Diane Nguyen

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Diane Nguyen
BoJack Horseman character
Diane Nguyen BoJack.png
First appearance"BoJack Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Story, Chapter One" (2014)
Last appearance"Nice While It Lasted" (2020)
Created byRaphael Bob-Waksberg
Voiced byAlison Brie
In-universe information
Full nameDiane Nguyen
SpeciesHuman
OccupationWriter
Family
  • Ma Nguyen (mother)
  • Pa Nguyen (father; deceased)
  • Marty, Artie, Gary, and Tommy Nguyen (brothers)
Significant other

Diane Nguyen (born March 19, 1980[citation needed]) is a fictional character from the Netflix animated television series BoJack Horseman. She is voiced by Alison Brie and was created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg.[1]

Fictional biography[]

Diane is a nice, well-meaning, misunderstood intellectual, and a Vietnamese-American[2][3][4] third-wave feminist from Boston.[5] In the first episode of the series, Diane is hired by BoJack's publisher as a ghostwriter for his memoir, having previously written a biography of BoJack's childhood hero, Secretariat.[6] Diane and BoJack become friends, and BoJack develops romantic feelings for her, only to find out she is dating his rival Mr. Peanutbutter. In the episode "Live Fast, Diane Nguyen", she and BoJack travel to New York together to meet with the book publisher, but take an unexpected trip to Boston after learning about Diane's father's death.[7] Later, when they return, Mr. Peanutbutter proposes, and the two become engaged. The couple marries soon after, and Diane finishes BoJack's book.

She struggles throughout her career to get recognition for her writing,[8] and travels to the war-torn Republic of Cordovia to make a difference, but discovers that this life is not for her. Ashamed of returning to her then-husband at the time, she develops a severe bout of depression, during which she drinks heavily, smokes pot, and sleeps disheveled on BoJack's house. She is able to reconcile her feelings with Mr. Peanutbutter and gets a job at VIM ghostwriting tweets for celebrities. She is subsequently fired from VIM, and is hired to write for a feminist blog. During and after Mr. Peanutbutter's run for Governor of California, their marriage begins to falter and, in season 5, they divorce, although they still remained friends. Diane moves into a run-down studio apartment upon separating from Mr. Peanutbutter.[9] Later in the season, she begins ghostwriting the TV series Philbert, which BoJack stars in, after showrunner Flip McVickers develops writer's block. Though the first season of the show is a success, an executive sex scandal shutters the streaming service it airs on and the series is canceled. Diane encourages BoJack to enter rehab, and she sends Bojack to the rehab clinic after offering some final words of encouragement.

In season 6 Diane dates her coworker, a bison named Guy who has a son and is divorced, and decides to move from LA to Chicago to live with him. She begins writing a new memoir that leads her back into her recurring depression. She treats this with antidepressants (which itself leads to a noticeable weight gain) that hinder her progress on her memoir, which she eventually abandons in favor of a teen fiction series called Ivy Tran: Food Court Detective that she began writing when she was high from her meds. She eventually moves to Houston with Guy and marries him. After BoJack attempts suicide and is jailed for breaking into his old home, Diane encounters him at Princess Carolyn's wedding. She tells him that despite the pain it has caused her, she is thankful for her life and friends in Los Angeles, including BoJack, for making her the person she is, but that she is ready to move on and presumably cut him out of her life, which he accepts. The series ends as the two share a quiet moment under the stars.

Reception[]

Diane has been praised as one of the strongest characters in the series, as it has shown her personal growth in addition to that of BoJack, the lead character.[6] She has also been considered the "voice of reason" in the show, with her story arcs also shedding light on real-world issues.[8] However, the show has also received criticism over its portrayal of Diane and appropriation of Asian American culture, especially in the fact that Alison Brie, a non-Asian actress, voices the Vietnamese-American Diane.[2][3][10][11] Brie has since stated that she regrets voicing the character.[12]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Genzlinger, Neil (August 24, 2014). "'BoJack Horseman,' Netflix Animated Series, With Will Arnett". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Clark, Caitlyn. "The Case Against Diane Nguyen".
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Kang, Inkoo (September 12, 2018). "BoJack Horseman's Raphael Bob-Waksberg Says the Show Has Been "Hurt" by Its All-White Cast". Slate Magazine.
  4. ^ Cao, Linh (September 24, 2018). "Diane Nguyen and Vietnamese Americans Deserve Better Representation". Wear Your Voice.
  5. ^ "A Case for Diane Nguyen of BoJack Horseman". Her Campus.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b Dazed (September 20, 2018). "A love letter to Diane Nguyen, the most human cartoon on TV". Dazed.
  7. ^ "Live Fast, Diane Nguyen". BoJack Horseman. Season 1. Episode 5. August 22, 2014. Netflix.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Neilan, Dan. "Here's an ode to Diane Nguyen, the soul of BoJack Horseman". AV Club.
  9. ^ "The Dog Days Are Over". BoJack Horseman. Season 5. Episode 2. September 14, 2018. Netflix.
  10. ^ Bate, Ellie. "Alison Brie Said She "Wishes She Didn't Voice" Diane Nguyen On "BoJack Horseman"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  11. ^ "Bojack Horseman creator acknowledges 'racist error' in Asian character portrayal". The Independent. 2020-06-24. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  12. ^ "Alison Brie's Instagram profile post". Instagram. Retrieved 2021-03-09.
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