The AFOLs of the LEGO and the Bronies - Essay Example

The AFOLs of the LEGO and the Bronies Introduction Issues concerning hobbies and their fanatic are many and varied; it even becomes interesting and baffling when adults turn out to be fans behind such fandom as bronies and also the LEGO. Questions are raised as to what it means to be an Adult Fan of LEGO (AFOL) and the experiences of the adult fans. This paper compares and contrasts the adult fans of LEGO and the adult fans of bronies, as represented in the LEGO: a love story by Jonathan Bender and AFOL: A Blocumentary and bronies, as exhibited in the “Bronies: The Extremely Unexpected Adult Fans of My Little Pony Freaks and Gaming Geeks” In the LEGO: a love story by Jonathan Bender, Bender himself has reconciled his image as an AFOL himself. This, he does as he forges a strong relationship with his wife. He does this as he builds the sets of LEGO, the period during which he also tries to conceive a child and begin a family with the wife. Bender, as an AFOL, hence uses the love for the subculture which he had earnestly studied and experienced, however for a short duration, to register his love for the wife and then proceed to begin the family. The need for the family hence drives Bender, an AFOL, to be interested and even become obsessed with the hobby and the subculture. Also, on his 30th birthday, Bender comes out and begins his interest and the love for the LEGO subculture. This was occasioned by the love for the Lego present that he received on the birth day. So, because of this aroused interest. Bender travelled far and wide many conventions. In these conventions, he gets to several collections of sets of LEGO gathered by other Adult Fans of LEGO and the sellers of Brick link. This, by far inspired the LEGO fan and within two years of experience with the culture in the LEGO community, he was able to write a comprehensive book about the culture. This shows the level of research and experience he had gained within the short period of two years. “The background of an individual would also have a bearing on the interest and obsession with a hobby”. (Bender, p.56). Those who are not well grounded and experienced with the hobby beyond the childhood games of playing with toys can only be baffled by the diversity o the hobby for the adults. This has the effect of stimulating the need by the AFOLs to obtain a set or two of the LEGO. Comparison Just like in the case of Bender, enthusiasm play important part in creation of interest and at times obsession. Because of being enthusiastic about the bronies, majority of these AFOLs find themselves crowding the websites like fan boys and they dissect their favorite episodes streaming from the crawls of the conventions. Finally, these AFOLs upload photographs of their own in which they post with Big Name Fans, in likeness of the subculture. In a similar way an individual’s background as it plays out in the AFOLs of the LEGO, shows have a bearing on the AFOLs of the bronies. In fact the surge in the Adult Fans of LEGO for the bronies is occasioned through the capability and its resultant proliferation in the internet. The technological advancement has enabled the carrying of the bronies subculture beyond the childhood experiences into the adulthood. The internet reach is also much more enhance and the use is not as regulated as the case in other media. Contrast In contrast to the case of the LEGO, in which Bender feels rather comfortable as he moves from one convention to another, admiring the subculture, the case is somehow different with the Adult Fans of LEGO with reference to the bronies. For one, the generational question is brought in and seems to play a role as far as the love for this subculture is concerned. As observed by Shaun Scotellaro, who being 30 years old, he sees the love for bronies and being LEGO fanatic as being in order because of his age. He argues that the age bracket within which he falls is still more open to the stuff, and for that reason, he decided to quit his day job, so as to get time to run the “go-to-place for everything” brony, EquestrialDaily.com. he argues that with the zeal and energy of the young person, he managed to steer the site and b it expanded such that it could receive over 800,000 unique visitors every month, which enabled him to earn handsomely and even hire others to help him. Still on the concern for this generational aspect, and with specific reference to the standard sci-bromance, which was particularly involving a man after pony, it does not really auger well for a grown man in some multi-colored manes asking for the girls’ McDonald Happy meal in order to obtain Applejack or the Lilly Blossom figurine prizes(Bender, p. 167). Furthermore and in contrast with the Bender’s case, Bronies were looked at with the suspicion of gay characters. It pressed the conscience of many when seeing men in furry faux tails and pink wigs, making their way around in convention centers. This is the impression that was created and in some way, some how it became a matter of concern, thereby inviting restraint on the part of the AFOLs of the bronies as compared to those of the LEGO. Again, in contrast with the cases of Bender, in which he had to venture into the love for the subculture of the LEGO to establish a stronger relationship with the wife and thereby start a family, the AFOLs of the Bronies do not really have such compelling and fundamental needs to achieve. In contrast, most of the AFOLs of the bronies admitted that it was just nice to have some nice cartoon around, play some ‘Call of Duty’, watch the ‘Walking Dead’ or some Mario games. Another aspect of these subcultures which differ and provide varied experience is the presentation. The LEGO being a visual medium, the lack or inadequate means of the picture presentation would frustrate the AFOLs of the LEGO as was presented by Bender. This would impact even on higher scales is the AFOLs were not well versed with particular sets of elements or people or at times the places under description in the LEGO. Conclusion All in all, we are able to note the different circumstances which inspire different adults to be interested or better still, obsessed with certain hobbies. They are as varied as noticeable in the AFOLs of the LEGO and those of the Bronies. In a similar, way the experiences by the AFOLs are similar some ways but largely varied. Work cited Bender, J. “LEGO: A Love Story”, 2010, Wiley. Read More