BoJack Horseman - The Most Depressing Cartoon Ever | Salari

now sometimes I feel like I was born with a leak and any goodness I started with just slowly spilled out of me and now it's all gone and I'll never get it back in me it's too late life is a series of closing doors isn't it don't be sad good horsies [Music] back in the summer of 2014 during the usual drought quality shows I was at a loss for something to watch whenever I find myself bored or just wanting background noise I'll often rewatch show 30 rock community golden era Simpsons the office up until Michael leaves seasons 8 & 9 or a topic for another video etc etc even though watching these offer some comfort and familiarity even nostalgia but still find myself wanting something new it was during this time that Netflix's line-up of original shows was in its infancy starting with house of cards of previous year I never really paid much attention to what they were making at the time and I never tried house of cards despite being told it was great and admittedly I'm a little reluctant to try now all things considered and although I started watching orange is the new black years after it originally aired at the time it felt like something I wouldn't really scratch that edge when I saw the post of a boat rock horseman I think like many I thought it was yet another adult oriented animated show similar to the kind of show that we get cancelled after one or two seasons on Adult Swim Comedy Central or Fox like brickleberry classy McGee Aqua Teen Hunger Force mr. pickels post renewal Family Guy double O so on and so on and yes before you comment I know some of those shows lasted more than two seasons it was a while before I gave Bojack a try and I think it's only because of seeing it and my recommended list every time I open Netflix that I eventually caved in and watched it so on a warm summer night in England I sat down and I watched it the first couple of episodes were pretty much what I expected apart from the fact that a lot of the cast were anthropomorphic animals and not just Bojack the characters were initially what I expected from the show necessarily but lovable drunk a slacker stoner a highly strung overachiever the well-meaning but not so bright friend and the voice of reason but as I kept watching it it was slowly winning me over and eventually through some alchemy it all started to come together and I realized I was falling in love with it which is why I can say after five seasons and an upcoming six without a shadow of a doubt the Bojack horseman is the best show netflix has ever produced no seriously Bojack is brilliant even the CEO of Netflix said that is his favorite show so if you'll give me a moment allow me to explain why you should watch Bojack horseman the most depressing cartoon ever made [Music] so it's give you a quick synopsis of the show Bojack horseman is a comedy based around its titular character Bojack is a once famous actor who now lives in the Hollywood Hills getting by on the royalties of horsing around a cheesy 90s sitcom in which he was a star and played the adoptive father of three children since then Bojack hasn't been able to find more work in the industry so he spends his days fading into obscurity with his roommate Todd he's in a complicated relationship with his agent Princess Carolyne so when Devers endlessly to find Bojack work within an industry that hasn't forgotten about him but can only remember him as a 90s sitcom dad the show's premise is somewhat basic but this is what makes it fertile ground in which the characters can grow and change I'm gonna try and go into what makes Bojack horseman a great show and I'll do my best without trying to spoil anything but at the end of the video I might enter spoil the territory but of course if I do I'll let you know before I do Bojack horseman is at its heart a comedy at times it can be knowingly absurd or on the nose and at other times it can rival the show like Arrested Development in his wit I think that one thing that makes it special is the fact that it can go between so many tones so seamlessly bringing the audience along with it without feeling jarring or out of place and boy does Bojack horseman switch tones do you do you think it's too late for me what I mean am I just doomed to be the person that I am the person in that book it's not too late for me is it it's not too late Diane I need you to tell me that it's not too late this moment right here is when I fell in love with the show after everything you've seen before it this show and it's zany madcap characters with all this absurdity delivers this absolutely heartbreaking moment this moment comes at the end of season 1 episode 11 appropriately titled downer ending like I said the writers loved their fair share of on-the-nose jokes before this Bojack and his roommate Todd and old co-star Sarah Lynn went on a drug-fueled binge lasting for days journalist Bojack imagines a life that he could have had with charlotte a woman he befriended not long after starting his career in comedy Charlotte grew tired of Hollywood and moved away Bojack stayed and became the person that he is today Charlotte didn't want Bojack to become corrupted by Hollywood and the last time Bojack was happy was when he was around her Bojack is terrified that he's simply doomed as a person the losing charlotte all those years ago meant losing the only connection he had to the world before he became corrupted by hollywood diane is now essentially a visitor from the world outside of Hollywood and he's desperate truly desperate to know whether someone like her a normal person is able to see him as good the answer legs in the air for what feels like an eternity and then we hear the sound of the life the bow Jack could have had a sound which haunts him beau jack is broken I admire any show movie book or game that handles its story like this when handled poorly it can result in emotional whiplash where you're not sure how to feel or how you got from point A to point B in such a short amount of time Bojack has laid the groundwork for this the entire season no you see his alcohol and