History DeconstructedTrope / BojackHorseman

* DeadpanSnarker: While this is a generally accepted and beloved part of the show, it gets a dark and ultimately harmful iteration in the behaviors of the Horseman family. Beatrice was a snarky and funny socialite, but when her marriage started failing she turned to sarcasm and ribbing, and it ultimately made her marriage much worse, since even when he did make changes she wanted, she could never admit the plain truth of her happiness or joy at it. This built a culture of never expressing support or love, and this resulted in Bojack having an absolutely miserable childhood, never receiving any positive reinforcement and receiving a litany of insults or belittlements.

* DoingItForTheArt: When Turtletaub vetoes a scene involving Secretariat's shady dealings with UsefulNotes/RichardNixon because he wants a more crowd-pleasing film, Bojack manages to talk Kelsey into shooting it anyway (going so far as to resort to breaking and entering to get the proper set). Once Turtletaub sees the scene, he should back down, right? [[spoiler:Nope. Once Turtletaub finds out, he fires Kelsey. He apparently didn't even know of all the illegal stuff involved in the shooting -- he fired her for the insubordination alone, which was frankly both necessary and justified. And now that the director is gone, Turtletaub simply replaces her with a hacky YesMan director capable of providing the schmaltzy feel good movie Turtletaub wants.]]

* HundredPercentAdorationRating: There are no shortcuts to being loved. It's hard, takes a lot of time and work and even then, it might not work out. Furthermore, one's reasons to achieve it might not be good or altruistic at all.
** [[TheCynic Bojack]], while an abrasive person InUniverse, is fondly remembered as [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep the Horse]], the father character in ''JustForFun/HorsinAround'', a show that was part of everyone's childhoods. Despite his appearance and people often remembering him in an affectionate way, his attitude, especially for those who know him, [[NiceCharacterMeanActor is a major letdown.]] His reputation only works as a way to [[InferioritySuperiorityComplex keep his incredibly fragile self-esteem going]] and his constant interactions imply that people are only willing to meet the guy who played the Horse, not the man himself, often overlooking other achievements of his, or [[HiddenDepths more sympathetic qualities.]] Despite this, [[IJustWantToHaveFriends he tries time and again to obtain the love and acceptance of his (few) peers]], but his childhood, combined with his narcissism, show that [[LoveHungry his perception of love and acceptance, as well as his attempts to win or earn it]], [[TragicHero are too narrow-minded and self-centered to truly work.]]
** [[MisterStrangenoun Mr.]] [[CloudCuckoolander Peanutbutter]] is Bojack's rival and a friendly NiceGuy who's constantly positive, cheerful and often tries to lend a hand often in his desire to make everyone happy. His upbeat attitude and willingness to entertain everyone in a FunPersonified style, combined with his personality, which causes people to adore him, make him a great friend and fun to hang around... for a while. In a similar vein to [[{{Foil}} Bojack]], the people who interact with him for a short while find him charming, yet these same qualities in greater scope make every single recurring interaction with people difficult, with his attitude often giving others the impression of his optimism as a sign of [[TheDitz an oblivious moron]] or of another shallow celebrity trying to obnoxiously pass off as charming. This is only exacerbated by his constant [[InnocentlyInsensitive insensitivity]] and [[PassiveAggressiveKombat passive-aggressive behavior]], neither of which he intends. To go further, [[StepfordSmiler his perception is defined]] by his AntiNihilist and his dark outlook on life, which he deems cruel and meaningless, coupled with [[AwfulWeddedLife a previous, terrible marriage]]. While his (current) wife, Diane, adores him, she's not above getting exasperated with the constant reinforcement of '''his''' version of happiness over '''hers'''. To top it all, the one person Mr. Peanutbutter would wish to connect, Bojack, '''[[SomebodyDoesntLoveRaymond despises him]]''' (yet at the same time keeps him around, if only because he doesn't have many other friends).
** On a more plot-related case, [[spoiler: [[NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Hank]] [[Creator/BillCosby Hippopopalous]]' notoriety and well positioned status is such that when Diane [[AwfulTruth denounces him]] as [[HeManWomanHater a woman abuser]], the public's reaction to it range from [[CassandraTruth shock and denial]] to [[ShootTheMessenger hate of Diane for even suggesting something like that of Hank]] to even hate of women, [[WhyDidYouMakeMeHitYou believing them to be the cause of the whole issue for being such "drama queens".]] Such is the potency of the belief of Hank's '''[[BlatantLies innocence]]''' that not only does Diane receive death threats and gets no support apart from Bojack and Mr. Peanutbutter, Hank himself gets away [[KarmaHoudini scot-free.]] Lesson, kids: If you're gonna fight a {{Domestic Abuse}}r, try someone [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney who's poor]], [[ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections powerless]] and [[VillainWithGoodPublicity has no PR agent.]] Or more specifically, someone who's [[DavidVsGoliath on the same level as you.]]]]

