Upon first reading a description of BoJack Horseman, one might not be very interested in watching this animated dramedy. The idea of a middle-aged, washed out protagonist who is struggling to revive his former career is not particularly new or innovative. But what if it were set it in a sardonic world full of anthropomorphic animals? Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg, BoJack is a horse that rose to fame in a fictional hit sitcom called “Horsin’ Around” in which he played the role of a bachelor raising three orphan children. Unfortunately however, the show was cancelled and BoJack lost his way in the world. These days, he lives in a Hollywood mansion and spends his days doing drugs and sleeping as much as possible; clearly suffering from depression
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Unlike other adult animations such as South Park or The Simpsons, each episode of BoJack Horseman follows a continuous storyline. This allows for deeper conveyance of underlying messages within the plot which make the show more thought-provoking and add to its complexity. Mittel argues that its comedic complexity is formed by “altering the relationship between multiple plotlines, creating interweaving stories that often collide and coincide” (Mittell, 42). This is evident in BoJack Horseman as the continuous plot revolves around how BoJack, as a sensitive yet trouble-making protagonist, comes to realize the errors of his ways and attempts to resolve them (despite many failures) while searching for some deeper meaning in his life. The show’s subplots revolve around its sub protagonists. Todd, BoJack’s housemate, wants to turn his life around by establishing a career after escaping from home while Princess Carolyn, BoJack’s ex-girlfriend, focuses on becoming an independent woman during her work as BoJack’s agent. On the whole, the central idea of these sub plots is the search for meaning in life; to find a reason to keep on living. All the different characters go through the same cycle of making decisions, making mistakes, giving up on that particular idea, pulling …show more content…
However, in order for a show to be aired, it has to have economic potential. BoJack Horseman is streamed through Netflix, the largest online video subscription platform in the world. Netflix tracks the viewer preference data of its 50 million users and uses this information when creating its own original series, including BoJack Horseman (Arnold). Therefore, there must have been something about BoJack Horseman that Netflix new would make it profitable. Let’s examine another show from Netflix, their flagship series House of Cards. BoJack Horseman and House of Cards are two very different shows; one is an animated comedy series while the other is a live action drama. What they do have in common is that they are both focused on portraying a grim reality. They cover dark issues related to human existence that other shows prefer to ignore. For example, in episode 2 of BoJack Horseman, BoJack makes a bold statement, “I am not deeply ambivalent about a seemingly mandated celebration of our military by a nation that claims to value peace by telling our children that violence is never the answer while refusing to hold our own government to the same standard. Furthermore, I do not find it unbelievably appropriate that this conversation is taking place on reality television, a genre which thrives on chopping the complexities of our era into easily digestible chunks of
Unlike other adult animations such as South Park or The Simpsons, each episode of BoJack Horseman follows a continuous storyline. This allows for deeper conveyance of underlying messages within the plot which make the show more thought-provoking and add to its complexity. Mittel argues that its comedic complexity is formed by “altering the relationship between multiple plotlines, creating interweaving stories that often collide and coincide” (Mittell, 42). This is evident in BoJack Horseman as the continuous plot revolves around how BoJack, as a sensitive yet trouble-making protagonist, comes to realize the errors of his ways and attempts to resolve them (despite many failures) while searching for some deeper meaning in his life. The show’s subplots revolve around its sub protagonists. Todd, BoJack’s housemate, wants to turn his life around by establishing a career after escaping from home while Princess Carolyn, BoJack’s ex-girlfriend, focuses on becoming an independent woman during her work as BoJack’s agent. On the whole, the central idea of these sub plots is the search for meaning in life; to find a reason to keep on living. All the different characters go through the same cycle of making decisions, making mistakes, giving up on that particular idea, pulling …show more content…
However, in order for a show to be aired, it has to have economic potential. BoJack Horseman is streamed through Netflix, the largest online video subscription platform in the world. Netflix tracks the viewer preference data of its 50 million users and uses this information when creating its own original series, including BoJack Horseman (Arnold). Therefore, there must have been something about BoJack Horseman that Netflix new would make it profitable. Let’s examine another show from Netflix, their flagship series House of Cards. BoJack Horseman and House of Cards are two very different shows; one is an animated comedy series while the other is a live action drama. What they do have in common is that they are both focused on portraying a grim reality. They cover dark issues related to human existence that other shows prefer to ignore. For example, in episode 2 of BoJack Horseman, BoJack makes a bold statement, “I am not deeply ambivalent about a seemingly mandated celebration of our military by a nation that claims to value peace by telling our children that violence is never the answer while refusing to hold our own government to the same standard. Furthermore, I do not find it unbelievably appropriate that this conversation is taking place on reality television, a genre which thrives on chopping the complexities of our era into easily digestible chunks of