Nihilism in Bojack Horseman

If Bojack Horseman is about one thing, it's about how different characters cope with the meaninglessness of the world.

People have applied the above meme to Bojack and Mr. Peanutbutter respectively. I think that's... somewhat accurate. Let's take a detailed look at how Bojack, Diane, Mr. Peanutbutter, and Princess Carolyn approach meaning in their lives, and what the show in general has to say.

Bojack endlessly searches for meaning and fulfillment and thinks that his career will bring this, if only he can get that role, or win an Oscar... But his arc shows that what he really wants and needs is family:

• He had an abusive family growing up. 
• He deluded himself into thinking his TV family was real, and spent years re-living that experience. 
• He tried to be a father to Sarah Lynn and failed horribly.
• His drug-fueled fantasy in season 1 involves him sharing a picturesque family life with Charlotte. 
• In the second season, he abandons his dream job to try to become part of Charlotte's real family. When he takes it a bit far and is rejected, he can't cope, and presses the self-destruct button. (Also known as: He tried to be a father to Penny and failed horribly.)
• In "Fish Out of Water" Bojack adopts a seahorse baby for a day. 
• In the third season, several relationships with his chosen family fall apart. In particular, Sarah Lynn, his on-screen daughter, dies and he is at least partly responsible for her death. 
• At the end of the third season, he sees a herd of horses running and feels a connection to them. 
• The fourth season is all about Bojack's family.
• His relationship with his mom always left him seeking her approval, even though he hates her. But, he shows his ability for forgiveness when she recognizes him. Instead of telling her off, as he planned, he comforts her. 
• His relationship with Hollyhock gives him a real shot at fulfillment, and it terrifies him. At this point, he doesn't think he deserves a good family relationship (see above points). But Bojack doesn't self-sabotage his relationship with her; he puts her well-being first, even if it means he can never see her again.

What's the take-away from Bojack's arc? Family is something that people find a great deal of meaning in. Success in your career, especially superficial success such as winning awards, will not solve all your problems.

Ana says something insightful on this topic, when Bojack is worried that winning an Oscar won't bring him happiness. She says, no, winning an Oscar won't make him happy forever -- but it will be a really good night. Bojack struggles with the idea that happiness isn't a permanent state of being. No one can be happy all the time, and that's okay: Having good days is all there really is.

As the series goes on, Bojack begins to understand the importance of relationships. In "Fish Out of Water" he writes to Kelsey: "In this terrifying world, all we have are the connections that we make." I would like to thank this quote for supporting my thesis so exactly.

Diane, too, struggles with meaning, and she seeks out important work, thinking that it will fulfill her. This is shown to be very hard, and she is punished for her sincerity. In "Hank After Dark" she takes up a crusade against a well-loved public figure who has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women. She receives death threats and is harassed on the street, and she ultimately gives up. It's too hard.

This experience leads her to go to Cordovia. She's still committed to doing important work, and she thinks that if she can go somewhere else, the work will be easier, less complicated -- it won't conflict with her husband's career and her book tour. But, of course, it's not easier. Diane soon discovers that her hero, Sebastian St. Clair, is in it for the fame and ego-stroke, and he is able to easily brush off the horrible things that are happening around them. Diane can't, because she cares more than he does. As she later says to Bojack, the experience was exhausting and she couldn't do it anymore.

This is an honest depiction of how hard it is to do meaningful work. It is not romantic, and it won't make your life magically fulfilling. It will wear you down, and maybe it won't be worth it. People that work in these fields need to be prepared for that, and need to take care of themselves as well. The show's more cynical message might be: Some people that succeed in these fields are able to do so by shutting off their own empathy, so that they don't get worn down.

Early in the show, Diane says to Bojack that she doesn't believe in "deep down": "All you are is just the things that you do." This is something I think we should all sit with, because it's true and uncomfortable. (Bojack responds with, "God, that's depressing.") This belief explains her desperate search for meaningful work. She can't be a good person unless she does good things. She experiences a lot of cognitive dissonance when she later takes a job writing for a pop culture, commercialized-feminism type of blog. When she says to Bojack, about giving up on meaningful work, "I'm sorry if that makes me a bad person" she's not responding to anything he said; she's revealing her own view on the matter.