drug abuse his inability to hold down a relationship and connect with people his resentment towards those who come by happiness so easily and most importantly we see glimpses into his childhood and then the Bojack is a victim of abuse from his parents to people who are also broken in their own way that's why this moment feels earned and it's why Bojack horseman has one of if not the best portrayals of depression out there and it's been represented by a cartoon horse insert your own why the long face joke here I guess and this is just the first season Bojack horseman is a rare example of a show that's only gotten better with each new season and given his five seasons in with a six on the way that's no small feat the show isn't all about Bojack though each cars who gets their time in the spotlight and I think to understand what makes the show so great it's worth analyzing what makes them so interesting and how we learn about them over time so let's start with the obvious choice Bojack you might think that Bojack is supposed to be kind of like a lovable bastard type character much like Rick Sanchez dr. house Sherlock etc and you'd be forgiven thinking so but Bojack is just kind of a bastard throughout the show he does plenty of bad things both to himself and to other people he's selfish entitled narcissistic angry lazy he hates honeydew melon even though it's arguably the best melon and he seems to hate everyone around him most importantly though it's that Bojack is self-destructive and the show goes through painstaking efforts to show you how a person like Bojack comes into being there's no way of dancing around us but Bojack was a victim of parental abuse as a child his parents were both bitter angry people who resented each other for destroying each other's dreams Bojack ended up having to carry their burden from as long as he could remember essentially being forced into a career in entertainment and having to endure the constant barrage of insults humiliation and shame from his mother and father who maintain a constant emotional distance Bojack grew up not really knowing who he is or what he wants out of life but if there's one thing the show makes very clear is that he like everyone else once love and validation from others and even I was on one of the most popular sitcoms of the 90s called horsing around despite him being recognizable and having his work loved by thousands upon thousands of people it's simply not the validation that he needs and it most definitely isn't love it's also his fame that potentially keeps him from being recognized or even loved in a way that he wants because people only see that Hall's from that sitcom not really a human being or boss and although I have no way of knowing this it does make me wonder if celebrities have these thoughts especially ones who are recognizable to practically everyone I'd probably wonder can anyone in this world see me beyond what I do as an actor I think about was in that position I might feel that way how people perceive you as an average person brings all kind of anxiety we're constantly told how first impressions matter but what if that first impression has already been made for you thanks to your fame how could you change what someone thinks of you when they've already seen you on TV dozens possibly hundreds of times before Bojack suffers from what's commonly referred to as the Hedgehog's dilemma a term coined by philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and if you are familiar with Neon Genesis Evangelion you probably know what I'm talking about Bojack wants to be close to other people but he's afraid of both being heard by them and hurting them he'll sometimes try to justify why he had to hurt someone but it's something that affects him and makes him worried that he'll never be a good person hurts people hurt people Bojack grew with a parental dynamic that damaged his ability to create relationships with everyone around him he so badly wants to be loved by someone but he doesn't even know what it is to be loved his parents were supposed to love him but all they ever did was put him down and hurt him so now it is the same to others Bojack isn't the only one who wonders if he's a bad person the show makes the audience wonder tube but it also raises a question is his bad behavior something that's beyond his control was he raised in such a way that there's no point being good because it isn't resulting receiving love and honestly I think is the latter there's a moment in the show where we see Bojack as a child watching his heroes Secretariat on a talk show and he's fortunate enough to have a letter that he sent in read to him he asked what he can do to escape sadness and Secretariat essentially tells him that he has to run away from his problems this is a profound moment in bojack's life one which echoes throughout the entire show but it's also damaging to him because it's part of what keeps him from forming any real relationships because he's not willing to address his problems and no stay with him no matter how far he runs just a hammer the point home shortly after we see the interview with Secretariat we learn he was caught betting on his own races and rather than face the embarrassment he decides to take his own life it can be often at times frustrating watching Bojack grow and sabotage himself over and over again but living with trauma can make growing as a person extraordinarily difficult and that frustration is what bow-tie lives with every day his frustration becomes ours and we want him to get better we believe that he can be better but changing can feel impossible when you were never given the tools to do so to put it simply Bojack is one of the best written and performed tragic characters of modern times I don't get it i single-handedly got a lady footlocker store employee a primetime show and resurrected a certified dead man and nobody cared why do I do anything it's no secret that the world of showbiz is a cutthroat place there are literally thousands upon thousands of people out in Hollywood looking to make it in some way or another Princess Carolyne is an