Art is indeed a reflection of society. From films to music, we often make them our crutch to take a break of relief from the harsh realities of life. Sometimes they can even make you feel better about your life, considering that you might never have to fight a swarm of zombies, save yourself from a mafia after your life, or go through any of the bullshit that has happened to Meredith Grey.
However, some TV shows give us the comfort of reflecting on our miseries and problems and being okay with them. The surreal animated NetFlix series, Bojack Horseman, knows how to make us feel better about our darkness with its twist of absurdity on real-life issues. From abortion, asexuality to LGBTQ+ and characters crippled with depression, this show has flawlessly managed to cover grappling social issues under its neon skies and satirical-but-honest attitude. Considering the versatile expansiveness of this show, we’ve decided to share four of our favorite life lessons we can all carry with us from this alternated-reality version of LA sitcom:
ABOUT LONELINESS
The central character, Bojack Horseman, has been shown struggling from loneliness since season 1. With the entire show spanning six seasons, loneliness became the main topic of discussion in season 5, where all characters adopted the theme in a unified narrative. From Diane feeling the most incredible intensity of this feeling as she ends her marriage and gets away to Vietnam to Todd jumping from relationship to relationship to cope with this feeling, we watch each character trying different easy to manage this emotion. The series generates some profound ideas while reflecting on our behavior to avoid feeling certain emotions in our day-to-day lives.
HARD PAST DOESN’T JUSTIFY BAD BEHAVIOR
This probably rings a bell to many of us. We all have been subjected to bad behavior by someone or have inflicted upon someone. When it comes to an apology, most of us blame it on having a bad day or a troubled past. This was Bojack’s biggest stumble when Todd said to him, “It’s you! It’s always been you”. While Todd, Princess Carolyn, and Diane all had a troubled past, they never made it an excuse for misbehaving or being rude like Bojack.
ABOUT CHANGING FRIENDSHIPS
As the seasons progressed, we could see how the characters and their relationships have leveled up and improved in many different ways than one would expect. Bojack has made terrible mistakes. He has been selfish, lost his loved ones, wasn’t around his friends in their time of need, and had toxic transformations too. His friendship took different dimensions, with some getting closer and some fading away.
EMOTIONAL HEALING IS A PROCESS
Whether it’s overcoming trauma, depression, or a severe burden of the past, this entire series stood evidence to the fact that healing is not an overnight process. While it is the first step to be taken, Bojack showed us that while stumbling on this path, we are likely to push our loved ones away or commit even bigger mistakes.
While providing elements of humor and relief to potentially sensitive subjects, Bojack Horseman deftly reflects our popular culture while making good examples of societal stereotypes.
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