See our analysis of the end of the special, and why Burnham's analogy for depression works so well. WebBo Burnham is more than a comedian he's a writer-director-actor who first went viral in 2006. "Problematic" is a roller coaster of self-awareness, masochism, and parody. Maybe we'll call it isolation theater. For fans who struggle with panic attacks (myself included) its a comfort to see yourself represented in an artist whose work you respect. The global pandemic and subsequent lockdown orders of March 2020 put a stop to these plans. While platforms like Patreon mean creators can make their own works independently without studio influence, they also mean that the creator is directly beholden to their audience. The scene cuts to black and we see Burnham waking up in his small pull-out couch bed, bookending the section of the special that started when him going to sleep. The album peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 chart, #1 on the Comedy Albums chart, and #18 on the Independent Albums chart. Likewise. WebBo Burnham's Netflix special "Inside" features 20 new original songs. The lead-in is Burnham thanking a nonexistent audience for being there with him for the last year. It's a heartbreaking chiding coming from his own distorted voice, as if he's shaming himself for sinking back into that mental state. Burnham spent his teen years doing theater and songwriting, which led to his first viral video on YouTube a song he now likely categorizes as "offensive.". And then the funniest thing happened.". Fifteen years later, Burnham found himself sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to sit back down at his piano and see if he could once again entertain the world from the claustrophobic confines of a single room. Burnham was just 16 years old when he wrote a parody song ("My Whole Family") and filmed himself performing it in his bedroom. The structured movements of the last hour and half fall away as Burnham snaps at the audience: "Get up. But now Burnham is back. Its a visual that signifies a man exposing himself, until you realize hes in a spotlight. Burnham reacts to his reaction of the song, this time saying, Im being a little pretentious. And I think that's what you're getting here. The performer, along with the record label and brand deals, encourage a parasocial relationship for increased profits. The voices of the characters eventually blend together to tell the live Burnham on stage, We think we know you.. Burnham quickly shifts from the song to a reaction video of the song itself in the style of a YouTuber or Twitch streamer. This special spoke to me closer and clearer than Ive ever felt with another person. It's a dangerously tempting invitation to stop caring, coming from the villain of this musical comedy (depression). that shows this exact meta style. of the internet, welcoming everyone with a decadent menu of options while disco lights twirl. "I was in a full body sweat, so I didn't hear most of that," Burnham said after the clip played. "The poioumenon is calculated to offer opportunities to explore the boundaries of fiction and reality the limits of narrative truth," Fowler wrote in his book "A History of English Literature.". He's the writer, director, editor, and star of this show. Under stand up, Burnham wrote "Middle-aged men protecting free speech by humping stools and telling stories about edibles" and "podcasts. Something went wrong. Burnhams 2013 special, what., culminates in Burnham, the performer, reacting to pre-recorded versions of himself playing people from his life reacting to his work and fame, trying to capitalize on their tenuous relationship with him. And now depression has its grips in him. It moves kind of all over the place. On the other two sides of that question ("no" and "not sure") the flowchart asks if it could be "interpreted" as mean (if so, then it's "not funny") or if it "punches down.". BURNHAM: (Singing) Start a rumor, buy a broom or send a death threat to a Boomer. "I was a kid who was stuck in his room, there isn't much more to say about it. WebOn a budget. / Are you having fun? The crowd directions are no longer stock pop song lyrics; now, the audience understands them as direct orders to them from Burnham. Web9/10. WebBo Burnham: Inside is by far one of the riskiest and original comedy specials to come out in years. I got better. Its horrific.". And many of them discuss their personal connection to the show and their analysis of how Burnham must have been thinking and feeling when he made it. He was alone. During the last 15 minutes of "Make Happy," Burnham turns the comedy switch down a bit and begins talking to the audience about how his comedy is almost always about performing itself because he thinks people are, at all times, doing a "performance" for one another. Bo Burnham also uploaded Welcome to the Internet and White Womans Instagram on his YouTube channel. Still terrified of that spotlight? I think this is something we've all been thinking about. And the very format of it, as I said, it's very much this kind of sinister figure trying to get you interested. But in recent years, theres been enough awareness of online behavior to see how parasocial relationships can have negative impacts on both the creator and the audience if left uninterrogated by both parties. he sings as he refers to his birth name. During that taping, Burnham said his favorite comic at the time was Hans Teeuwen, a "Dutch absurdist," who has a routine with a sock puppet that eats a candy bar as Teeuwen sings. He is now back to where he was, making jokes alone in his room, an effort to escape his reality. Instead, thanks to his ultra-self-aware style, he seems to always get ahead of criticism by holding himself accountable first. Now Burnham is showing us the clutter of the room, where he's almost claustrophobically surrounded by equipment. I think you're getting from him, you know, the entertainment element. Burnham then kicks back into song, still addressing his audience, who seem unsure of whether to laugh, applaud, or sit somberly in their chairs. All rights reserved. They may still be comical, but they have a different feel. Burnham's hair is shorter in those initial behind-the-scenes moments, but his future-self has a