Why the fuck am I reading an article about a cartoon horse? Well i’m glad you asked I’ll introduce you to him.
Bojack Horseman as the name hints is a horse, and if you figured that out, I can promise you have a higher IQ than Forrest Gump. He's a washed up actor who used to be in a very famous TV sitcom in the 90s called horsing around. A weird but funny concept in which a horse adopts three children, and then raises them to reach their full potential. Bojack is now around 50 years old and he's quite far from his full potential. He's a narcissist, an addict a compulsive man child. Against his best instincts he always figures out a way to self destruct.
Now I know what you’re thinking. What the fuck Fred? Isn't this supposed to be a cartoon? Isn't it supposed to be light, cheerful and entertaining? And make me forget about all my problems until that destructive tendencies.
Well, yeah, that's not it.
Bojack Horseman may be a cartoon, but it's far from Fairyland and fantasies of happiness and joy in general, it's really depressing, and dark and gritty. It maybe the most depressing cartoon ever made, thought please fact check that, because I haven’t seen that many cartoons.
Bojack suffers from the aftermath of fame. He’s got money, a big house, superficial relationships, no one to love: the whole package. No one really cares about him anymore which enrages him and his deep need to be liked by everyone else. he’s constantly angry, annoyed, bored, complaining and overall sad. He can’t seem to cheer up in any situation. He constantly makes bad decisions and has a history of substance abuse. He lives with Todd his roommate, a mixture between a homeless guy and a lazy millennial. His life starts to change when he hires a ghost writer to write a memoir about his life. His hopes are that everybody will like him and remember him again after they read the book.
And that’s about it! So if you’re not sold on this show and you’re thinking to yourself why in the holy mother Theresa should I waste my time watching this when I can see TikToks of Japanese men eating cutlery, allow me to explain.
You’ll Laugh
First of all, it’s really darn funny, it’s got observant satire, intelligent comments on society and an overall great repertoire of dark humour. Its humour is precise like a ninja star and you’ll get a kick out of discovering a hidden meaning behind a line of dialogue. Also it’s got fart jokes if your style is more cutting edge.
You’ll Improve
Second of all, I found this show because I’m doing a bit of soul-searching myself. I’m currently doing a gap semester which technically means that until January I’m unemployed, I have no responsibilities whatsoever except my own personal hygiene. I have just returned from a deep explorative trip through Asia where I discovered many things about myself and the world. Things like: I want to become a famous stand up comedian who’s known for his great Lovecraftian poetry and that Japan is a bit overrated. Well, only one of those is true, I’ll let you figure out which is which. I’m taking this time to dive deep into myself and grow. And who better to help me than a self-obsessed imaginary animated horse! While watching some of Bojack’s tendencies I have found some things in myself I’d like to change , because if I don’t I’ll end up alone when i’m fifty throwing eggs out of the balcony and no one wants that to happen. If you watch it with purpose it’ll be a huge learning experience about depression, self-sabotage and our dazzling tendency of putting ourselves in the way of our happiness. if you’re a smart person you’ll figure out that the last two things I mentioned, are basically the same thing. Well those are things that shitty writers like me do because they don’t have anything more to say. Hats off to you for realising the obvious: I don’t know how to write. But the joke’s on you because you’re still reading! Unless you stopped reading a long time ago, in that case please come back!
Anyway, I digress. The show is a beautiful journey into the human psyche, in this case into the brain and consciousness of a horse, but basically the same thing. Maybe you’ll look at him with pity or with relatability because you see yourself in hi, in each case you’ve got an opportunity to grow and be intentional with your entertainment which is always a pretty good thing. And that way you can leave those days of doomscrolling on YouTube ending in a rabbit hole about why the Cold War was actually started by the French Polynesian god of water Oro, behind. I actually did research to make that joke, wow. You’ll find out and see in your own eyes that change is always possible and there’s always hope until we close our eyes a final time. There’s no need for those pessimistic thoughts telling you that’s just the way you are and that there’s nothing you can do to change. And hey, if a fucking horse can change , we all can become the next Beyonce!
It Get’s Better
If you watch the first season and you kind of like it, I’ve got some incredible news for you! The Russia Ukraine war is over! No just kidding, I’m sorry. The good news is that the five following seasons are considered to be masterful and one of the best productions of Netflix ever, so you’re in for a treat! I’ll also talk more about Bojack on a future podcast!
Conclusion
One last thing before I let you go back to your creepy Korean pornography! You might thing it’s depressing, you might think what’s the point, you might stop watching it, but just remember that after all the bad decisions that Bojack makes there’s alway space for learning and there’s always hope. After all he’s still breathing, and if you’re breathing it means there’s still much more right than wrong with you!