me about the episode is that the settler ponies said they needed the apples to feed their town so they couldn't remove the tree just for them to pick off the apples of the trees to make pies to throw it at the native buffalo later on.
This episode used to be nostalgic for me. But when I became a little older I immediately realized how horrible it was.
didnt you leave out the whole part where they DO cut down the trees to leave a trail for them to run? doesnt make it better because it was their land in the first place, but it felt disgenuous to leave it out
I did forget to mention it that’s by bad thanks for letting me know! :]
that honestly makes it even worse. sounds like a "kid friendly" version of the Indian reservations.
If someone stole your ruler in class and you ask for it back and then they make you borrow it would that be fair I say they need to go .
They said they couldn't move the trees because they need to provide food for the town and then later when they were picking all the apples and boarding up the houses I thought they were planning to move but they made pies from the same Apple they said they needed to feed the town just to throw it at the buffalos
Tbh not only do I like this episode, its one of my personal favorites of the early era. Its funny, exciting, and had a new locale to explore. I think the episode at it's worse is awkward because it's using a western setting and the real life parallels clash with the pastel pony universe. I always felt this episode's infamy was blown way out of proportion. When I rewatched it for the first time, I was expecting this thing to age horrendously and to my surprise, all I was greeted with was a decent albeit awkward episode about sharing. I don't think the writers meant any malice when making this. They clearly went with a Western theme simply because they thought it would be a fun aesthetic to play around with. Idk man some things aren't as deep as people make them out to be. Hell, I'd argue there have been other episodes later on with far more toxic and offensive messages than this ever had. I see a lot of comments talking about how this episode painted the settlers as the correct ones and that they got their wish when the bison exchanged their land for apple pies but guys, it's a gag ending. This clearly was not meant to be taken as claiming the settlers were in the right. It's a comedic episode that wasn't preaching anything.
It really hurt me when Rainbow Dash said “nobody” instead of “nopony.” I would’ve been fine with the anypony/somepony/nopony references if they were actually consistent with it.
what?
I feel like the writers were typically very good abt being consistent with that stuff. It was a mistake, chill
she said no body because buffalos are not ponys
I think that was supposed to show rainbow trying to be respectful and not exclude the buffalo (woke rainbow dash for the win /gen)
@@OlivineKisserits so funny that they started using "everycreature" instead of keeping "everybody"
That episode was nothing but absolute bollocks!
I think they might have been going for what happens in real life where our land is shared with cities and towns, a lot of places where I live have to acknowledge that they are on native land, hell it may have been animated on native land. But in the episode it's closer to someone making a farm on the rez and but the farms over sacred grounds, it just wouldn't happen in real life, a more realistic approach would be just the buffalo being upset with their land being used without permission, where free pie could be a genuine compromise.
The fact this was the worst mlp episode really says how good this show was.
I mean I don't justify this episode. It really does feel unfair, but the series took off way more as the later seasons progressed. I feel like very early Season 1-Season 2 were a little rocky.
This episode wasn't the WORST peice of media I've ever seen, but it is not that great morally.
There's worse ones
It is a straight up bad episode for sure. Didn’t even like AJ or RD in it. They wouldn’t let Strongheart and Braeburn speak at all even though those two were fine with hearing the other character’s side. You can tell Strongheart and Braeburn were becoming uncomfortable with RD and AJ. And the portrayal of the natives are just uhhhhh…. And you’re right about that compromise too.
To me though the worst episode goes to that final Daring Do episode…
I mean tbf I don’t think the compromise was that crazy. It was “you can use our land if you pay a tribute for us and leave enough room that we can continue to use it”. The way it was portrayed as both sides were wrong to argue is funky because it was on the settlers to come to the Natives with their request for use of the land instead of just snatching it up, but the agreement itself is fine. There just needed to be more emphasis on how the settlers were wrong to just take what they wanted without speaking to the people already there and not try for any kind of cooperation or coexistence from the beginning.
I watched this recent and for some reason i didn't realize that there was colonising in this episode and i liked the episode!Am i stupid for not understanding that this episode is horrible and controversial?
[● I actually remembered this episode recently and how boring it was to me because I never got the appeal of the stereotypical indians. What the fuck is so great about them that people cling to them with their fingernails (speaking because I've met people like this, and literally live with one). Also, HORRIBLE MESSAGE.
