Horsin' Around with Freud: Bojack Horseman and Freudian Parallels

Freudian analysis can encompass depths as deep as the ocean and yet many try to sum it all up in a bottle of words. I will refrain from such pursuits.

One thing we can do with accuracy however is attempting to apply the Psychological approach he concocts on the contemporary world. This paper will look at Bojack Horseman, a Netflix original series, from the Freudian microscope and try to highlight the numerous patterns and principles that the titular anthropomorphic character embodies.?

If as a reader, one is unfamiliar with the series, the main plot essentially revolves around Bojack Horseman and a mixed group of his friends, family and other residents of ‘Hollywoo’. The protagonist Bojack used to be the star of a popular 1990s TV Show—Horsin Around. However, at the point at which the show begins, Bojack is a washed up old timer living off his old money and fame. Bojack represents a character mainly driven by his Id, the Pleasure principle. To put it in Fleabag’s words from a completely different monologue, he has

"...spent most of his adult life using intercourse to deflect from the screaming void inside his empty heart."

Almost all the women he meets throughout the series, he either already has slept with or is about to soon; falling in love with half of them. Namely Princess Carolyn- his long-standing Hollywoo agent, Diane- his memoirist, Marcy- the president of his own fan club, Gina- his co-star in a film he shoots later, his housemate Todd's girlfriend and even Sarah Lynn- his reel daughter from Horsin Around. He is about to sleep with a childhood friend and her daughter, on the same day. Bojack is the perfect clinical example of a person trying to keep his traumatically-induced pain at bay.

His irrational decisions can be explained through the many flashbacks that follow the narrative and help us understand why his id completely drives his decisions. He didn’t have proper role models growing up to form a healthy ego to balance his Superego and Id; as both Butterscotch and Beatrice Horseman his parents are completely driven by their Ids too. They both get stuck with each other after their one night stand results in Beatrice's impregnation which leads her to lose her “glorious life before Bojack” as she puts it. And Butterscotch is inherently always blaming them for not being able to chase his dream of being a published author. Being stuck in a loveless marriage with their own issues, both Beatrice and Butterscotch are unable to care for a child who grows up witnessing the hostility between his parents and their disposition.?

His parents pay him little to no attention which is why he has this pathological need to be liked by everyone. And the fact that his mother constantly reminds him throughout his childhood how “he ruined her”, he grows up internalising these remarks. He trusts no male companions and is hostile towards any relations he sees approaching which explains his irrational dislike for Mr. Peanutbutter, an anthropomorphic dog and another Hollywoo star who has been nothing but good to him through the years.?

Bojack compulsively looks for instant gratification which explains his drinking and drug overdose. We get a very clear glimpse of the same in the very first episode when his Ego fights his Id on whether he should eat cookies for breakfast or not. His Ego knows he shouldn’t because the consequences will be poor health and weight gain, but his Id pushes him to eat them for that instant gratification achieved by the pleasure principle. And so he eats compulsively while hating his body and berating himself for binging.?

He struggles to maintain stable relationships, because either he cannot handle the pain of separation or betrayal or he thinks that he doesn't deserve any happiness that came along with such relationships at all. Even after trying to quit these habits and regretting his decisions under such drugs constantly, he is unable to let go of these addictions. He resorts back to his old ways, no matter what measures are imposed on him, no matter how sober he gets. He is constantly stuck in these repeated patterns as he is ultimately driven by his need for pleasure and the things that will instinctively give him immediate gratification which is sadly why; our Sisyphus perishes.?

He projects his problems on other people and things, often taking no responsibility for anything he does that ends up badly yet all the responsibility for the good things. He sabotages Todd's opera because he is terrified of being alone, he tries to break off Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane's wedding because he loves Diane even though she doesn't love him back, he constantly uses Princess Carolyn whenever he needs a fire put out or is emotionally lonely, with no regard for the bond they share. He sleeps with Todd's girlfriend in the heat of the moment with no Morality or Reality to keep his self destructive behaviour at bay.

?He is constantly in denial about his condition and gets addicted to painkillers, despite the fact that a pain-killer induced delusional fantasy leads him to choke his love interest at the time, Gina on camera. He has internalised that,

Everything that happens in the world isn't because of some wicked plan and machination but because we are all a bunch of stupid horny little goons just grabbing at things hoping they will bring us happiness.

One can clearly see Bojack representing the Id on the show, and on extension Todd as the Ego and Diane representing the Superego. Todd is the one who rationally tries to assist Bojack to show his Pleasure induced characteristics in acceptable ways, being the voice of reason at many occasions. And Diane is a major influence on his decisions leading him to do things that are positive. She tries to help Bojack be seen in a positive light.?

Freud uses the example of the horse and a rider to explain the relationship between Id and Ego and the fact that Bojack's lower self is the man and the upper rider half the animal, could be a subtle clever move on the part of the creators to show how his animal instinct, the Pleasure, drives his whole being.?

The fact that every character on the show has some kind of an issue they are dealing with at all times just like life, is one of the reasons why the show is lauded as the most realistic depiction of depression in contemporary times. It does not just stop with the “happily ever after” sign, but it shows the day after the “happily ever after” and the day after that. The fact that the show emphasizes that life is not vertical and does not in fact lead to a 'happy ending'; but is horizontal and may very well end without a specific final destination or a supposed climax, is the closest reality television has come to mimicking reality.

Plato would be very proud.