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Exploring Bojack Horseman, an understanding of the

Contemporary Resemblance

Mythreyi Undavalli

Reg. No: 20388064

MSc Applied Psychology

Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University

Dr. Barani Kanth D.

26.02.2021
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Abstract

Societal understanding of mental health has gradually been picking pace. The on-going

mental health revolution and many prominent figures discussing their struggles openly led to

growing awareness about mental health and mental illness. The depiction of mental health on

major media forms also influences how the masses view this concept. Though the shift towards

becoming aware of the issues that were once considered taboo is commendable, they need to be

highly accurate while doing so to avoid misrepresentation. This article focuses on mental health

depiction in the Netflix-produced web series ‘Bojack Horseman’. Bojack Horseman is an

animated series that follows the main lead Bojack Horseman through various series of events in

his life. While we journey with the character of Bojack Horseman, we understand his perception

towards life, struggle while coping with alcoholism and failing relationships, his search for

meaning and identity. The show has been praised by many critics for its nuanced representation

of mental illness. It not only gives a much accurate depiction of them but also closely examines

the root causes. This show also poignantly directs criticism towards romanticizing mental

disorders. Hence in this article, the focus is directed towards exploring the characters of Bojack

Horseman concerning their contemporary societal resemblance and the depiction of mental

illness throughout the show. This article will also attempt to understand anthropomorphic

storytelling and how it enhanced the relatable nature of this show. 

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 Bojack Horseman is an animated series about Bojack Horseman, an anthropomorphic

horse who was once a successful TV star. It was created by Rafael Bob-Waksberg for an adult

audience. The show was started in the year 2014 and continued for 6 seasons till it ended in

2020. The show is set in a world where animals possess human-like characteristics and they co-

exist with humans. The show begins with introducing Bojack Horseman, a former TV star who’s

aspiring to get back into the limelight through various ways like writing a memoir, starring in a

show, and even trying to win an Oscar. 

Bojack Horseman doesn’t explicitly address any particular mental illness; it is portrayed

subliminally throughout the show. As the show starts to go deeper, we come to understand the

struggles of not just Bojack Horseman, but also his family and friends. Though we see many

characters in the show struggling with many masks that a mental illness wears, the creator

doesn’t limit them to their struggles. Characters are rather shown in their entirety which makes

them relatable and realistic to the people who are aware of mental illness and also to those who

have no idea about them. The show gets so realistic to a point where it gets jarring to watch. The

bright colors set a background of irony to how grave and grim the reality of every character is.

Yet the show somehow manages to not throw the characters in the pity light, rather we look up to

them and wonder how strong they are. Through the main characters of Bojack Horseman, we

understand the ways and workings of depression, substance abuse, bereavement, and patterns of

self-destruction. Bojack is not a show about the happily ever after, it is about the day after that

and the day after that. Though it might seem hopeless and nihilistic on the surface, it makes us

question, isn’t it true that there is something after the happily ever after? The show also excels in

accurately representing the present day’s moral ambiguity. As a generation witnessing the

transition of moral code, it sometimes becomes hard to strike a balance. This show poignantly
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captures the essence of it. Bojack Horseman also takes a subtle dig at romanticizing mental

illnesses through the character of Mr. Peanut butter, a pathologically happy dog who gets chosen

as the face of depression.

Analyzing the characters of Bojack Horseman         

Bojack Horseman begins as a satirical comedy on a washed-up TV star who is living off

his old fame. Though on the surface he seems to not care about the show business anymore, him

repeatedly watching his old TV show suggests otherwise. Bojack, though, only watches the

episodes where his role is prominent, which suggests his narcissistic tendencies. We quickly

learn that Bojack is self-centered, ignorant of other’s feelings, and also is very lonely. Though he

makes excellent points when coming to stating the truth as it is, not when he should be found

accountable that is. Bojack has a roommate Todd, who’s been couch surfing at his place. Though

Bojack hates being around Todd, he never asks him to leave as he feels “Living with another

human may fill the hole a little”. In instances like this Bojack is seen as more human than a mere

washed-up actor who got the role just because he was a horse. 

Bojack is often compared with the character of Mr. Peanut Butter throughout the show.