"You can have our land because apples are delicious, sharing is caring!" IF SHARING IS CARING, THEN DON'T TAKE SACRED LANDS WTFFFF
I'm sure there is LITERALLY any other place the apple family can plant their trees. A compromise would be to tear down the trees that are taking up land they aren't meant to occupy, then if the buffalo are olay with it, find a place on the land that wouldn't disturb anyone, including the land itself. Another thing I think is worth mentioning is that, at least based on my learning (please correct me if I'm wrong), they would not say "that land belongs to us". In Indigenous cultures, land doesn’t belong to humans, it belongs to itself. They would most likely say "that land is not yours to take". The land they walk is alive like any other creature, and it should not have to be altered in a way that is not natural to itself, unless the land truly is okay with that, and there are signs that show if the land is okay with it or not. For example, in a book called Braiding Sweetgrass by Potawatomi botanist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer, she states that if a tree does not want to be cut down, then its bark will be tougher to cut through, and it will not fall easily.
That's just what I learned, though, and if I'm incorrect, feel free to tell me what I got wrong, because I'm non-Indigenous and just trying to pitch into the conversation with what I personally know.]
In my opinion, I disagree with you saying that the deal made wasn't fair because at the end the buffalos did get to stampede on these grounds and keep their tradition alive; which was the only thing they wanted to do. They didn't just get apple pies in return; the apple pies were just a bonus.
Plus, the settler ponies got to keep their city and their apple farm. So it is a win-win.
definitely an ..... unfortunate episode. even back then i raised an eyebrow at the conclusion, like... i'm sorry, what? iconic jokes aside, what the hell was that?!?!
Where did the buffalos go tho?
It is shown in the middle of the ep when they are talking about their land being stolen that they are in this like fruitless land where they can’t farm ( Apple Jacks words) or stampede and then at the end of the ep they show that they do get one strip of land to stampede thru but besides that it’s presumed that they have to stay in this fruitless land because we never see the settler ponies leave their town or see discussion about having some of the land good for farming
honestly i have no idea how this episode was even greenlit. even for 2011 standards this is bad. every time a show has one of these episodes, it always reminds me of how the British colonists treated the Aboriginal Australian people and the unfair treatment they still receive today, and since i live in Australia it's a subject that riles me up a lot because i would generally consider myself an ally to the First Nations people here. they're an important part of this country's history and culture. the British colonists did some absolutely horrible and fucked up things to the First Nations people, erased their culture, their language, their families and their heritage by assimilating everything into what they wanted society to be. and it was really bloody violent, too. like there were legit massacres and genocides that happened and i've heard that the Stolen Generation is _still_ happening to this day, despite the apology that was made years ago. because of that, i just cannot sympathise with the whole "oh but the settlers have good reasons too!" thing because, uh, _no,_ you're stealing their land and using it without the knowledge or blessings of the native people who live there and have their own connection to it. that's an objectively terrible thing to do to native people and has really horrific implications. uncommon MLP L, very disappointed that this episode went the way it did.
the whole message of a compromise is good idea for an episode but /not/ in this situation. IMO when it comes to portraying issues like colonialism or racism in fantasy, if it’s obvious which fictional groups relate to real-life groups (like how the buffalos so clearly represent native americans that even a 5 year old would easily pick up on it) it gets messy quickly. Also the whole message of its fine for the “settler ponies” to have their farm, despite that the buffalo’s land was taken, does feel pretty icky
maybe if they did the episode with less blatant parallels and and actually good compromise (which frankly is hard to think of, maybe relocating the farm to land with less importance to the buffalo?) it could work but that’s kind of a stretch
Was this really an episode people liked when it aired? I remember folks hating the song....yeah, wait, that's all I remember. I felt iffy about the plotline and I remember some folks talking about it too but it would've made a larger splash if aired today tbh.
From what I heard I lauren got Native American consultants for this episode
There must have been some sort of miscommunication between the 2…
NO WAYYY THATS CRAZY 😭
@@lemoncakess I could link to comment if you like
@ yes plz send it over!
Yeah it’s dumb, but in retrospect; season one was when the show was still finding its footing. Unfortunately it was always a hit and miss throughout the series.