One of the main reasons why ''WesternAnimation/BojackHorseman'' has received much critical and audience attention is its harsh and successful {{Deconstruction}} of Hollywood, life, true love, narcissism, depression and the eternal search for happiness.

* CuttingTheKnot: This trope was Joseph Sugarman's FatalFlaw. He didn't have the patience to actually think his actions through, and demonstrates a disturbing tendency to choose what might appear on the surface to be quick and easy solutions to his family's problems, but are incredibly destructive and harmful to those around him. [[spoiler: Is the wife struggling with mental illness? Have her lobotomized so you don't have to deal with it again! Is the child sick with a contagious disease? Burn all of her possessions! Is the said child crying for her lost possessions? Threaten to give her a lobotomy like her mother. That'll shut her up! Who cares? As long as she's quiet!]]
* DoingItForTheArt: When Turtletaub vetoes a scene involving Secretariat's shady dealings with UsefulNotes/RichardNixon because he wants a more crowd-pleasing film, Bojack manages to talk Kelsey into shooting it anyway (going so far as to resort to breaking and entering to get the proper set). Once Turtletaub sees the scene, he should back down right? [[spoiler:Well, no. Once Turtletaub finds out, he simply fires Kelsey. He apparently didn't even know of all the illegal stuff involved in the shooting: he fired her for the insubordination alone, which was frankly both necessary and justified. And now that the director is gone, Turtletaub simply replaces her with a hacky YesMan director capable of providing the schmaltzy feel good movie Turtletaub wants.]]

-->-- '''Raphael Bob-Waksberg''', in an interview with ''Indiewire''

** There are plenty of background jokes involving animal habits and instincts that often hide quite dark and depressing messages: a little bird has just hatched in his stroller and suddenly [[AdultFear leaves flying while still being a baby]]; [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything a wolf using a "Sheep" T-shirt approaches an unsuspecting female sheep while a friend tries to get her away]], the list goes on.

** Flashbacks in Season Four shows that Beatrice Horseman, Bojack's abusive mother, didn't have a great childhood herself. She was raised by an extremely sexist father [[spoiler: who gave her mother a lobotomy when she "couldn't keep her womanly emotions in check" after her grief from [[AdultFear their only son Crackerjack being Killed In Action during World War II]] consumed her. He was also completely unsympathetic when he forced her to burn Beatrice's favorite doll due to her Scarlet Fever, even obliquely threatening the crying Beatrice with a lobotomy of her own if she didn't reign it in. Her father later tried to get her to marry someone for his own financial gain, but she instead wound up marrying Bojack's dad after accidentally becoming pregnant and [[GoodGirlsAvoidAbortion refusing to abort the baby that would become Bojack]], and their marriage soon fell apart in part because of his inability to make money through his writing]]. That being said, it's made clear that '''''none''''' of that justifies being an AbusiveParent, and despite Bojack acknowleging that [[TheChainOfHarm she had a lot of bad breaks]] and ultimately deciding to be the bigger person by willingly ending their relationship on a positive note, he ''never'' forgives her.

* {{Blackmail}}: Two bird [[{{Paparazzi}} paparazzo]] take compromising pictures of [[DirtyOldMan Bojack]] and [[FormerChildStar Sarah Lynn]] [[CastIncest making out]] and decide to squeeze as much money as they can out of it. Not only are they [[ButtMonkey constantly rebuffed]] and [[EpicFail fail to even get in touch with Bojack]], [[spoiler: when they [[HopeSpot finally manage]] to contact his agent and expose their reasons and demands, the tables [[YankTheDogsChain are turned against them]] with threats of legal action for a) [[HoistByHisOwnPetard taking pictures]] [[WhatAnIdiot on private property]] and b) [[StupidCrooks attempted blackmail]], with the only way to stop it being [[ShaggyDogStory delivering the pictures]] ''[[ShaggyDogStory and]]'' [[ShaggyDogStory receiving no compensation at all.]]]] AllForNothing, indeed.

* AManIsAlwaysEager: Men aren't always looking for intercourse every single second of their lives, nor do they enjoy or are pleased if an offer is given to them. Case in point, Todd, who is a RomanticAsexual. And as Bojack learns the hard way when it comes to [[spoiler: Penny and Emily]], having a large libido you can’t suppress when it’s not appropriate can screw you over and destroy your relationships with others, such as [[spoiler: Charlotte (who is [[MamaBear Penny’s mom]]) and Todd (who was dating Emily when Bojack had sex with her)]].