Bo Jack Horseman did well in portraying depression… really well
There are many movies, plays, songs and movies that depicts depression. But not that many do it well…
To be quite frank, maybe the best portrayal I’ve seen so far is in an episode of the fantastic TV series- You’re the worst. Yes, Gretchen (Aya Cash) in one particular episode sneaks out from the bed she shares with Jimmy (Chris Geere) and goes in the middle of nowhere to play snake on her phone and to have a good cry alone.
You see, for someone who have suffered from depression (me in the better part of my 20’s) this scene was so God damn real. I know that every person shows signs of the disease differently, but just like in Gretchen’s case there were not many tantrums, hysterical crying and yelling for me. I was so tired from insomnia I actually had very little energy to do anything.
But yesterday one other scene hit home. From another great TV series. Recently my fiancée introduced me to the animated series BoJack Horseman, and I’ve been hooked ever since I saw the pilot. The series portrays the daily shenanigans of BoJack Horseman (voiced by Will Arnett). Alcoholic horse in his 50’s who was a sort of famous sitcom actor back in the 90’s, but now is all washed out and depressed.
The entire series is phenomenal but the 6th episode from the 4th season really floored me. It brought back another dark dark thing I’d forgotten about depression. The inner destructive voice that the fucking disease has. Just like in BoJack Horseman’s case, my internal struggle (with that depressing voice inside my head) was brutal.
I mean, even the episode opens with opens with BoJack thinking, “piece of shit. Stupid piece of shit. You’re a stupid piece of shit.” Yup I remember it too well.
You’re a failure, you’ll never amount to anything, nobody will ever love you…
That was mine repertoire in case you were wondering. Similar voice but still destructive.
I loved that episode BoJack Horseman. It brought to light an aspect of depression that is rarely seen in mainstream media. What your brain does when you’re depressed, and most importantly what it says. The day to day, minute to minute struggle that each depressive person has with himself and his thoughts. So, if you haven’t seen BoJack Horseman so far… I urge you to do so. It’s got phenomenal cast and great honest humor, but don’t be at all surprised if you’ll end up curling up in a fetus position after episode 6.
I did.