Mr. Peanutbutter is different. He isn't unfulfilled, or doesn't appear to be. In season one, he says to Diane, trying to comfort her: "The universe is a cruel, uncaring void. The key to being happy isn't a search for meaning. It's to just keep yourself busy with unimportant nonsense, and eventually, you'll be dead." In season three, he says to Bojack, trying to comfort him: "None of this matters!"

There's a bit of growth there. "This" refers to show business, and Mr. Peanutbutter's realization only comes in contrast to the relationship with his brother, which is very important to him. He doesn't take a "nothing matters" approach; but he does accept that his career doesn't matter, and it doesn't bother him. In fact, it's really comforting to him -- evidenced by the fact that he tries to comfort others by telling them that nothing matters.

Mr. Peanutbutter's cheerful nihilism may sound bleak, but I think it's insightful, and it works for some people. I'm one of those people. Bojack and Diane are not; they are not comforted by the view that most of life is trivial. And that's okay. It doesn't work for everyone.

Princess Carolyn is similar to Mr. Peanutbutter in that she stays busy with her work. Her professional success is integral to her self esteem and identity. But, like Bojack, she places importance on having a family. The season 4 episode "Ruthie" shows that Princess Carolyn is comforted by the thought of having a great-great-great granddaughter. She says this means "everything is going to work out." Having children is her definition of everything turning out alright, and that's not something she can do.

Her work is important to her, but it's a substitute for children. Her end-of-season four project, "Philbert," makes this point painfully clear. She calls it her baby and it's named after her miscarried child. Yeah, it's on the nose.

Counterpoint: parody of existentialism

Part of what the show does is make fun of rich celebrities who feel empty inside. That's an overlooked aspect, but it's there. It's wrong to say that existentialism is solely an elite problem, but there's a correlation. The characters make this point to each other, but are never introspective:

• Mr. Peanutbutter says to Bojack, the angriest he's ever been toward him, "You're a millionaire moviestar, with a girlfriend who loves you, acting in your dream movie. What more do you want? What else could the universe possibly owe you?" 
• Bojack tells Diane that she can't think she's better than everyone while living in Beverly Hills with her rich boyfriend. 
• Diane laments that no one thinks about "the world outside themselves" while being comically self-centered.
• Cuddlywhiskers says: "Sure, I wrote a bunch of hit movies, and made a bunch of money, but it wasn't fulfilling. I remember when I won my Oscar, standing up on that stage, looking at the statue, and I thought: 'This is supposed to be the happiest moment of my life, and I've never felt more miserable.'" 

Cry me a river.

There's an element of: Why can't these people just stop moping and be happy? The Cuddlywhiskers scene only makes sense in that context, and I don't understand why some fans think it's deep -- it's parody. Here's this guy, living off his royalty checks, complaining about how hard it is to be rich and successful, and how he's so much happier now that he gave it up.

Bojack tries to go this same route in season 4, when he moves to Michigan. And it doesn't make him happy. It's almost like... you're the tar pit. Whoa.

This is one of the more cynical aspects of the show; the idea that a search for meaning is something privileged people occupy themselves with. There's no real comparison to less privileged characters to confirm this (maybe Todd), but I think it's an important aspect.

Conclusion

In our modern, increasingly secular world, a lot of people struggle with the absurdity and meaninglessness of life. Bojack approaches this topic with plenty of dark humor (a favorite: "There's going to be plenty of people around when I kill myself!") -- and a lot of heart.

The show is at the end of the day, a half-hour animated comedy, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's about talking animals for god's sake. I prefer this approach to serious subjects; self-deprecating, not too preachy, subtle, humorous.

On the whole, the show is more sincere than parody. The nihilism is often played for jokes (especially Mr. Peanutbutter's bleak words of comfort), but the characters' existential depression is one of the most relatable parts of the show.

Bojack doesn't present any single coping mechanism as being the "right" one. But the pattern is that work is a distraction from characters' existential dread -- and relationships are, potentially, the answer.