This story is now a part of my portfolio.
Bojack Horseman, star of the 90s sitcom "Horsin' Around," had finally won the Oscar for his outstanding performance in the movie Secretariat as his dream role, Secretariat. Now, as he approached the stage to give his acceptance speech, he thought about all of the people who helped him get the Oscar. Princess Carolyn, his agent, had always believed in him and helped him get the role. Todd Chavez, his best friend, always supported him and never let Bojack suppress his never-ending encouragement. Ana Spanikopita, his publicist, dropped all her other clients to focus on Bojack and his Oscar Campaign. However, in typical Bojack fashion, he forgot about everyone who helped him win his Oscar as he looked into the crowd.
Bojack says, "So when I woke up this morning, I looked at Todd and said, 'Todd, you know what? Today is the day I'm going to win that Oscar.' Just kidding. I said, 'Todd, clean up your stuff.' You know, standing on this stage right now means a lot to me. To be able to say I'm better than Bread Poot, Mitt Dermon, Jurj Clooners, and all these other guys just makes everything I've been through in the past three years worth it. And I couldn't have done it without the help of.. nobody. Nobody in my life has helped me become the person I am today. I did it all by myself. I can't depend on anybody because everybody just leaves, and nobody actually cares about anybody besides themselves. I look into this crowd and see so many people who have someone to go home to, and I have no one. No one is there for me. Nobody has ever been there for me, and nobody ever will be there for me. And you know what? That's okay. I don't need anybody. I'm Bojack Horsema-"
"Haha! Well, looks like we're out of time, Bojack. Let's all give Bojack one final round of applause!" Mr. Peanutbutter said.
Nobody clapped. Everyone watched as Bojack walked off the stage, back into his life of loneliness.
As Bojack went backstage, he ran into Diane Nguyen, Mr. Peanutbutter's wife who wrote a biography on Bojack which put him back into the limelight. Bojack tried to hide from Diane, but Diane found him, and she tried to comfort Bojack.
"Hey, Bojack. Tough crowd out there, huh?" She said.
"Look, I know it's tough but this is a big win for you. You've worked so hard for this Oscar and you've finally got it. I'm so proud of you," Diane continued.
"I just don't get it. I always try to go after these things, these big accomplishments in my life, but nothing matters. You know, when I heard my name out there, I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time. Happiness. But when I got onto that stage, and I looked out into that crowd, it was gone. No matter what happens, no matter what I do, I don't feel enough. Tonight, probably one of the biggest nights of my career, I can't even be happy for more than a minute. I don't know. I feel like I can't do this anymore. And after what I said out there, I just, I don't know, Diane," Bojack said.
Author's note: Bojack, a larger than life narcissist, is a perfect representation of Aesop's Lion in, "The Lion's Share." I changed the hunt to the hunt for the Oscar, and the reward, rather than the stag, was the Oscar win. As my first story, I wanted to see if I could capture the essence of the actual show, Bojack Horseman, in this retelling of an Aesop classic. In the original story, I thought it was interesting how the Lion forgot about his team that helped him with the hunt and used his power to take all of the credit. It reminds me of all the times I've been told growing up that pride is a lonely road. In the original story, the author stops after the Lion gets his shares, but after the other animals leave, the Lion is all alone. Sure, the Lion has his food for the next few days, but he lost his friends in the process. I tried to emulate some of what I predict would happen in the story in this story in that sense. Bojack got the biggest win of his career, but he goes backstage and feels awful. He doesn't have his friends with him to support him, other than Diane, so he's all alone.
Bibliography: The Wolf and The Lamb from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894).