agent or manager of I don't know the difference you you'll get that joke eventually both now if you've already seen the show more specifically she's bojack's a longtime agent who endlessly struggles to find him work while trying to maintain a platonic relationship with him at arm's length she's a dynamo constantly working seemingly every hour she's awake trying to make the magic happen as a result Princess Carolyne doesn't really have any kind of life to speak of she doesn't have a partner lives alone in a swanky apartment and finds it hard to connect with others in any kind of honest way anymore at times it can feel a little tough to watch this person who is honestly trying her best to get the best results for other people but we're reminded on occasion that everything that she does is ultimately for herself and while she's not a selfish person she is ultimately out for herself much like a cat she's individualistic and goes after whatever she wants which can make it all the more crushing when she can't get it especially when that thing is something that could improve her life outside of work much like Bojack princess Carolyn has a void to fill the difference between them though is she'd rather deny it and continue believing that investing in a professional life is the answer both characters are self-destructive Bojack fills a void with alcohol and drugs Princess Caroline fills it with work the mix of the show clearly have a lot of love for the character as there are a handful of episodes dedicated almost entirely to her we learned that she came from pretty much nothing but she had a lot of incentives to stay that way and it leaves us to wonder if she would have been happier had she not left to pursue her career in Hollywood or even if something completely different would have been better she's had to manage people all her life but in the process neglects herself I think the truly tragic thing about Princess Caroline is that she always seems just a couple steps away from happiness and although a lot of the time it's circumstances beyond her control that keeper fondness it's a reluctance to try again that keeps her from pushing even further out of fear of getting hurt the universe is a cruel uncaring void the key to being happy isn't a search for meaning it's to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense and eventually you'll be dead well I guess I can keep my options open great mr. peanut butter is in some ways Botox rival but he doesn't see himself as that chooses canine nature he's an optimistic high-energy lovable individual who only wants to share his positivity with the world much like Bojack he's had a successful sitcom in the 90s which came about after the growing popularity of horsing around and from what we can tell it never quite reached the same heights of success but it managed to make mr. peanut butter a household name he lives in a Hollywood Hills with his partner Diane a newcomer to Hollywood who is abstence ibly a person from the real world outside of the world of entertainment from the outside of the show it can feel like mr. peanut butter exists purely as an antithesis to Bojack almost as though he's a person Bojack could have been had he not been dealt such a bad hand in life and to an extent he is mr. peanut butter hasn't really had to deal with trauma at least to the extent of Boathouse and despite the fact that Botox depression was a time bomb his terrible upbringing undoubtedly contributed to the person he became as you might expect Bojack has his fair share of resentment towards mr. peanut butter being face to face with the person that you could have been has to be a painful experience however mr. peanut butter wears his heart on his sleeve probably more than any other character in the show he knows who he is and what he wants and that's to be happy and make other people happy and unfortunately that brings about his own conflict what does someone like mr. peanut butter do when he tries to make people happy who don't want to be happy that in itself would be upsetting but mr. peanut butter is a relatively simple person and simple things making happy for other people in his life achieving happiness is far more complicated it's either far too complex or they don't know how to achieve it mr. peanut butter endlessly tries to make everyone happy and although he manages to do this on many occasions especially with his adoring fans when he can't please the people closest to him it becomes all the more frustrating compared to the other characters in the show he's not as deep and his backstory isn't as laden with tragedy but he's far more than just a rival to Bojack even though it may not seem that way of first glance mr. peanut butter is a dog that we wish we could all be but he also serves as a reminder that to be truly happy you have to know sadness even if it's just a little bit what do I do now well that's the problem with life right either you know what you want and then you don't get what you want or you get what you want and then you don't know what you want well that's stupid yeah Diann Newin nujin 9 when you enter Cannes knowing as mentioned before Diane is an outsider in Hollywood but being an outsider isn't something that's new to her she grew up in a Vietnamese American family in Boston she's the youngest sister of four brothers one of which was adopted they're all loud brash and obsessed with sports while Diane is not she's a socially conscious third wave feminist who's quiet and reserved and often finds it difficult to speak up for herself and although she's opinionated she often struggles to find her own voice incidentally Bojack and Dan become acquainted when she's hired has his ghostwriter for his autobiography in the first season you could argue that Diane is our stand-in as the audience since she's unfamiliar with the world of showbiz but I think saying that would be doing her a disservice yes we learn about this world the way she does but she's so much more than that she does a best to retain our humanity in an industry which it can often feel like humanity has no place Dan often struggles