Tbh this is one of my favorite episodes, it’s hilarious all the way through 😂
Yeah it’s about Native Americans and stuff, looking at it at face value might seem bad
But it’s really all about miscommunication and realizing that sometimes two people don’t view situations the same way simply because they didn’t talk to each other
You should find a compromise in it so everyone is happy 😌👌🏻
And you might say the settlement won, but really nah, if the buffalo made that decision, then they made that decision, why think of what YOU want thing to go, if they decided that they wanted to enjoy pie and still have land to roam even if it’s a little less, then so be it, no one forced anything, they made that choice
And it’s honestly a great message, I’ve had friends who have been mad at each other all because one person saw it in a different light and once I pointed it out, they then realized how dumb they were for not talking it through lol
Hi. Thank you for the video. I like that you do a mix between anime and cartoons, it's nice and i love your content. Congratulations in 3k subscribers, on your way to 4k subs and beyond.
A Condition Called Love, it's a new romance anime for this season and the manga is very cute, i hope it doesn't get toxic. Both the anime and manga are ongoing but your thoughts on it would be great. 57 chapters for now while the anime is on episode 6.
YESSSS I READ THAT SERIES FOREVER AGO IM NOT CAUGHT UP BUT IM SO EXCITED FOR IT TO COME OUT
The episode, JUST to me, is good. I love the iconic fluttertree, the way AJ was treating her tree like her baby, the pinkie song had been remixed tons of times like every other pony song, i could care less about getting critical over the message or representation or whatever.
Everyone just wants to bitch about things all the time. Tons and tons of bronies and reactors watched the episode 10 years ago no problem.
I just skimmed through the video looking at the images to see what episode exactly you were discussing. So eh im guessing you dont like the message or the way the Buffalo were portrayed or maybe come off as stereotypical but eh its a fun episode. I really like the fight at the end, especially when the sheriff decided to tank the hit from the raging Buffalo. Really cool. Oh and we cant forget Pinkie's 4th wall break right at the end. Good times. Thanks for reminding me how fun this episode is lol
Apples are not better than land :(
I used to love mlp, and I think this was my least favorite episode or somethingg
Comic book guy: Worst.....Episode......Ever
I don't see the issue with the idea that everyone in ponyvile is white. There's lots of places like that. Specially small rural farming towns.
And maybe you were just using it as a placeholder for footage. But I wouldn't recommend. using the disney Pocahontas as a history source. Even by the standard of Hollywood films about Native Americans, there's better and more accurate stuff out there.
It's been a long time since I've seen this episode. But I remember the resolution being differnt. It wasn't that the buffalo just give the ponies their land. But more like shared ownership. It's still usable for their sacred stampeding, but it has the apple trees too. Still not a great episode. But not quite ponies get what they want. Buffalo get nothing.
Pretty sure the reason why she uses Pochaontas Disney as images it's not because she considers it an "historical source" but because it's
1) Animated visuals in a video about an animated show
2)For good or bad ingrained in the public conciousness, so it more easly gets the point across.
I understand where ur coming from, but at the end of the day, it’s a kids show, and it’s not about what the deal was, it’s about how they made an agreement and stopped fighting. Obviously in real life, it would be at a much larger scale.
It was a funny one. Pinkie pie was great.
i have some questions to several episodes, but i never understood, that THIS one is total bullshit.....
Honestly this is one of my favorite episodes but i understand why you hate it
That was the worst performance we've ever seen.
Chief thunderhooves and sheriff silverstar were jerkoffs!
Listen, I’m not gonna pretend that this is a great episode - it’s not even really a good one - but I have some feelings about you misrepresenting it. The land the ponies built the orchard on is one that seems solely for tradition purposes, as the buffalo camp is located elsewhere. After discovering how good apples taste, the buffalos come to an agreement to carve a path for their tradition and to receive a share of the fruits of the rest of the orchard. This is not unreasonable at all, and while yes, having this message portrayed with the trappings of settlers vs Native Americans does give it a kinda questionable undertone, it’s literally not the same situation as that. The ponies did not kill any buffalo or spread malicious diseases to them or force them into small reservations. They planted an orchard in one sacred spot and came to an agreement with the buffalo on how to rectify the situation, that’s all they did.
Great video ❤ keep up the good work
THANK YOU 💕💕💕
I only first watched the show a few years ago as an adult and this one was an instant skip as soon as I saw the Buffalo designs cause I knew exactly where this was going. So I’ve never actually seen it myself but watching this video I’m kinda getting the vibe of they had good intentions but severely messed up on the execution. Also yeah, equating certain animals to specific cultures has always felt very strange and I get the vibe they didn’t really think it through
it's up there but no
AGREED
I see more and more hate for this episode and I'm glad about it. A thief is a thief, you don't compromise with them. Never seen a judge telling a victim of robbery to "be nice and share" with the criminal. And for good reasons.
