Imagine the innocent young girl you watched from your favorite family sitcom as a child. Before that girl could even be aware of her situation, she was already being rushed into the fast-paced, demanding lifestyle of a celebrity. Imagine seeing that same little girl becoming a global pop sensation but the age of 15: selling out stadiums, making millions of dollars, and appearing to be larger than life. Now, imagine turning on the television to see that same girl on the news, pronounced dead at age 30 from an overdose. You probably imaged a real-life celebrity, maybe even more than one, which should already be a sign that there is something wrong with the entertainment industry.
Bojack Horseman has brought a lot of inspiration to me in my writing, whether it is poetry, songs, or something else. The commentary that Bojack Horseman makes through its characters always makes me think twice about our world, but more specially, the world of Hollywood.
In season 3 episode 12 of Bojack Horseman, Bojack and his former co-star, Sarah Lynn go on a month-long bender. The episode starts with Bojack calling Sarah Lynn and inviting her to “party” with him. After an excessive amount of drugs and alcohol, they embark on a mission in Bojack’s red SUV across the country to fix past relationships. Many drug-induced blackouts later, they find themselves in a hotel, somewhere in Ohio.
Bojack and Sarah Lynn lay on the bed together, facing the ceiling. When Bojack lacks a response from Sarah Lynn’s, he looks at her. To his surprise he sees her laying on with bed with her eyes closed, appearing lifeless. Bojack calls out her name to which he gets no response. He calls her name again, this time more urgent, as he starts to shake her arm.
This causes her to wake up, and they turn on the television only to find out she won an Oscar. At first, she is ecstatic, but that happiness leaves almost as soon as it comes. Bojack turns off the TV, and the two take a moment, sitting there in silence. Sarah Lynn looks around the dark room filled with empty cans and cigarette butts. She then says, “Bojack...I don’t like anything about me.” Bojack is shocked and tries to calm her down, but she insists “none of this is me” and begins to spiral asking questions like “Am I doomed? Are you doomed? Are we all doomed?” as she rocks on the bed, hugging her knees in fear.
In a desperate attempt to calm her down, Bojack insists they go to the planetarium, somewhere Sarah had been suggesting since the beginning of the episode. At the planetarium,
Sarah Lynn and Bojack look at the stars. “Isn’t this amazing?” Sarah Lynn exclaims, filled with wonder and joy. “It’s a giant dome. Domes are so cool!” she then falls into Bojack’s arms and sighs, “I wanna be an architect” before falling silent once again. This time, however, she never wakes up.
Bojack Horseman uses Sarah Lynn as an example of what can happen to child stars. Sarah Lynn spent her entire life pleasing other people, and once people stopped focusing on her, she was left with nothing but substances to abuse and a lot of regrets. Through this character, they exploit the side of Hollywood that people rarely talk about. Sarah Lynn is a symbol for the toxicity of Hollywood Culture and proves that not everything about Hollywood should be glorified.
“You don’t stop dancing, and you don’t stop smiling, and you give the people what they want” was the advice Bojack taught Sarah Lynn at the age of 7 while on the family sitcom Horsin’ Around. Sarah Lynn manifests this advice, for she never stopped performing after that.
By listening to Bojack’s advice, Sarah Lynn gives her whole life and sacrifices her true self and interests to satisfy the demands of Hollywood. The peak of her fame was when she was a pop star who’s brand was to exploit herself sexually. Her brand, and therefore identity in her teenage years, were based almost solely on her sex appeal. However, this made her self esteem rely on the validation of others. Once people stopped paying attention to her for the next newest star, she was left with nothing. Eventually, she burns herself out and is left with no sense of true identity or purpose.
Her last words were “I wanna be an architect” which signifies her desire to have had another life. Sarah Lynn mentions architecture often, which hints that this has always been a passion of hers. In a flashback from her days on Horsin’ Around, she asks Bojack where he went to college only to have her mom interrupt. She dismisses Sarah Lynn and says “Honey, college is for ugly people who can’t tap dance”. Sarah Lynn responds to this by saying “I wanna be an architect” only for her mom to say shut her down again. She laughs and says, “Sweetheart, Mommy didn't do what mommy did to that star search producer so that you so that you could be an architect.” And just like that, it was never talked about again. From the beginning, nobody was listening to Sarah Lynn; they were only using her for their own advantage, including her own mother. It was a dream she had that was never tangible since her fate was already decided the minute she started acting. During their bender, she asks Bojack “You think it’s too late for me to go to college? I always wanted to be an architect.”. The repetition of this statement not only enhances how strong her passion was, but how she still wishes she could achieve it. Instead of following this dream her career took off to the same heights as young female pop stars and was swept away by that hectic and demanding lifestyle.
Her story is eerily similar to real-life pop such as Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, and Demi Lovato. Her music career took a heavy influence on Britney Spears’s discography. The style of her songs is heavily edited, dance-pop beats and the only content in the lyrics are explicit and focus on relationships in one way or another. Her identity and brand is based on objectification, and although her lifestyle is glorified, it does have repercussions. Living inauthentically and solely for other people’s enjoyment eventually leads to a breakdown. However, for example, people saw Britney and many similar artists’ breakdowns as unexpected. Since people often do not see their favorite artists as people and are surprised when they act like them.
Sarah Lynn’s destructive habits and fleeting mental stability mimic those of Lindsey Lohan or Britney Spears during these infamous breakdowns. In episode 3, Sarah Lynn stabs herself in a furniture store when her boyfriend breaks up with her. People around her, who are her supposed fans, take out their phone without batting an eye. And when Britney had her infamous breakdown, where she shaved her head and attacked a car with an umbrella, although ridiculous, it was clearly a cry for help. Although these celebrities are “loved” by many, it seems whenever they do break down, people are not quick to sympathize. Instead, they begin recording as if this is just another way for them to be entertained. Hollywood’s celebrity culture leaves people trapped in their persona, forced to be seen only as a celebrity instead of a human being.
By ending her life at the end of the episode, it realistically portrays the sad reality that many young pop stars face. This episode uses Sarah Lynn’s character to comment on how the harsh Hollywood lifestyle is detrimental to a young, impressionable child’s mental health and development.
Bojack Horseman is my favorite show for its mixture of silly cartoon comedy and gritty-realism. This episode, in particular, is when the show started to be taken more seriously for many of its viewers, including myself. I never knew how far this show was willing to go to make its points on pop culture, but this episode made me realize they are not playing around; this show has something to say, and we ought to listen. There are many Sarah Lynn’s out there, and many more being made every day.