I genuinely don't understand why people include BoJack Horseman on lists of shitty edgelord cartoons alongside the likes of South Park and Family Guy and Rick & Morty. All those shows are animation aimed at adults, but other than that, they don't have a lot in common? BoJack Horseman certainly has better politics than all three of the other shows.
I could maybe see the comparison with Rick & Morty, but it still doesn't really feel accurate. BoJack and Rick have similar traits, but Rick gets the "yeah, but isn't he cool?" treatment by the show and the fandom, whereas BoJack really doesn't. You're not supposed to look up to BoJack, and the show makes that very clear--whereas Rick Sanchez gets framed as a character you should aspire to be. A lot of his shitty actions get hand-waved as excusable "quirks," or even shown as somehow admirable. You don't really see that with BoJack.
BoJack Horseman has queer representation, progressive episodes about gun violence and abortion and capitalist exploitation, and characters experiencing genuine consequences for shitty things they do. Plus the creator, Raphael Bob-Waksberg, is a Jewish man who is very loud on Twitter about the need for antifascism, and has auctioned off signed BoJack Horseman scripts to raise money for both trans orgs and abortion funds. He's also currently an executive producer for Tuca & Bertie, which is an incredibly queer show whose starring roles are all played by PoC, so he's clearly putting his money where his mouth is.
All this to say, lumping Raphael Bob-Waksberg and his work in with the likes of fucking SOUTH PARK feels...hm...inaccurate, and also really fucked, considering how flagrantly antisemitic South Park has been since the beginning.
I understand that BoJack Horseman is a dark show that isn't for everyone, but a show having triggering content isn't grounds to throw it completely in the trash can alongside shows that are blatantly bigoted and unapologetic about it. That's really shitty.
And to clarify, this isn't a post saying "go watch BoJack Horseman right now, it has no flaws." It's a heavy fucking show, and has just about every trigger warning a show can have. If you're gonna watch it, go look up the warnings and know what you're getting into.
My point is mostly that it's wildly unfair (and really suspicious, tbh) to compare BoJack to shows that are blatantly reactionary and bigoted.
BoJack Horseman has:
- An arc where a main character gets an abortion, and there is a nationwide discussion of abortion rights. A pregnant woman in her 30s has a frank conversation with a pregnant teenage girl about how scary it is to have to walk past the protesters outside the clinic. There is a catchy pop song about abortion.
- An episode titled "Thoughts & Prayers" with a plot centered around misogyny and gun violence. It in an explicit plot point that gun legislation only gets passed after a woman of color advocates for other women to start carrying weapons for personal defense. The show directly calls out that the misogyny of the court is what pushes the decision, not an actual desire to tackle violence.
- The single best depiction of asexuality I have ever seen in television, and an entire plot that explores how a relationship can go wrong when you only get together because you're lonely and have a compatible sexuality, not because you have a genuine connection.
- An episode where the entire L.A. entertainment industry grinds to a screeching halt because the workers unionize and stage a walkout. The day is saved when one of the main characters calls in a contract negotiator to help the union secure their demands.
- A running gag where corporations keep buying each other and merging, until there is only one super-corporation. The CEO is an active antagonist to one of the main characters, who is a disabled woman of color trying to draw attention to his crimes.
- Plenty more stuff along these lines.