longer, unkempt beard and messy hair. But then the music tells the audience that "he meant to play the track again" and that "art's still a lie, nothing's still real.". Many of his songs begin seriously, then shift into the joke, but this one doesnt. Inside (2021) opens with Bo Burnham sitting alone in a room singing what will be the first of many musical comedy numbers, Content. In the song, Burnham expresses, Roberts been a little depressed ii. So he has, for example, a song in which he adopts the persona of a kind of horror movie carnival barker, you might call it, who is trying to sell people the internet. But he knows how to do this. WebA biotech genius tries to bounce back from the depths of grief with help from his son, who works to escape his dads shadow and save the family business. Inside is the work of a comic with artistic tools most of his peers ignore or overlook. WebBo Burnham: Inside is a 2021 special written, directed, filmed, edited, and performed by American comedian Bo Burnham. Burnham watching the end of his special on a projector also brings the poioumenon full circle the artist has finished their work and is showing you the end of the process it took to create it. "Part of me needs you, part of me fears you. It's so good to hear your voice. I don't think it's perfectly morally defendable.". A college student navigates life and school while dealing with a unique predicament he's living with a beautiful former K-pop sensation. They Cloned Tyrone. Burnham can't get through his words in the update as he admits he's been working on the special much longer than he'd anticipated. In Unpaid Intern, Burnham sings about how deeply unethical the position is to the workers in a pastiche of other labor-focused blues. Hes been addressing us the entire time. There's no more time left to add to the camera's clock. Hiding a mysterious past, a mother lives like a nameless fugitive with her daughter as they make hotels their home and see everyone else as a threat. .] Audiences who might not read a 1956 essay by researchers about news anchors still see much of the same discussion in Inside. Soering New insights from various parties come to light that raise questions about Jens Sring's conviction of the 1985 murders of his then-girlfriend's parents. It's progress. But look, I made you some content. But then, just as Burnham is vowing to always stay inside, and lamenting that he'll be "fully irrelevant and totally broken" in the future, the spotlight turns on him and he's completely naked. According to the special, Bo decided he was ready to begin doing stand-up again in January 2020, after dealing with panic attacks onstage during his previous tour, the Make Happy Tour of 2015-2016. Linda, thank you so much for joining us. Years later, the comedian told NPR's Terry Gross that performing the special was so tough that he was having panic attacks on stage. But he's largely been given a pass by his fans, who praise his self-awareness and new approach. He had a role in the film "Promising Young Woman." But before that can register, Burnham's eyes have closed and the special transitions to the uncannily catchy song "S---," bopping about how he hasn't showered in nine days or done any laundry. But he meant to knock the water over, yeah yeah yeah, art is a lie nothing is real. Inside doesnt give clear answers like parasocial relationships good or parasocial relationships bad, because those answers do not, and cannot, exist. But it doesn't. When Burnham's character decides he doesn't want to actually hear criticism from Socko, he threatens to remove him, prompting Socko's subservience once again, because "that's how the world works.". (For example, the song "Straight, White, Male" from the "Make Happy" special). It's a series of musical numbers and skits that are inherently about the creation of comedy itself. And you know what? Burnham wrote out: "Does it target those who have been disenfranchised in a historical, political, social, economic and/or psychological context?". The songs from the special were released on streaming platforms on June 10, 2021. And we might. . Not only has his musical range expanded his pastiche of styles includes bebop, synth-pop and peppy show tunes Burnham, who once published a book of poems, has also become as meticulous and creative with his visual vocabulary as his language. Trying to grant his dying father's wish, a son discovers an epic love story buried in his family's distant past. The hustle to be a working artist usually means delivering an unending churn of content curated specifically for the demands of an audience that can tell you directly why they are upset with you because they did not actually like the content you gave them, and then they can take away some of your revenue for it. It's wonderful to be with you. "Healing the world with comedy, the indescribable power of your comedy," the voice sings. But Burnham doesn't put the bottle down right, and it falls off the stool. Theyre complicated. WebBo Burnham: Inside (2021) Exploring mental health decline over 2020, the constant challenges our world faces, and the struggles of life itself, Bo Burnham creates a. wonderful masterpiece to explain each of these, both from general view and personal experience. Now get inside.". 1 on Billboards comedy albums chart and eventually climbed to No. HOLMES: Thank you. Throughout the song and its accompanying visuals, Burnham is highlighting the "girlboss" aesthetic of many white women's Instagram accounts. The Volcano, which touched on labor rights. Later in Inside, Burnham thanks the audience for their support while holding them at knifepoint. Throughout "Inside," there's a huge variety of light and background set-ups used, so it seems unlikely that this particular cloud-scape was just randomly chosen twice. Using cinematic tools other comics overlook, the star (who is also the director, editor and cameraman) trains a glaring spotlight on internet life mid-pandemic. And then, of course, he had previous standup comedy specials. The song begins with a fade in from back, the shot painfully close to Burnhams face as he looks off to the side. Bo Burnham: Inside, was written, edited, and directed by the talent himself and the entire show is shot in one room. The