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Unit II Assignment

BoJack Horseman: A Drunken Horse Runs Around Hollywood

Animated anthropomorphic animals get into crazy adventures in Hollywood.

BoJack Horseman from “BoJack Horseman” is a self-loathing, selfish, narcissistic washed-up Hollywoo/d actor from a 90s sitcom. He used to be famous for his role as an adoptive father in the show “Horsin’ Around”, but now, he’s yesterday’s news.  He spends his days wallowing in self-pity and alcohol wishing for his old life back.

BoJack Horseman is an adult comedy show meant for laughs with drama sprinkled in. It follows BoJack on his desperate quest to regain stardom to reaffirm his life. The show BoJack Horseman seems like any other comedy show full of laughs and giggles, and yet it will have these moments where it the show turns dark and bleak.

BoJack Horseman’s first season tells a story full of laughs, but ends in misery. It engages the viewer and makes them want to keep watching each episode one after the other(as I did).

However “BoJack Horseman” is special. It tells two stories; one that follows BoJack’s adventures as an empty-on-inside alcoholic that can’t properly interact with people anymore, and the other that is satire on the real life Hollywood industry that reaffirms the idea that it turns that class of people with talent into empty, drug-ingesting, alcohol-guzzling, attention seeking husks that care for no one but themselves.

One of the very first scenes in the first episode had BoJack already drunk in the middle of the day during a public TV interview, and to top it all off, he’s parked in a handicapped spot. He apologizes, but it’s insincere, and they continue with the interview. He’s writing a memoir, and this memoir will be the ‘focus’ of season 1. This plot line is what will drive the season and provide the base for other plot lines to happen.

Not to say that characters aren’t multi-faceted, and that the show’s only purpose is to ruin the main character’s life, BoJack finds himself falling in love with his ghostwriter, Diane. In Episode 6, “Our A-Story is a “D” Story” BoJack steals the ‘D’ from the Hollywood sign while drunk to give to Diane as a gesture of his love. This kind of action is central to BoJack’s character. He doesn’t think of his actions or how they will affect the people around him.

In Episode 7, BoJack wakes up from a drunken stupor in front of Princess Carolyn’s lawn, to find out that he’s been on a two-week bender because he was so depressed. He made friends with a homeless person who then also mysteriously dies during this time period. Immediately, after waking up, he wants another drink. “Diane got engaged to Mr. PeanutBut-?! I need a drink.” The writers are trying to emphasize BoJack’s emphasis on drinking and alcohol.

BoJack used to star in a sitcom called “Horsin’ Around” and it was quite successful while it was still airing. Eighteen years later, BoJack is still living off of his earnings from his time during the show, and he’s jaded and narcissistic. His ghostwriter finishes his book, and BoJack is upset with it because he feels it highlights the worst aspects of him. So, he gets the idea to write his own week, giving himself a week deadline because his publishing company is going under. When he realizes he’s way in over his head, he turns to one of the now grown-up child actors and turns to drugs to finish his book in enough time. He also adds pills to his morning wake-up cure, which also includes more vodka.

BoJack Horseman is a desperate individual. With two conflicting personalities, one which he puts on that says he doesn’t care about anyone except for himself and his wants, and the other that says he actually does have a heart. This stems from his childhood, which was also exacerbated by his time in Hollywood. His mother grew up as a heiress, and when she married BoJack’s father, she wasn’t able to properly transition from such a high class lifestyle to a working class marriage. Her treatment of BoJack gives him flashbacks of bad memories that occur throughout the season.

To sum it all up, BoJack Horseman(the character) is deeply damaged and suffering individual and the show, “BoJack Horseman” is a satire on Hollywood and the effect working in the acting business has on that class of people.

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The Struggle of Worship

Every Sunday when I was younger (from around age 5 to age 11), my mother and my brothers would go to church together. Sometimes the mornings would be smooth going; everyone on time and no yelling at all. Other times, not so much. When I was ten years old, my brothers were 15 and 17 years old respectively. At that time, they were at the stage of independence where they felt that going to church wasn’t necessary. I didn’t have that choice.

