BoJack Horseman

“I don’t understand how people…live. It’s amazing to me that people wake up every morning and say, ‘yeah, another day, let’s do it!’ How do people do it?” What is true happiness? Are YOU happy? What gets you out of that bed every morning and makes you want to live life? Your career? Love? Perhaps fame and wealth? These are the kinds of questions we ask ourselves from time to time. We look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we’re happy with the reflection we see. Life isn’t sunshine and rainbows for everyone. Rich, middle class or poor. It’s a series of events that lead to our eventual deaths and most of us just want to find some kind of meaning during our journey to the afterlife.

BoJack Horseman is a Netflix original, adult cartoon created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. The show is about a washed up, has-been sitcom actor who was popular in the 90s. We often idolize and put celebrities on pedestals and yearn for fame. And when a star is sad, we find it laughable because what could famous, rich people possibly have to depressed about? I even admit I am one of those people because money fixes literally ALL of my problems but that’s beside the point. This cartoon offered an insightful look into the life of celebrities and “Hollywoo.” We see the current life a pretty famous man and how the circumstances of life affect him and those around him.

BoJack Horseman is currently on its third season and has been renewed for a fourth season. This cartoon is a fantastic narrative with a powerful set of characters, a magnificent set of subplots and incredibly relatable themes, such as: depression. The first few episodes are a bit slow and the animation is extremely average, uninspiring even. Still, the show is good and I highly recommend you give this show a fair chance.

Celebrity culture and life is something a lot of people can’t understand. The rich are always in the public eye. I found this show enlightening because it actually shows viewers what celebrities deal with from day to day. Like what they actually do when not busy or doing wealthy people things. In BoJack’s case it’s especially intriguing because he’s a has-been, inactive, old celebrity that’s barely recognizable. He’s also lazy and despite what success and support he has, he can’t pull himself together. He’s never happy. A reoccurring theme is that the many accomplished characters in BoJack Horseman are unhappy despite having a life we’d deem as ‘ideal’.

This is where the show truly shines. This makes the characters feel real and their problems relatable. Depression is a major theme in this cartoon and the varying ways characters deal with it and how they view it. Starting with BoJack, a man who is a shadow of his former self. He’s a self-destructive, alcoholic suffering from crippling depression. Doing any action to reduce the feeling or urge you have is known as Drive Reduction Theory. When BoJack is feeling any sort of negativity he attempts to numb this pain with alcohol and or drugs. When he’s feeling any sort of happiness he’ll latch onto it without second thought but immediately start to contemplate and ponder about his existence as soon as he’s alone, with time to think. Thus making him sad again and then he drinks.

The show is also full of moments and thoughts that support the philosophical theory of existential nihilism. A lot of characters often say things that suggest this meaninglessness. Mr Peanutbutter tells this to Diane when she says she wants to do meaningful work: “The universe is a cruel, uncaring void. The key to being happy isn’t to search for meaning; it’s to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually you’ll be dead.” He’s literally telling her that life is completely meaningless and to just do things until you die. A lot of us have thoughts like this as we try to find purpose in our daily lives and ultimately this is the conclusion a lot of us come to.

Princess Carolyn is another interesting character because she’s completely unable to stop taking care of others. She’s an agent, a good, successful one at that. But due to her throwing most of her time into her career, her love life suffers for it. She’s doing what she wants in life but she’s unhappy because she’s lonely. She even has a on and off thing with BoJack (whom she also works for) despite knowing what kind of a mess he is. That’s the extent of her desperation. Despite BoJack earning her no money and taking up most of her time she still tries to help him. Diane once asks Carolyn why she’s helping her and she responds with this: “Because my life is a mess right now and I compulsively take care of other people, when I don't know how to take care of myself.” Powerful stuff. 

               

I’d like to talk about Todd Chavez briefly. Todd is the comic relief character out of the main cast. He’s a freeloading bum in his 20s who lives for free on BoJack’s couch. He’s interesting because he’s the personification of young adults being utterly lost and confused during that time in their lives. The recent season also touched on his sexuality which I think is going to be important in the upcoming season because it’s something that I don’t see fiction touch upon very often. Or any medium, real or fiction for that matter. I won’t say what it is but I hope it’s handled well.

For a cartoon that has many anthropomorphic animals and stars a horse man, this is one story grounded in realism. Personally, I relate to BoJack a lot, we have a lot in common. I feel like like my best years are already behind me and I can be self-destructive. I’ve spent many years of my life just being content, neither happy or sad, but I haven’t been happy at all these last few months. And to see BoJack, a representation of how I’m feeling has helped me cope with the negativity I’ve been dealing with. It got me to do a few things I was afraid of doing even though it didn’t turn out the way I wanted. There’s a jogger that runs by BoJack's house every morning and he had an exchange with BoJack that resonated with me. BoJack is out of shape and he took about two steps up the hill before stating, “running sucks”. And the old monkey guy said this: "Every day it gets a little easier. But you have to do it every day. That's the hard part. But it does get easier."

Ultimately, we don’t know if BoJack Horseman will be a show portraying the downfall and demise of BoJack or a story of his redemption. The show is melancholy and serious with its themes of depression, but it is funny and most importantly, meaningful. Sure some people don’t want to watch a show that deals with such intense sadness frequently but this is reality and we can’t avert our eyes from the truth. Life is like this for many people, even famous ones. BoJack Horseman is a powerful narrative with rich content and context. So, next time you have some free-time, turn on that Netflix you’re probably not paying for and give BoJack Horseman a watch. You won’t regret it.

Written By: Nya Hemmingz

Twitter: @LolitaZenpie