The horror genre’s representation of witchcraft is often a conservative one - presenting it as a force of evil which causes murder and agitates chaos. But the reasons why people perform witchcraft is commonly ignored in film. Horror directors are a little confused as to why magic exists... but never fear. My Little Pony provides a clear response to the unanswered question of “why?”
My Little Pony rejects the conservative narrative of magic as a force of evil by suggesting that magic is instead a force fuelled by love and friendship which is used to dispense chaos. In Horror: love repels magic. In My Little Pony: love is magic.
Is Love A Magical Tool?
Even though the horror genre will suggest magic is evil, it often portrays love as a magical force. If love is indeed a magical tool there are interpretations we can have of love:
Since love is magical, magic must sometimes be good, or
Since love is magical, love must be evil.
Both cases are counter to standard horror dialogues. Since outcome (2) makes basically no sense, if we can show that love is a magical tool, then My Little Pony is correct, and that magic can be good.
Case Study One: The Conjuring 3 - (Love Causes Possession)
The Conjuring 3’s repeatedly shows love as a magical force - starting from the beginning of the film when a character, Arne, invites a demon into his body to protect his girlfriend’s cursed little brother, David (Julian Hilliard). The full scene can be found HERE. In the scene, Arne grips the possessed David and demands the demon to stop, screaming “Listen, look at me. Just leave him alone and take me. Take me. TAKE ME...” until David quietens.
Now... if you ask me, Arne seems to have done something a teency, weency bit magical there. It would be wrong to say that Arne has repelled the curse placed on David as the demon has merely been transferred over to Arne’s body. Thus, we observe the confirmation of the My Little Pony hypothesis. Friendship and love is magic.
Case Study Two: Us - (The Tyler Family’s Face Off Against Their Tethered)
The film Us (2019), although not supernatural horror, the film includes doppelgängers (a.k.a the Tethered) who were abandoned underground for generations and found friendship and love in their tortured collective experience.
In this way, the Tethered use the magic of love to hunt down their twins. Love here is a tool used to get things done. The most iconic example is when the dysfunctional Tyler family is murdered. The funniest scene in all of horror can be found below.
The Tyler family had the chance to escape, however the two parent figures of the house stalled for time. Luckily, the Tethered version of the family held enough love to pretty easily win the battle. I mean look at the happy couple.
The director, Jordan Peele, acknowledges the truth that power and magic is found in love, friendship, and connectedness, and ultimately advocates for the My Little Pony hypothesis, saying
"One of the central themes in Us is that we can do a good job collectively of ignoring the ramifications of privilege. [...] For us to have our privilege, someone suffers. That's where the Tethered connection, I think, resonates the most, is that those who suffer and those who prosper are two sides of the same coin. You can never forget that. We need to fight for the less fortunate." — Jordan Peele
Clearly, My Little Pony is on the cusp of blowing away the false narrative of magic. Friendship is magic.
It is clear at this point, that the thesis that love dispenses magic (such as in The Conjuring 3) is unsatisfied by it’s construction. Too often, magic (or magical events) are fueled by love. Let’s hope that future horror movies such as The Conjuring 4 (god let there not be a Conjuring 4) realises the magic within friendship. The My Little Pony hypothesis is real, and can push the future of horror in the right direction.
Friendship is magic
Writer's Bio: Caleb Burke is a second-year student studying Physics and English at UNSW. Why? He doesn't know either. Caleb enjoys reading articles on Nintendo games, philosophy, or anything utterly absurd. In his spare time, you'll find him drafting spreadsheets for fun or indulging in a sneaky bowl of nacho fries from GYG.