with retaining her own agency though being the girlfriend of mr. peanut butter often makes her feel like she's just that a girlfriend someone who happens to appear in photographs whether celebrity and since mr. peanut butter is such a larger-than-life character she feels like background dressing to the theater performance that is his life Diane is at odds with herself it's clear that she wants recognition and validation of some sorts but also doesn't want to be in the limelight and speaking from a personal level I get this I also came from a family where I was the quietest and although I would often try my hardest to get recognition for my parents it would still for some reason bother me when I did because I was so used to being at a background that when I finally did get noticed I didn't know what to do or how to react to it it's a contradiction that could be hard to cope with a need for validation paired with need to avoid it as a result dan doesn't really know what she wants mr. peanut butter has a lot of love for her as he does with everyone else but that also becomes a problem for Diane because not only does she not know how to react to it she worries that she can't reciprocate it I always thought the creators of the show making her a ghostwriter as an occupation was a great choice I can't think of any other career which better encapsulates a personality like Diane's it's her writing that brings Bojack to life constructed through her lens and despite the book being successful she doesn't really get any recognition for it the closest she gets as a ghostwriter panel I mentioned at the beginning Diane got out of Boston and got away from the family which she was alienated from but she's still an alien she wants a place to belong and people who make her feel like she belongs she just doesn't know how to achieve that or even if as possible wait is this going to be like that time you promised to take me ice-skating I got really excited about the ice skating but then instead of ice skating you left me at home so you could go to the strip club and then you took that strippers ice skating no then array Todd is quite possibly the simplest character in the show he's friendly easygoing and lovable to everyone in the first season were introduced to him as Botox slacker roommate who lives on the couch stays at home and gets high all day but I think over time the writers decided to change it up a little and not to paint him as just a complacent goofy stoner who exists as a polar opposite to Bodhi X constant whirring and this was definitely a change for the better without doubt Tod as the show's comedic relief and the writers are very aware of this on numerous occasions as pointed out by other characters how he somehow seems to land himself in wacky predicaments that always seemed to work out in the end and the absurdity of these situations are about as on the nose as you can get especially in season 4 episode 3 which is titled hooray a taut episode which is literally just a series of madcap events involving Todd and his great scene the writers have fun with a character like this even though they're fully aware of the ridiculousness of these situations it never feels like they're being overly ironic or that they're constantly winking at the audience like it's an in-joke Todd might not carry copious amounts of emotional baggage like the other characters do but when the time is right the show gives in moments of vulnerability and they land just as well as any other character I think part of what makes it work so well is because we're conditioned to see him as comic relief and therefore is easy to forget that he's still a person with his own thoughts and feelings and he's still capable of being heard in season 1 episode 4 Todd decides to follow through with a lifelong dream of creating a rock opera Bojack at first mocks Todd points out the fact that he's a failure with no prospects and a freeloader but blaze changed his mind and encourages Todd to go ahead with it later on when Todd actually comes close to success with it bow Jack ends up sabotaging him out of fear that he'll end up moving out and leave him alone in his house Todd is heartbroken especially since this sabotage was partially self-inflicted but he's able to move past it due to his relentless optimism there's a spoiler coming up here so if you want to skip ahead go to this time or keep watching if you don't care I'm not a cop do what you want with your life in a later episode we learn about Todd's relationship with his old friend Emily who are first we're supposed to think is an old flame they get along with each other they clearly very close and care about each other and they're both single it becomes apparent there's something keeping them from engaging in an intimate relationship and then it's revealed Todd is asexual I'm not gay I mean I don't think I am but I don't think I'm straight either I don't know what I am I think I might be nothing oh well that's okay yeah yeah of course the moment is handled perfectly with two friends coming to an understanding and even though it's something that taught us felt all his life it's something he's never been able to put a label on and he has to figure out what this means for him and his future relationships it also means that he and Emily have to figure out how their relationship would work from now on since they both love each other but only one of them wants to take that to a sexual level representations of asexuals in media especially television and movies are lacking to say the least and the majority of characters who fit the bill are largely assumed asexual like Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Who Todd is literally the first openly asexual character on television seriously it took until 2017 for this to happen and it's handled wonderfully representation in media is always a great thing and although Todd offers a lot of comic relief in Bojack horseman this moment is handled lovingly it doesn't feel like it was thrown in by the writers at the last moment either they were clearly building up to this moment throughout the entire