Watch Bojack Horseman in quarantine

The argument

The recommendation here is for something funny, and the case made for BoJack Horseman is that it is funny about the specific thing viewers in quarantine are dealing with. The starting point is that laughter is needed. Mental health problems, particularly anxiety and depression, are flaring up because of quarantine, and laughter is the best medicine for them. On that basis a comedy is the right choice, and BoJack Horseman will undoubtedly give viewers something to laugh about. What distinguishes it from other comedies is its subject. It is an animated show about a talking horse with childhood trauma and depression — a premise that pairs an absurd surface with a serious interior. Since so many people are depressed during quarantine, it is a relatable show for those stuck at home, and it is also a genuinely good comedy rather than a drama with jokes in it. The crucial point is how it handles the material. Rather than mocking mental illness, the show humanises it in a comedic way: the jokes are made from inside the experience rather than at the expense of the people having it. That is what allows a viewer who is depressed while watching to laugh at themselves and feel understood at the same time — two things that are normally in tension, since being laughed at and being taken seriously usually come from different directions. Those two needs are typically met in the presence of other people. Being able to joke about one's own state and to be recognised in it is something friends ordinarily provide, and quarantine has removed that company. A show that supplies both is doing work that would otherwise require a room with other people in it. On this view BoJack Horseman fills the social void created by quarantine while still being a comedy, which is why it is the thing to watch.

Context

Beginning in April of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools, offices, and businesses. Many people are under a stay-at-home order and are avoiding social contact as of July 2020. This means people have a lot of time to watch Netflix, and settling what’s best will save everyone time when choosing what to watch.

Premises

Counter-arguments

Bojack Horseman is too depressing. It has lots of silly puns, but it focuses on heavy topics like mental illness and addiction. With everyone stressed during quarantine, such a heavy show is not ideal to watch. People should watch a real comedy if they want to laugh during quarantine. Furthermore, not everyone in quarantine has depression so this show is only relatable to a small group of people. Everyone else should avoid this bizarre, depressing show during these uncertain times.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1]'Laughter is the best medicine' is a proverb rather than a finding, and the premise does not connect it to the conditions named. The evidence that comedy relieves clinical anxiety or depression is thin, and the inference from a general mood benefit to a recommendation for people who are struggling is not made. [Rejecting P2] The counter-argument on record disputes the characterisation of the show. Its subject matter is addiction, self-destruction and depression treated seriously, with comic form rather than comic effect in its later seasons — which makes it an unusual recommendation for someone already distressed, and several of its episodes are widely described as among the bleakest on the platform. [Rejecting P3] The claim that it substitutes for company is asserted, and the counter notes the relatability argument narrows the audience rather than widening it: viewers who are not experiencing depression have less reason to find themselves in it, and those who are may find the recognition unwelcome. [Rejecting C] The rival positions offer documentaries, drama, thrillers and comfort viewing, and the argument gives no reason to prefer comedy generally, let alone this title — which the counter argues is a poor example of the category the position rests on.