Mental illness, substance abuse, and self-identity are serious topics easily ignored in today’s world. While our society promotes talk about these sensitive ideas, it still takes serious confidence to have that conversation even with those closest to us. Working with concerned friends or family members can get us to open up, but that feeling of shame or vulnerability tends to just leave us in isolation.
Modern media is a common coping mechanism for young adults who have no one or nothing else to turn to. Music, binging shows, and networking are at the tips of everyone’s fingers with technology always at our disposal. While social media and music definitely form the largest parts of an individual’s daily basis, television shows have the most potential to wrap so many of those factors together. A show that does exactly that is Netflix’s BoJack Horseman.
BoJack Horseman is a serial of a washed-up, alcoholic anthropomorphic horse who stumbles his way on a rough path to eventual sobriety. Although the show may be relatively old (first airing in 2014), talk of potential continuation of the series has led to its sudden rise in popularity again.
With the number of people who have watched, criticized, and summarized the show, you would imagine a clear picture has already been painted as to what the purpose of the work is or what some of its most confusing material could mean. Yet, some aspects of the animation go unresolved in their contribution to the show or how it even relates to the material.
Depression, addiction, domestic abuse, and grooming are the blemishes of Bojack’s history that have molded him into the hot mess he has been for nearly his entire life. From just the first season, Bojack Horseman grapples with infidelity, misanthropy, and nihilism in his dysfunctional relationships and incessant bitterness that often leaves him all alone at the end of every episode. He resents all those around him regardless of their status or wealth – insofar as impulsively outlashing at a stranger in the supermarket or shutting down the closest person he has to a friend. Naturally, the audience has little to no sympathy to spare for this absolute scourge of humanity who simply hates everyone and everything around him beyond his long-expired past.
The figurative significance of showing all the irredeemable features of the main character in just the first few episodes is a realistic parallel as to how those with the same problems are initially perceived today. While many individuals internalize most of their suffering, people tend to only see them for the negative consequences of their wallowing from their impolite demeanor or constant listlessness.
However, as the season begins to blend into the next one, Bojack begins to open up to those around him and demonstrate sides of himself that ultimately convey he is a good person at heart, only damaged from his past. The less-than-ideal way of Bojack opening up just solidifies the authenticity of the show where his adoration for the woman recording his biography convicts him to be the most lively he has been in years. At any remote sign of affection or validation, Bojack leaps for it in bounds he never has before. That desperation for a release from that jarring loneliness and isolation is an imperfect situation applicable to many cases of depression. Those left with nothing but themselves rely on temporary stimulation just to provide them some escape from that “void” as Bojack puts it.
However, out of Horseman’s instincts and impulses, the audience is quickly reminded that while this character is just as human as them besides his horse traits, the terrible side of him cannot be overlooked. In an attempt to leave the toxicity of his LA environment, Bojack visits a long-gone friend which starts off with innocently close bonds made with his friend’s 17-year-old daughter. Bojack was highlighted as the man who had made the night of a few teenagers enjoyable while being as responsible of an adult as he could be – juxtaposing to how a person burdened with many issues tries to be their best self for a day. But when it comes to Bojack’s selfishness and self-absorbance – his best-friends daughter makes an inappropriate move on him, and Bojack does not even deny her.
We, as the audience, feel Bojack has changed for the best or is at least on a path of recovery, and yet he returns to his old self when put in an impasse. This is just as well a situation where people tend to just cycle back into their comfort zones where there is no more shame or consequence in repeated actions. Falling back on your history to evade the challenges of the present is something Bojack struggles with through his gradual rehabilitation.
The culmination of Bojack’s regrets and shame pushes him to a point of taking his own life where he has pushed away all potential friends, success, or love in his world. The show puts the audience and Bojack on a cathartic spiral where all of Bojack’s wrongs and flaws finally confront him for the best or worst. His betrayal of his best friend for the sake of his individual success, the disconnect between his estranged, demented mother, and his loving relationships are botched in fear and miscommunication. Bojack is then saved from his self-drowning by the occupants of his former house where he’s later sent to the hospital and set up for rehab.
The show just epitomizes the need for a connection between reality and oneself – the healthy conception of a body and mind that always agree with each other. Bojack Horseman defines the most human path to redemption and recovery in showing the regrettable errors made even in attempts of self-betterment. The show’s ending leaves Bojack sober and full of hope in using his overlooked skills as an actor to teach a new generation of students, along with looking into the night sky with his now-friend that had catalyzed his improvement.
Shirking from responsibility, trying to avoid shame, or concealing a heavy past can realize all of these mental issues for everyone today amongst many others. The series capitalizes that life’s journey is one fledged with difficulty and beauty; it is only a matter of how people trek through it and the people we meet and keep along the way.
