The Netflix hit adult cartoon, Bojack Horseman, stars Will Arnett as a washed up 90’s sitcom actor with some serious issues. Humanoid horse, Bojack Horseman tries to be relevant in the media after years of rewatching old episodes of his hit show, “Horsin’ Around.” The show is very comedic, with numerous clever animal gags, but it takes a turn once the audience realizes who Bojack is. Creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg constructs an emotionally ambiguous show as audiences get to know the anti-hero Bojack Horseman as his actions reflect the person he is. Raphael well-establishes the interesting view point of life that each character has. For instance, instead of believing in God, Bojack’s view in life is that it is meaningless. A youtube video on Wisecrack divides the philosophy of Bojack Horseman by explaining its “disillusionment that inevitably comes when you look beneath the surface.” People do the things they do each day to just busy themselves to prevent thinking themselves into a depression. Bojack Horseman questions whether he has a purpose in life, as the people around him inform him life is just meaningless. Mr. Peanut Butter, for example, is the only character in the show that has it together, because he has a set of idea of what life is. He spends his life in a constant state of distraction doing a bunch of stupid stuff on a daily basis but he believes that, “The universe is a cruel, uncaring void. The key to being happy isn’t to search for meaning, it’s just to keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually you’ll be dead.” Kind of a cruel way to look at life, and that’s why Bojack has such a hard time because he doesn’t know or understand how to live in this way. Bojack constantly searches for meaning and purpose which leads to his depression. As season 3 ends with his soon-to-be daughter trying to reach him on the phone, I think Waksberg is going to explore parenthood being Bojack’s purpose in life.
If you’re still interested in learning more depth of the philosophy of Bojack Horseman, you can watch Wisecracks video analysis here.
Photo courtesy of HuffingtonPost.com.