AX3001 - Personal Project Research - BoJack Horseman
BoJack Horseman was a show that really surprised me when I first watched it, I heard good things about it but they never really mentioned the dark places and heavy subject matter BoJack ends up touching upon. It made for an experience unlike any other adult animated show because typically they’re all made into comedies.
That’s not to say the series isn’t a comedy, it certainly appears like any old adult animation at first but with a world of human-animal hybrids. However, the dark subject matter touched upon in BoJack ends up hitting home and resonating with it’s viewers way more than any other adult animated properties at that time. We follow BoJack, a washed up former sitcom star of the show ‘Horsing Around’ and we learn about his dark past, regrets, feelings towards others and see how far he sometimes falls... Consequences in this show are permanent, if BoJack messes up big time, he can’t fix it. Here are just a small list of sillier elements of the show that are effected by the consequences of others.
In Season 1, BoJack steals the D from the Hollywood sign as a romantic gesture for his ghost writer, Diane and for the rest of the series, Hollywood is referred to as Hollywoo by everyone.
Spaghetti Strainer Payoff
Another example for continuity was a joke made early in Season 3, where Mr Peanutbutter and Todd (initially BoJack’s best friend) ordered a bunch of Spaghetti Strainers in bulk because they planned to make a TV show with them. However, these two characters are rather foolish and quickly forgot whatever plans they had for them.
However, it pays off in the end with several other plot threads set up in Season 3 as the spaghetti strainers turn out to be extremely useful for a city-sized spaghetti disaster!
The word “Fuck” is used sparingly within the series and typically it’s used to show when BoJack damages a relationship beyond repair. It’s saved for once a season which kind of makes these emotional moments even more tense, since as a fan that had to wait for the last few seasons, it became something to look out for and anticipate to see who BoJack will hurt. There’s a few cases where it was used to subvert audience expectations and those cases really work well too.
These are just examples of the continuity throughout the series, even rather simple things like these are consistent, but this even extends to the characters.
BoJack, the Star of the Show
BoJack is consistently plagued with a bunch of issues, going back to his childhood and up to present day. We’re shown he has a lot of negative opinions of himself, needing alcohol or drugs or sex to numb those feelings of inadequacy.
Though those are only just his actions, an episode where we see into the mind of BoJack is “Stupid Piece of Shit”. An episode pretty revered and loved by the fanbase due to it’s relatability and fairly accurate depictions of overthinking and anxiety.
This is an episode I’ve looked to for inspiration several times with research and I think it’s probably because of how it hits home for me. Although, the visual style definitely has something to do with it too, since BoJack is typically animated with rigged characters, so when we get this rough cartoon style it stands out and stays with you much more.
Having it stand out immediately in your mind makes audiences remember it much better, I think the visuals alone would make this episode identifiable to any BoJack fan and the personal monologue of BoJack constantly putting himself down is the cherry on top of creating a very memorable episode.
BoJack finds nearly every excuse to start ridiculing himself, for breakfast he eats a bunch of cookies all the while criticising his choices and trying to mentally convince himself not to eat another cookie. Only to eat another cookie and be extremely disappointed in himself. Even in mundane circumstances, he will find a way to abuse himself.
However, a rather interesting observation is that when he’s actively doing something shitty, such as throwing a baby doll over his balcony to spite his dementia-ridden mother, his inner monologue is pretty minimal. Obviously having two recordings of Will Arnett over one another wouldn’t sound good, but even when he pauses there’s no voice inside his head telling him to stop. The only one we hear is “Do it.”
And once everyone leaves him alone because of his actions, he’s back to the same old “You stupid piece of shit” routine. Admittedly, doing things that can hurt you in the long run is something I’ve dealt with before and while it might feel good at the time, when you have to deal with your lack of action before hand it can feel overwhelming and your opinions of yourself just plummet. Now, I’ve never done anything like torment an eldery woman by throwing a symbol of her child off of a balcony, but I’ve done things that immediately resulted in a “Why did I do that” reaction.
BoJack is a Very Flawed Person
As BoJack creator, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, once said, BoJack is not a character you want to be. He is a deeply flawed individual with a mindset that is simply too dangerous to himself. That doesn’t mean we can’t relate to BoJack and find humanity within his struggles because that’s really what he is. He’s a horse man, he goes through things celebrities have probably gone through and his rough childhood and low opinions of himself humanise him to such an extent that we disconnect the fact that he’s a celebrity with a big house, money and while not much of a legacy, still has people around him that care and want him there.
However, he tries his best...
At the very end of “Stupid Piece of Shit”, BoJack decides to sit outside with Hollyhock, a teenage girl that sought out BoJack in Season 4 believing he was her dad. Hollyhock asks what BoJack does all day when he leaves and never comes home, BoJack decides to be honest and tell her that it’s because he’s shitty. But, he makes sure to let Hollyhock know that it’s not because of her.
Hollyhock confides in BoJack, telling him about the voice she hears that tells her “Everyone hates you and they’re not wrong to feel that way” and she asks whether that voice goes away. BoJack says that it does and we see Hollyhock smile at hearing that, while once she looks away BoJack’s face clearly shows us and well the whole episode has shown us that it’s a lie.
While it’s not a good thing to lie just to make someone happy, it brought Hollyhock peace and that’s all BoJack wanted. There’s glimmers of hope within his character and while may not want to be him or are anything like him, we want to see him succeed and become a better person. That’s the whole appeal of BoJack as a character.
BoJack Horseman, in my opinion, is one of the best animated shows out there with such a morally wrong but compelling character in the centre spotlight is quite a risk and BoJack executed it amazingly.
A lot of people have related to BoJack, not because of all the things he’s done or his lifestyle, but simply because of his state of mind. During the show’s run, on places such as Facebook or Reddit, communities would gather on posts discussing the whole episode and “Stupid Piece of Shit” describe BoJack’s state of mind and inner voice extremely relatable. Even a silly scene like him eating the cookies, people found a bit of themselves represented in this episode.
Mental health depiction is something that is becoming more common within media I feel and BoJack Horseman is a great observation on how to do it. With me creating my film, it’s helped me realise that not all depressing stories have to be depressing. BoJack knows where to put the laughs and where to make sure the emotional scenes lands and I definitely feel more equipped to go this route with this film having watched this amazing show.
If you haven’t already, go watch it.
