Description
Book Synopsis When the final episode of BoJack Horseman aired on Netflix in 2020, it was to massive critical and popular acclaim. Across six seasons, viewers followed the exploits of a washed-up sitcom actor and his wacky collection of friends, set against the fading glitz of Hollywood and played out through a distinct cast of both human and anthropomorphic characters.
Before the series even concluded, it was clear that it would be the topic of research and discussion long beyond its relatively short run. This collection brings together essays about the ways this series handles complex and highly nuanced topics within three main themes: mental health, masculinity, and the perils of celebrity. With contributions from researchers across a broad range of fields, these essays offer a variety of perspectives on these themes, how they are represented within the show, and the ways that both characters and viewers engage with them.
Table of Contents
- Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Once Upon a Time in Hollywoo
- Harriet E.H. Earle
- "That's too much, man": Masculinities and Identity
- It's Different Because He's a Horse: Race, Gender, and Identity in Anthropomorphic Animation
- John Alberti
- More Horse Than a Man, or More Man Than a Horse: Rethinking Masculinity Through Zany Anthropomorphism
- Juliana Varela
- Anthropomorphic Deviations
- Ole Christoffer Haga
- Scribbles and Compression: Tracing Feminist Animation Aesthetics
- Jacqueline Ristola
- "Silence drowns the sound": Mental Health and Trauma
- "Someday this will all be a pleasant memory": Exploring Cycles of Trauma in Beatrice, Sarah Lynn, and Hollyhock
- Laura Mulcahy
- "I'm really carrying this double act": BoJack, Beatrice, Memory, and Forgetting
- Sam Chesters
- "Why the long face?" Metamodernism, Incongruity and Mental Illness
- Lucy Rivers
- "I'll take flight. Maybe tomorrow. Not tonight": A Psychoanalytic Perspective on "The Old Sugarman Place"
- Mike Clarke and Aanchal Vij
- "Everyone loves you, but no one likes you": Celebrity, Fame, and Entitlement
- Property, Entitlement, Impropriety: Hollywoo(d) Plays Itself at 1475 Luck Hoof Avenue
- Lawrence Alexander
- Hollywoo Stars and Celebrities: Who Are They? How Are They Created? Let's Find Out!
- Arya Rani
- Todd's Rock Opera and the Efficacy of
- Dikshya Karki
- "We're all terrible, so therefore we're all OK": The Deconstruction of the Masculine Icon and the Concept of Forgiveness
- Sarah Wagstaffe
- About the Contributors
- Index
