BoJack for All

Cartoons may have typically been geared towards children in the past, but considering the adult content inside of BoJack Horseman, it’s not hard to see why it premieres on Adult Swim and has a more mature rating. While the animation is nothing particularly special, the mass appeal is in the wide relatability to the characters and the problems they face. Despite the fact that not a lot of people can relate to the specific life BoJack leads, there are a few issues that people can relate to on an individual basis and that helps to expand the viewership of the show.

Following the mid-life crisis of an alcoholic Hollywood has-been horse, we open to find our main character, BoJack, in the midst of his old TV show. We travel through a small conversation and a terrible joke within the show and then we pan out into an interview that he is a part of, and very drunk at as well. As the questions continue on in this interview, we find BoJack unable to answer the final, simple question of “What have you done since the show was cancelled 18 years ago?” This brings us into the electric and jazzy introduction, which features a detailed idea of how BoJack’s life has been since the cancelation of his old sitcom. In just a few cut scenes, we see his life spiral out of control as he gets drunker throughout the opening. By the time the opening credits finish, you almost feel sorry for BoJack for the things he goes through up through that point and every day included.

The specific type of humor employed in the show helps to break down some of the politically correct speech we are faced with in our society. By disregarding those walls of what is “okay” or “not okay” to say, you can almost forget the rules of society. There are multiple scenes that address binge-drinking, alcoholism, anxiety, financial situations, and the sense of confusion many actors feel when they have stalled out. While it can address some historically hot-button issues, it still manages to go about them in a way that isn’t particularly heavy and dark, but not entirely light-hearted and lackadaisical. This is a good way to approach these topics from a production standpoint because you don’t run the risk of scaring your customer base off, but you also don’t face the complete demise of your show by being insensitive to the issues in our world.

Overall, BoJack Horseman is a unique TV show in that it uses itself as a platform to address some of the harder-hitting social problems that many people face today. Its specific type of humor is employed to attract a wide variety of viewers as well, which makes it diverse in that it can bring about a connecting point for many different people. While it takes some getting used to at first, it slowly becomes a favorite in the arsenal of comedic television shows that many adults choose to watch.