Long Story Short is out now on Netflix
BY CALYPSO LLOYD-DAVIES, IMAGE BY NETFLIX
Today (22 August) sees the return of Raphael Bob-Waksberg, creator of BoJack Horseman, with his new animated series Long Story Short. Praised for his emotional and sharp animation, BoJack Horseman, Bob-Waksberg knows just how to do queer representation right, and this new adult animation is no different.
Long Story Short is centred around a Jewish family, the Schwoopers, with key focus on the overbearing but proud mother and her three children, Avi, Shira and Yoshi. The series takes the unique approach of jumping through time, spanningfrom the 1950s to the present day, allowing the audience to know the ins and outs of the family conflicts and joys. We watch Avi, Shira, and Yoshi grow up, attempting to balance their Jewish identity and childhood with adulthood, revealing complexities and how family relationships change along with the decades.
Specifically, daughter Shira, voiced by Abbi Jacobson, represents the modern generation, as we see her in adulthood in a lesbian relationship, starting a family with her partner, Kendra. However, as much as Shira’s lesbian identity is established, Bob-Waksberg does a brilliant job at fleshing out other complexities in her life, making her character, as well as Kendra’s, more than just her sexuality. Due to its personal structure, the animation makes these characters more than just LGBTQIA+ token characters; we get a deep understanding of a life beyond an identity.
Likewise, in BoJack Horseman, lesbian character Kelsey Jannings has her sexuality established, but it is not the focus of her storyline. Instead, Kelsey is a filmmaker, and many of the complexities of her character regard her struggles in this field, not in her dating life or regarding her queer identity. But Bob-Waksberg does not shy away from presenting the beauty of queer relationships on screen. This is something we will see with Shira and Kendra in Long Story Short, but it is also shown in BoJack Horseman with Indira and Mary-Beth, married Black lesbian therapists.
This type of representation normalises queerness. By presenting their complicated lives, queer characters are not separated from straight characters. The audience can see these figures as more than their sexuality, whilst at the same time not disregarding queerness as part of their identity. This is achieved when real time is spent developing characters, and only in that way can we move past the use of harmful token characters and make way for real representation.
Long Story Short does just that. The animated series, already renewed for its second season, promises to combine witty comedy with harsh truths and deep observations, being a truly emotional insight into family life. The show, only ten 30-minute episodes long, is available to stream on Netflix now.
You can read our interview with Abbi Jacobson in our August/September issue now.
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