comedy special perfectly encapsulated the world's collective confusion, frustration, and exhaustion amid ongoing pandemic lockdowns, bringing a quirky spin to the ongoing existential terror that was the year 2020. this breakdown of 31 details you might have missed in "Inside,". "This show is called 'what.,' and I hope there are some surprises for you," he says as he goes to set down the water bottle. A distorted voice is back again, mocking Burnham as he sits exposed on his fake stage: "Well, well, look who's inside again. The incentives of the web, those that reward outrage, excess and sentiment, are the villains of this show. MARTIN: You know, about that, because it does move into a deeply serious place at some point. our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. The special is set almost entirely in one cluttered room. At the start of the special, Burnham sings "Content," setting the stage for his musical-comedy. So let's dive into "Inside" and take a closer look at nearly every song and sketch in Burnham's special. And I think the pandemic was a time when a lot of people were in this do I laugh or cry space in their own minds. "Everything that once was sad is somehow funny now, the Holocaust and 9/11, that s---'s funny, 24-7, 'cause tragedy will be exclusively joked about, because my empathy iss bumming me out," he sang. "You say the ocean's rising, like I give a s---," he sings. At various points, the gamer is given the option to make the character cry. That's a really clever, fun little rhyme in this, you know, kind of heavy song. Inside takes topics discussed academically, analytically, and delivers them to a new audience through the form of a comedy special by a widely beloved performer. BURNHAM: (Singing) Does anybody want to joke when no one's laughing in the background? Is he content with its content? In the same way that earlier vocal distortion represented God, the effect on his voice in "All Eyes on Me" seems to signal some omniscient force outside of Burnham. MARTIN: And it's deep, too. I actually felt true mutual empathy with someone for the first time, and with someone Ive never even met, its kinda funny.. And like unpaid interns, most working artists cant afford a mortgage (and yeah, probably torrent a porn). A part of me loves you, part of me hates you / Part of me needs you, part of me fears you / [. When you're a kid and you're stuck in your room, you'll do any old s--- to get out of it.". But the lyrics Burnham sings seem to imply that he wants to be held accountable for thoughtless and offensive jokes of his past: "Father please forgive me for I did not realize what I did, or that I'd live to regret it, times are changing and I'm getting old, are you gonna hold me accountable?". True, but it can deepen and clarify art. As we explained in this breakdown of 31 details you might have missed in "Inside," Bo Burnham's newest special is a poioumenon a type of artistic work that tells the story of its own creation. The first comes when Burnham looks directly into the camera as he addresses the audience, singing, Are you feeling nervous? MARTIN: This special is titled, appropriately enough, "Inside," and it is streaming on Netflix now. One comment stuck out to me: Theres something really powerful and painful about, hearing his actual voice singing and breaking at certain points. And I'm just wondering, like, how would you describe that? Just as often, Burnhams shot sequencing plays against the meaning of a song, like when he breaks out a glamorous split screen to complement a comic song about FaceTiming with his mom. A gift shop at the gun range, a mass shooting at the mall. Not only is this whiteboard a play on the classic comedy rule that "tragedy plus time equals comedy," but it's a callback to Burnham's older work. It's not. The song brings with it an existential dread, but Burnham's depression-voice tells us not to worry and sink into nihilism. And I think that, 'Oh if I'm self-aware about being a douchebag it'll somehow make me less of a douchebag.' @TheWoodMother made a video about how Burnham's "Inside" is its own poioumenon, which led to his first viral video on YouTube, written in 2006, is about how his whole family thinks he's gay, defines depersonalization-derealization disorder, "critical window for action to prevent the effects of global warming from becoming irreversible.". Its called INSIDE, and it will undoubtedly strike your hearts forevermore. Tapping on a synthesizer, he sings about the challenges of isolation as he sits on a cluttered floor, two striking squares of sunlight streaming in through the windows of a dark room. According to a May 2021 Slate article, the piece was filmed at Bo Burnhams Los Angeles guest housethe same room used for June 2016s Are You Happy? and the closing shots of the Make Happy special. Please check your email to find a confirmation email, and follow the steps to confirm your humanity. Accuracy and availability may vary. Now get inside.". Down to the second, the clock changes to midnight exactly halfway through the runtime of "Inside.". The picturesque view of sun-soaked clouds was featured in "Comedy," during the section of the song when Burnham stood up and decided that the only thing he (or his character in the song) could do was "heal the world with comedy.". A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio (John Boyega, Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris) onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy. He uploaded it to YouTube, a then barely-known website that offered an easy way for people to share videos, so he could send it to his brother. He also costarred in the Oscar-winning movie "Promising Young Woman," filmed in 2019. I feel very close and intimate with him in this version. But when reading songs like Dont Wanna Know and All Eyes On Me between the lines, Inside can help audiences better identify that funny feeling when they start feeling like a creator is their friend. My heart hurts with and for him. Relieved to be done? MARTIN: So as you can hear in that bit, he sounds something like other comedic songwriters who do these kind of parody or comedy songs, whether it's Tom Lehrer, Weird Al or whoever.
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