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| Bojack Horseman (Deviant Art) |
Bojack says, "So when I woke up this morning, I looked at Todd and said, 'Todd, you know what? Today is the day I'm going to win that Oscar.' Just kidding. I said, 'Todd, clean up your stuff.' You know, standing on this stage right now means a lot to me. To be able to say I'm better than Bread Poot, Mitt Dermon, Jurj Clooners, and all these other guys just makes everything I've been through in the past three years worth it. And I couldn't have done it without the help of.. nobody. Nobody in my life has helped me become the person I am today. I did it all by myself. I can't depend on anybody because everybody just leaves, and nobody actually cares about anybody besides themselves. I look into this crowd and see so many people who have someone to go home to, and I have no one. No one is there for me. Nobody has ever been there for me, and nobody ever will be there for me. And you know what? That's okay. I don't need anybody. I'm Bojack Horsema-"
"Haha! Well, looks like we're out of time, Bojack. Let's all give Bojack one final round of applause!" Mr. Peanutbutter said.
Nobody clapped. Everyone watched as Bojack walked off the stage, back into his life of loneliness.
As Bojack went backstage, he ran into Diane Nguyen, Mr. Peanutbutter's wife who wrote a biography on Bojack which put him back into the limelight. Bojack tried to hide from Diane, but Diane found him, and she tried to comfort Bojack.
"Hey, Bojack. Tough crowd out there, huh?" She said.
"Look, I know it's tough but this is a big win for you. You've worked so hard for this Oscar and you've finally got it. I'm so proud of you," Diane continued.
"I just don't get it. I always try to go after these things, these big accomplishments in my life, but nothing matters. You know, when I heard my name out there, I felt something I hadn't felt in a long time. Happiness. But when I got onto that stage, and I looked out into that crowd, it was gone. No matter what happens, no matter what I do, I don't feel enough. Tonight, probably one of the biggest nights of my career, I can't even be happy for more than a minute. I don't know. I feel like I can't do this anymore. And after what I said out there, I just, I don't know, Diane," Bojack said.
Author's note: Bojack, a larger than life narcissist, is a perfect representation of Aesop's Lion in, "The Lion's Share." I changed the hunt to the hunt for the Oscar, and the reward, rather than the stag, was the Oscar win. As my first story, I wanted to see if I could capture the essence of the actual show, Bojack Horseman, in this retelling of an Aesop classic. In the original story, I thought it was interesting how the Lion forgot about his team that helped him with the hunt and used his power to take all of the credit. It reminds me of all the times I've been told growing up that pride is a lonely road. In the original story, the author stops after the Lion gets his shares, but after the other animals leave, the Lion is all alone. Sure, the Lion has his food for the next few days, but he lost his friends in the process. I tried to emulate some of what I predict would happen in the story in this story in that sense. Bojack got the biggest win of his career, but he goes backstage and feels awful. He doesn't have his friends with him to support him, other than Diane, so he's all alone.
Bibliography: The Wolf and The Lamb from The Fables of Aesop by Joseph Jacobs (1894).
I never would have thought to retell an Aesop's Fables story as an episode of Bojack! I think you really captured the humorous but bleak tone of the show, and the dialogue sounds like it could be straight from the script! I think the way you built up the story before Bojack's speech was really effective.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if breaking up the story into different paragraphs would make it easier to read, though. The writing is really well done, so I think its effectiveness could really be maximized if you organize it a little bit more. I think separating the dialogue from the rest of the story would be a good way to start, and possibly even breaking up different lines within Bojack's speech in order to emphasize certain lines.
I kind of like the abrupt ending to the story, and it definitely fits the tone of the show, but it leaves me wondering about the aftermath. Maybe a sequel to the story talks about what happens after the awards ceremony! Does Mr. Peanutbutter find Bojack backstage and ask him what his speech was all about? Does Bojack have yet another falling out with Diane? Probably, since it's Bojack.
Looking forward to reading more of your stories this semester!
To be honest, I'm not familiar with Bojack Horseman, but this definitely tells the story of a lonely, self-deprecating, egotistical character. I like that you picked such a short and straightforward fable to re-write, since it seems like it takes some creativity and thought to turn just a few lines into a whole story. Nice work on this story!
ReplyDelete