The episode I can't stand is "A Trivial Matter"
I remembered when I re watched this episode, the part where they started throwing the pies, it legit triggered me bc it’s clearly like supposed like a metaphor for a bullet and it literally triggered my trama.
Already left a comment, but if you want an episode of a show that actually handles the colonialism issue without the... *_yikesy_* conclusion, check out the Clone Wars episode Trespass. (Spoilers)
+The dude who pushes for the colonial mindset is the antagonist who only makes things worse.
+The Talz are portrayed sympathetically. They don't want a war and just want the colonizers to leave.
+Ends with the Tals sovereignty being recognized, and that yes their land is indeed theirs and not the colonizers to steal.
Actually handles the issue instead of cramming a "compromise" moral into a wild west colonial setting without thinking of the implications.
Putting race on cartoon horses, that have been around since the 80s….I’m a fan and I take it for what it is. A cute show that was all about selling toys. It’s not that deep
My b I wasn’t trying to give them races just throwing out theories of what having Buffalo represent Native Americans could imply for the MLP universe, thanks for ur comment ! :]
okay but yes it is. the pony/buffalo thing is clearly an allegory for colonizers and native americans
i mean the allegory is pretty on the nose tho, the only part thats thinking too deep into it is assuming all ponies are inherently 'white'
"it's not that deep" the buffalos are literally wearing headdresses. the correlations are not subtle at all.
@@skylarlark1989 yes it is. that is clearly the intention. if have watched the episode and missed this then you lack fundemental media analysis skills to an extent that i dont feel like this discussion would be at all productive no matter what i say.
O hi i am so early! Your videos are very nice 😊
AAAA thank you so much!! 💕💕💕
yeah this episode would NOT have slid by had it been made today lol
Subscribed!! :)
AA TYSM 💕💕🫶🫶
I wonder why they didn't just use ponies to represent the natives, i mean, were the buffalos really necessary? (own opinion)
Dude really? Ok… here we go
1: it’s a CARTOON! Who the hell CARES?!
2: the Chief Settler Pony didn’t make the offer, the Chief Buffalo did! He proposed that they keep the land and offer up pies- bro if someone gives you an offer that benefits you more, you’d take it. It’s got nothing to do with racism or historical accuracy, it’s a lesson that clearly you missed.
Rainbow got to witness 1 side of the story, AJ got the other- conveniently AJ got the side she favored, so clearly she would blindly defend her family, so it’s justifiable Rainbow got mad. Twilight’s letter was right! They had to know and understand both sides of the story to grasp and resolve the problem fairly, which they did. Now why did I write so much? Because otherwise you wouldn’t know and understand my viewpoint, so I used this episodes lesson to make my point, showing that it was actually a correct and valid lesson.
And if you didn’t read my of this, then you’ve kinda got no room to argue about Friendship lessons when you couldn’t be bothered to read 2 paragraphs lol
hey I did read ur comment ! this video is just an analysis on my interpretation and my opinions on the ep. Friendship is magic tho so if you interpret it differently that’s fine like I said these are just my thoughtz! Thanks for ur comment ! :]
Yeah I thought this episode was pretty damn weird
I mean, the buffalo made the decision. He thought it was a fair deal and took it. You arent really an authority to decide that. 😂
Also, your whole "all ponies are white" comment is ridiculous.
They are the color they are. Perhaps they avoided color alltogether and just used human culture as a relatable way for kids to get involved in the story. This is one of the more progressive shows I've seen, so its pretty wild people are out here getting offended. Guess yall need something to make videos about tho.
Edit: didn't they also make a path for the buffalo to run? Thats compromise. They decided to share the land in a way that benefits everone. Now the buffalos can havs some delicious pie after a long run.
PLEASE stop comparing a childs show to real life.
She literally didn’t say all the ponies were white tho? She just asked it as a rhetorical question😂
@coconutdoughnut-do3nk Asking a question like that is implicative tho. In the context, it certainly feels important.
Of course, everyone is entitled to an option, but I have to oppose this one. It's so easy to just like at Amy situation through the racist scope because it is a sad, yet common thing. I just think there needs to be more solid basis for it, because implying someone or something is problematic in that way can be just as damaging as the other side of the coin. Let's just save the finger pointing for actual issues, yeah?
Hell, I don't even remember that episode all that well, but I've watched the show through 5 times now and have not once gotten any sort of negative vibes from it.
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