When I wake up at 9:00, I already hear the shower going. I already know that today I won’t get any hot water. Four of us sharing one bathroom means we have to start much earlier so that we can all be dressed on time. I can hear my mother humming in her room as she gets ready. She definitely was awake much earlier than any of us and yet I’m almost positive that us three boys will finish first. I peek into the master bedroom to say “Good morning mom!” and I can see her putting make-up on and in the back of the room, my dad is still asleep.

An hour and 15 minutes later all of us are showered and dressed, waiting for our mother to finish while we watch Liberty Kids in the living room before heading to church. Today is one of the lucky ones where we all wake up on time with our clothes ironed the night before.

As I grew older than 11, the amount of time per month my brothers would go to church became much less frequent until suddenly, they stopped coming. I was already tired of waking up early in the morning on weekends, but now I would have to sit through the services alone.

“Why didn’t you iron your clothes last night?!”

I’m gritting my teeth as I try to finish ironing my pants. There are ten minutes before we need to leave for church and I’m not ready. My mother is getting worried and angry so her voice is getting louder, and her movements sharper.

“…I just didn’t feel like it.” I can only mutter my response and try to iron faster. She’s already angry and there’s no chance of appeasing her.

Walking through the doors of the church, I already see the acolytes and priests setting up the altar for the upcoming service. Our mother ushers all three of us up the side aisle towards a seat near the front of the pews. I let out an inaudible sigh and an imperceptible shake of my head. Sitting so close to the front means that I need to stay attentive throughout the service and listen to the sermon as well.

It’s summertime, which means there’s no Summer School. I am forced to sit with the congregation, but the service is slightly shorter, which is a blessing.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me!” I sway slightly from side to side as the church sings. As much as I hate singing, I cannot deny that I enjoy the music of the church. As we settle back into the pews, I prepare myself. The Reverend is walking to the pulpit to begin the sermon.

              “…we must look to Jesus Christ for forgiveness and to try and emulate his behavior. Only God is perfect and we can only hope that we can be half as good as him…We must strive to be good people, to honor thy father and mother and to help your neighbors.”

I look down to hide my grimace. I can see my mother nodding along with the Sermon from the corner of my eye, but I can only shake my head internally. I never understood why I needed to go to church to hear these things that I already know. These things aren’t just the conditions to being a good Christian, but a good person. Even without worshipping, I would have respected my parents. I didn’t need God to tell me to be polite and courteous to other people.

I used to be an acolyte, holding the Holy Bible for the priest to read from during the Gospel. Waking up early and getting dressed was manageable. I would participate in the services, follow along with the reading and sermons, and truly try to understand. And now, I only go to church during the school year (I go to a Christian boarding school out of state) when it’s mandatory, and services for Christmas and Easter during breaks when I go home. Waking up in the morning is a pain, and I only go to a regular service when I feel guilty about breaking that habit. I can only imagine that I grew up cynical or that I grew tired of someone telling me how I should try to act to please someone I couldn’t see. Or maybe it was the fact that the church was telling me these things that I should strive to be and to do, because of faith, and yet I wanted to be that kind of person, simply because it meant being a good person. I did not need to try to appeal to God with good behavior and communion, when I could live my life as an upstanding citizen.

All of these thoughts bounce through my skull as my mother continues to nod along to the Sermon, give me a side-long glance and clap along with the congregation when the pastor mentions something about obedient children listening to their parents and following their advice.

I grimace even harder at her passive-aggressiveness. It makes me wish harder than ever that the service was over so I didn’t have to sit through this. I wanted so badly to tell my mother that I didn’t want to go to church, to outright tell her that I couldn’t wholly believe in what she put her entire life into, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to see her go flat and emotionless when I told her that I didn’t want to worship, a blank stare on her face with a hard frown that drives straight into my heart and makes me cringe in preparation for the aftermath. I didn’t truly believe but I doubt I’d ever tell my mother that.