Mr. Peanut Butter is shown as the imaginary contrast of Bojack in many ways. When Mr. Peanut

Butter is chosen as the face of depression, it not only mocks and trivializes the issues that his

own family and friends are facing but also stands as irony because all along Bojack is the perfect

representation of depression. 

The roots for why Bojack has become the shipwreck that he underlies in his childhood,

much to Freud’s amusement. Bojack’s mother, Beatrice Sugarman, is the heiress of Sugarman

fortunes, whose ill fate makes her marry a failed novelist. She blames her pregnancy for all that

has happened wrong in her life. Even after Bojack is born, she turns to alcohol and subjects
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Bojack to extreme neglect. All through his childhood, Bojack never really understands how love

works. He’s often left in a confused state where he thinks of him as a person who doesn’t

deserve love. We can see this pattern in many scenarios where Bojack misinterprets the concept

of love. Like when he tries to kiss Diane or makes a mother out of his girlfriend/agent Princess

Carolyn, or when he tries to sleep with his best friend’s teenage daughter. Bojack never gets to

stand up to his emotionally abusive mom, until her funeral. The episode ‘Eulogy’ is one big

monologue about Bojack saying explicitly how he feels about Beatrice Sugarman. This episode

reveals a lot about Bojack and is one of the rare moments where we empathize with him.

 All the while Bojack becomes so self-centered as if he feels if not for him; no one in the

world would work for his happiness. We can observe this when he tries to go and apologize to all

the people he has wronged in her life along with Sarah Lynn. He does that to feel good about

himself, irrespective of the feelings of the ones receiving the apology. 

In the case of Sarah Lynn, Bojack is seen as his worst behavior. Sarah Lynn was a child

artist who was shoved into the show biz. She goes on a downward spiral doing drugs but quickly

gets her feet back. But when Bojack calls her to have ‘some fun with him’, Sarah Lynn quickly

says yes and breaks her clean cycle. Some bizarre events followed by leads to Sarah Lynn’s

death. This episode ‘It’s too much man’ is the most poignant episode of the entire series. We can

see the heights of selfishness in Bojack when he sits by overdosed Sarah Lynn for 17 minutes

before calling for help. Sarah Lynn passes in these 17 minutes. Though Bojack eventually

realizes his grave mistake, it costs him the life of someone who looked up to him as a father

figure to realize this. 

By the end of the show, Bojack is seen to have several eye-opening experiences and tries

to clean up his life. He actively goes on to help each of his friends and shows concern, which is
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so not like Bojack. He searches for a purpose in his life and realizes how much he owes to his

friends. He takes the place of a listener and becomes supportive of all of them, including the

most annoying Mr. Peanut Butter.

The show Bojack Horseman though starts highly concerned with only the character of

Bojack Horseman; it slowly progresses into establishing all the other characters in their light. It

comprehensively portrays their struggles, while simultaneously talking about how all of them are

walking towards finding themselves together. 

The character of Princess Carolyn is just as intricate as the lead Bojack. She was shown

as a workaholic and manipulative agent who struggles to maintain the work-life balance. It’s

clearly shown that she’s unable to maintain both when she constantly finds herself entangles in

situations where both work and her personal life are affected. She dates her client Bojack and

becomes his agent 24/7. When this doesn’t work out she picks someone from her office to date.

Her character arc is the most complex of all the other characters. She doesn’t go into self-

realization in a straight line. Rather she makes mistakes, tumbles down, and spirals back to the

same old behavior before finally realizing why she’s doing what she’s doing all her life. She

looks at work as if that is the thing that compensates for all of her losses in her life. PC is always

shown as someone who deliberately takes care of other people. This also roots back to her

childhood where she had to care for her alcoholic mother, who sees PC’s pregnancy as a way to

get wed-locked with a rich man. At that tender age, PC thinks that taking care is the only thing

she’s good at. The choice of her career also seems to oscillate towards this central trait of hers. In

the episode ‘Ruthie’ PC’s vulnerability is revealed, even the most delusional Bojack seems to be

surprised that PC has an imaginary grand-child through which she keeps reminding herself that

in the future everything is going to be ok. 

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The character of Dianne, ghost-writer/friend of Bojack is probably the most relatable

character of the whole series. The phases of depression are most accurately represented through

Diane’s character. From the beginning, we often see her blaming herself for her unhappiness.

