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| Picture source: Bojack Horseman on Netflix |
Bojack Horseman is my favourite show of all time. I've watched it from front to back (not counting the new season) around twenty-five times now. It means an incredible amount to me on numerous different levels, but most importantly, the representation of mental health issues, relationships, and substance abuse. As a prewarning, I will be talking quite heavily about mental health and substance abuse in this article. If that's something that may bother you, please sit this one out. Oh, and spoilers for Bojack Horseman, too.
I'm sure by now that everybody has heard all about this show. Critics gushed about it; its quotes are all over social media. But why? What does Bojack do that sets it apart from every other show? Bojack Horseman is a brilliant combination of bizarre, dry comedy and harrowing, beautiful storytelling. It will make you laugh until you cry, then make you cry until you laugh. It's a true double-edged sword in the most wonderful of ways.
I'm sure by now that everybody has heard all about this show. Critics gushed about it; its quotes are all over social media. But why? What does Bojack do that sets it apart from every other show? Bojack Horseman is a brilliant combination of bizarre, dry comedy and harrowing, beautiful storytelling. It will make you laugh until you cry, then make you cry until you laugh. It's a true double-edged sword in the most wonderful of ways.
I love comedy - it's my favourite genre of show, especially animated comedies; so a few years ago now, I decided to watch this show about a horse. I think I finished both seasons that were out in two days. It gripped me like something I couldn't shake. The humour was fantastic. I'm personally one for comedy that's either complex with good dryness and a great punchline, or something so bizarre and incredibly stupid that I can't help but laugh - this show had both. Perfect! But what truly gripped me was the narrative and characters.
I've suffered my whole life with chronic mental illness. I will continue to suffer, quite probably. But for my whole life, I'd only ever seen representations that alienated me, especially with my depression. Every show I'd seen seemingly brushed it off as 'this person is super depressed all of the time', used it as a punchline, or used it to make somebody act shitty and then be excused. I've never had my experiences shown to me until I watched Bojack. And this show - for all of its depictions - is melancholic fuel for those who are lost in themselves. Let me explain.
Bojack Horseman is a horrible, horrible person. He's washed up, at-risk and taking down everybody around him. He uses up so much of people's time, just to waste it. You are not supposed to like Bojack Horseman. You can sympathise, you can relate to him, but you are not supposed to like how he is. He is a hugely flawed character. Every character on this show is. And that's the beauty and the hope of it.
Bojack is written as a manic depressive alcoholic, who does nothing but lash out and harm people. He had a terrible childhood, rocketed to superstardom at a young age and lost everything not too long after. He tries to fill the void with meaningless sex, drugs, parties, and alcohol but fails. He hurts everybody around him; for the most part, everybody seems to let him. His actions escalate to worse and worse things. But in the wake of his self-destruction, the other characters stop letting him drag them in. People start refusing to let Bojack do whatever they want, and this starts to fuel growth in Bojack. The development of each character is a shining beacon of hope in itself, but personally, I found Bojack more impactful.
With the new season of Bojack Horseman here, we see the characters in their most proactive states. Even Bojack himself faces massive self-improvement, going to rehab, showing us that even those in the worst possible states can make positive changes.
I still slip up sometimes, and I still have depressive episodes, but I hurt myself and others way less now. Therapy helped me tonnes too, but I couldn't get better unless I wanted to. Bojack Horseman inspired me to get better; to be less Bojack. I feel as though this show has the power to change so many lives. I know it changed mine.
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| Picture source: Bojack Horseman on Netflix |
Bojack is written as a manic depressive alcoholic, who does nothing but lash out and harm people. He had a terrible childhood, rocketed to superstardom at a young age and lost everything not too long after. He tries to fill the void with meaningless sex, drugs, parties, and alcohol but fails. He hurts everybody around him; for the most part, everybody seems to let him. His actions escalate to worse and worse things. But in the wake of his self-destruction, the other characters stop letting him drag them in. People start refusing to let Bojack do whatever they want, and this starts to fuel growth in Bojack. The development of each character is a shining beacon of hope in itself, but personally, I found Bojack more impactful.
I saw a lot of myself in Bojack and I resented that.
I saw him hurt his friends, family, himself and I saw myself. I saw my patterns of nihilism and self-destruction. I saw my dependency on smoking. I saw myself lashing out. I saw my own depressive states; I knew I needed to change. My own chronic depression echoed his massively, and whilst I never did such awful things as him, I still hurt people and had completely incorrect priorities. That's why correct representation is so important. You can inspire yourself to change.
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| Picture source: Bojack Horseman on Netflix |
So what did Bojack do to me? It left me unsettled, unsatisfied with my life. It made me yearn to change. Change I did. I made more time for my friends. I found myself reaching out first more, forcing myself to send the first message in reconciliation and swallowing my pride. It made me change my destructive habits into more positive ones - I drank less, quit smoking, stopped pushing people away.
I still slip up sometimes, and I still have depressive episodes, but I hurt myself and others way less now. Therapy helped me tonnes too, but I couldn't get better unless I wanted to. Bojack Horseman inspired me to get better; to be less Bojack. I feel as though this show has the power to change so many lives. I know it changed mine.
Article by: Taylor