season and they stick the landing perfectly so after hearing all this you're probably thinking about JAC Holzman is a pretty depressing show and yeah admittedly at times it can be downright heartbreaking to watch but the truly tragic moments only make up about 5% of the show but the are moments that resonate throughout and they're so important to understand each of the characters actions and how they think and feel even during the time is when we're laughing the show is a comedy and it's a damn good one at that even when the show is talking about real-world issues like gun control mass shootings pro-choice the hashtag me to movement and even elections they're still able to broach the subject with levity and they never approach it with the obnoxious cynicism of the show like South Park and yes the show gets political at times if you don't like that grow up politics is everywhere and it's in everything like I said earlier the show loves to embrace the absurd and the times which you would expect a typical comedy trope they lean into it hard there's a few episodes where they have flashbacks and they go out of their way to reference as many things as possible from that year JD Salinger's found alive and well and despite the fact that he's the author that made a career out of calling out phoning us in people he makes a TV quiz show dedicated to learning more about celebrities called Hollywood stars and celebrities what do they know do they know things let's find out yes that is the full name of the show they even do an almost entire episode that plays out like a silent film where no one can talk and the only things we hear are the music and diegetic sound and it plays out wonderfully from my own personal perspective though I love that the show takes the time to explore the tragedy in his characters admittedly I love a lot of things which are depressing some of my favorite movies music games and TV shows can be really depressing and that's because they speak to me on a personal level I've suffered from depression and anxiety for as long as I can remember I have good days and bad days and even writing and recording this video was hard because I find it hard to build up the motivation to do anything at times I see myself in many of the characters in Bojack horseman more than I'd like to admit at times and although part of learning to understand yourself is through introspection it can be really helpful to see how other characters deal with hardships you are familiar with even if they are fictional characters or anthropomorphic animals fictional characters don't always have to be aspirational role models or a beacon of positivity entertainment can be escapism but art makes you think about yourself and the world around you and Bojack makes me do that it makes me wonder how I can be a good person how I can get better how I need to try and stop making the same mistakes but not be angry at myself when I do and how I even know you can't change where you came from you can work to change your future Raphael bob-waksberg has created one of the greatest animated shows of all time and the best show on Netflix it's made me laugh more times than I can count and it made me shed a tear more times than I can count he recently released a book of short stories called someone will love you in all your damaged glory and really that's what Bojack horseman is about some of these characters are damaged but not in the Suicide Squad Joker kind of way speaking of which one of the best jokes as a show is about Jared Leto but I won't spoil it for you but they all want to be even if they don't know what kind of love they wants or how to go about getting it and I think that's something pretty much anyone can relate to not necessarily the love of a romantic companion but just someone who you know cares and thinks about you and wants nothing but the best for you and you for them they may have done some self-destructive even downright awful things but they still deserve love and they all want to be better so thank you to everyone who made Bojack horseman a show about anthropomorphic animals who are more human than most characters on television it gets easier every day it gets a little easier yeah but you got to do it every day that's the hard part but it does get easier okay [Music] so if he made it to the end of this video then thank you so much for watching it I really appreciate it this is my first video that I've put together and it was quite a big task for me I really loved Bojack horseman it's a great show and it was actually just announced today September 27th that the upcoming season is going to be released on October 25th and it's actually going to be the final season of it I'll be sad to see the show go but it's better than for it to drag on indefinitely and you know and it was some thing that's unrecognizable by the end and speaking of which my next episode is more than likely going to be on the American office and what happened to it where it all went wrong it's always been a fascinating subject to me thank you so much once again if you wouldn't mind liking and subscribing to my channel or liking this video and subscribing to my channel you know what I mean don't be much appreciated hopefully I'll be able to get the next video out pretty soon but otherwise you know once again thank you very much it means a lot to me that you took your time out to watch this have a good day and I'll figure out some kind of way to end video as properly in the future hopefully bye bye

Channel: Salari

Views: 481,351

Keywords: bojack horseman intro, bojack horseman sarah lynn, bojack horseman analysis, bojack horseman abortion, bojack horseman asexual, bojack horseman anxiety, bojack horseman charlotte, bojack horseman depression, bojack horseman downer ending, bojack horseman episodes, netflix, animation, television, bojack horseman, bojack horseman princess carolyn, bojack horseman mr peanutbutter, bojack horseman diane nguyen, bojack horseman todd chavez, video essay, review, analysis

Id: yUDgFnfzsgM

Length: 33min 40sec (2020 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 30 2019