By now you’ll all be aware of the pop-culture phenomenon
that is My Little Pony’s 2010 reboot ‘My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic’.
It’s massively successful; fans are already racing to conventions and there’s a
dedicated community building up steam online.

Did we mention that a good chunk of the fanbase is made up 18-25 year old guys? That's right. Young heterosexual men watch this program in droves. They have a catchphrase: "I'm Going to Love
and Tolerate the Crap Out of You!" and they call themselves ‘bronies’.I kid you not. 

What’s going on here? Perhaps it’s something simple. After careful research, we can report
that the episodes are deftly written, even a bit funny, with fresh art and
snappy music. It's message is heartwarming and simple (be friendly and helpful). That’s right – the program is quite good. 

There is probably a lot of cultury-wultury things occuring too – the rise in a desire for authenticity, the gradual acceptance/development of more complicated and nuanced ways of being men, the habit of online fan communities to bind tightly together in the face of perceived ridicule.

Could My Little Pony herald the death of cynicism? Can colourful horse-lets win the war against irony? Maybe not. But it's a nice (optimistic) thought.

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(Thoughts courtesy of Planning Placement newbie James.)