Diane is the person who people roll their eyes at and say ‘What a bore!’ Even then we see her

struggling to take a stand refusing to abide by just to fit in. 

Diane is always unsure of what she wants and what makes her happy. The series of

wrong choices she makes throughout the show offers validity to this point. But she’s never

scared of voicing her opinion out. When she has to take a stand against a sexual abuser, she even

defies her then-husband Mr. Peanut Butter to bring out the truth. This can be taken as an instance

of how this show represents many contemporary social movements too. In this case the ‘Me too’

movement. Diane is the representative of every girl who has been ostracised for being weird in

the school. She’s the one who never fits in the popular culture but relentlessly trying to be herself

in a world where people constantly say she has no place. Diane’s journey to self-realization isn’t

a walk on the bed of roses, but it sure is filled with hope. Throughout the show, she raises

excellent questions which makes us uncomfortable but we can’t help get on board with her.

She’s the one who sees the yin in the yang and the yang in the yin.

Todd is one character who refuses to take labels. If there’s any character who is so

brutally themselves, it’s undeniably Todd. Though his initial picture is of a lazy couch surfer, he

quickly rises to be someone who’s the kindest and the most supportive friend to all of them.

Todd is fearless. He doesn’t hesitate to prove himself wrong if the need be. The nature that Todd

has is hard to achieve, but something all of us want to have. He simply is the person who’s the

most comfortable in his own skin. We all can’t help but wish we’re as open and as brave as Todd

is one day.
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The fifth and the last major character of this show is Mr. Peanut Butter. Peanut Butter is

happy, all the time and no matter what. He’s happy even though most of his friends and family

are suffering. He fails to see it through his rose-tinted glasses. Another resemblance of Bojack in

Mr. Peanut Butter is the selfishness both of them share. Peanut Butter is all about grand gestures

to his loved one. He likes doing that but at the same time, he doesn’t realize the wants and needs

of the recipients. His constantly failing relationships are a big sign of this, which he conveniently

ignores. By the end though, we see him trying to mend things but the damage has already been

done. 

Understanding the resemblance

Through all these characters and many others, Bojack deals with the complex nature of

not just mental illness but humans themselves. Though life seems simple on the outside, there’s

so much more that is left un-dealt. Bojack focuses on these undealt issues. It is a scary revelation

of those monsters under the bed that we know exists but is too scared to look at. I’m sure that

everyone who watches this show is faced with at least one inner demon of his. Bojack is a

personification of all these inner demons in people. Though we’re aware of them we refuse to

acknowledge them. While watching this show, we not only are made to confront but also are

shown the consequences that these traits of us have on others, which can be quite unsettling. The

show also takes a dig at the trend of false agitations we see. It shows the growing insecurity

among us as a generation, which is quite saddening. It takes a lot to feel enough in the times

where everything seems to be fit in a certain box. It talks about the two-sided nature of the

thought of ‘being oneself’. You can be yourself, as long as you fit in any of these given boxes.

The irony is something that most of us ignore or abide by. Bojack is raw and doesn’t mask these

issues to make us comfortable. This show often feels like a cold water splash. The moral
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confusion that is prevalent among us now is also carefully represented through the character of

Diane. What is right to you can be causing harm to me, so where exactly do we strike a balance?

This is the question that Diane keeps asking throughout the show and we’re left to give our own

answers. 

The anthropomorphic storytelling in Bojack makes it more relatable. It is often believed

that we learn better through anthropomorphic storytelling than through human characters. The

numerous moral stories with animals as leads are good examples of that. Though the story is

quite compelling and disturbing, when we see a bunch of animals portraying the characters there

is a sense of relief. This relief comes from not being accountable directly. It soothes us. But then

we can’t help but think how similar these animals are to us. This is where Bojack achieves its

success. It slyly but truly makes us come face to face with the raw us. 

Bojack is not just a show. It’s a representation of society as it is. Hollywood in Bojack is

often used as a metaphor for the whole world. The creator Raphael Bob-Waksberg marvelously

delivers this sublime message through the characterization and screenplay as well. Overall

Bojack is a show that stirs so many emotions and makes us ask questions that we never dared to

fathom. Though portrays a nihilistic image, when deeply analyzed this show is about every one

of us; and nihilism however unfavorable it seems will always be a part of us.