Bo Burnham: Inside "And so today I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. 1 on Billboards comedy albums chart and eventually climbed to No. He tries to talk into the microphone, giving his audience a one-year update. Good. And you know what? WebBo Burnham: Inside is by far one of the riskiest and original comedy specials to come out in years. "You say the ocean's rising, like I give a s---," he sings. Bo Burnham's Netflix Special, 'Inside How how successful do you think is "Inside" at addressing, describing kind of confronting the experience that a lot of people have had over the past year? WebBo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special "Inside" is jam-packed with references to his previous work. The special was nominated for six Emmy Awards in 2021, of which it won three: Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, and Outstanding Music Direction. It also seems noteworthy that this is one of the only sketches in "Inside" that fades to black. Its a visual that signifies a man exposing himself, until you realize hes in a spotlight. And then the funniest thing happened.". Not in the traditional senseno music was released prior to the special other than a backing track from Content found in the trailer. And now depression has its grips in him. A Detailed Breakdown of How Bo Burnham You can stream "Inside" on Netflix now, and see our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. 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. Bo Burnham Just wanted to make sure everybody knew about Bo's comedy special transcripts on Scraps. 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. Other artists have made works on the wavelength of Repeat Stuff, but few creators with a platform as large as Burnhams return to the topic over and over, touching on it in almost all of their works. They may still be comical, but they have a different feel. For the song "Comedy," Burnham adopts a persona adjacent to his real life self a white male comedian who is driven to try and help make the world a better place. ", When asked about the inspiration for the song, like if people he knew thought he was gay, Burnham said, "A lot of my close friends were gay, and, you know, I wasn't certain I wasn't at that point.". He points it at himself as he sways, singing again: Get your fuckin hands up / Get on out of your seat / All eyes on me, all eyes on me.. . 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. Its folly to duplicate the feel of a live set, so why not fully adjust to the screen and try to make something as visually ambitious as a feature? Then comes the third emotional jump scare. He's freely admitting that self-awareness isn't enough while also clearly unable to move away from that self-aware comedic space he so brilliantly holds. 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. "They say it's like the 'me' generation. Burnham is also the main character in the game, a character who is seen moving mechanically around a room. The aesthetic telegraphs authenticity and vulnerability, but the specials stunning final shots reveal the misdirection at work, encouraging skepticism of the performativity of such realism. Though it does have a twist. I was not, you know, having these particular experiences. I like this song, Burnham says, before pointing out the the lack of modern songs about labor exploitation. Photograph: Netflix Its a measure of the quality of Inside 1.0 that this stuff could end up on the cutting-room floor. It has extended versions of songs, cut songs, and alternate versions of songs that were eventually deleted; but is mainly comprised of outtakes. Daddy made you your favorite. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. The Volcano, which touched on labor rights. While the other songs have abrupt endings, or harsh transitions, "That Funny Feeling" simply fades quietly into darkness perhaps the way Burnham imagines the ending of it all will happen. The song made such a splash in its insight that it earned its own episode in Shannon Struccis seminal Fake Friends documentary series, which broke down what parasocial relationships are and how they work. A gift shop at the gun range, a mass shooting at the mall. A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio (John Boyega, Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris) onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy. Instead of working his muscles at open mics or in improv, Burnham uploaded joke songs to the platform in 2006. this breakdown of 31 details you might have missed in "Inside,". I have a lot of material from back then that I'm not proud of and I think is offensive and I think is not helpful. I think you're getting from him, you know, the entertainment element. In this time-jumping dramedy, a workaholic who's always in a rush now wants life to slow down when he finds himself leaping ahead a year every few hours. But Burnham is of course the writer, director, editor, and star of this show. Bo Bo Burnham: Inside, was written, edited, and directed by the talent himself and the entire show is shot in one room. Now get inside.". Instead of a live performance, he's recorded himself in isolation over the course of a year. ", "On September 17, the clock began counting down from seven years, 103 days, 15 hours, 40 minutes and seven seconds, displayed in red," the Smithsonian reported. Theyre complicated. So we broke down each song and sketch and analyzed their meaning and context. An older Burnham sits at a stool in front of a clock, and he says into a microphone that he's been working on the special for six months now. At first hearing, this is a simple set of lyrics about the way kids deal with struggles throughout adolescence, particularly things like anxiety and depression. Bo Burnham He is leaving it to speak for itself in terms of what it says about isolation and sadness. I have a funky memory and I sometimes can't remember things from something I've watched, even if it was just yesterday. ", "I do not think my intention was homophobic, but what is the implicit comedy of that song if you chase it all the way down? Sitting in the meeting room, not making a sound becomes the perceived 24/7 access fans have to DM you, reply to you, ask you questions. Im talking to you. The song's melody is oddly soothing, and the lyrics are a sly manifestation of the way depression convinces you to stay in its abyss ("It's almost over, it's just begun. Bo Burnham At first it seems to be just about life in the pandemic, but it becomes a reference to his past, when he made faces and jokes from his bedroom as a teenager and put that on the internet. Then, the video keeps going past the runtime of the song and into that reaction itself. MARTIN: And it's deep, too. After more sung repetitions of get your fuckin hands up, Burnham says, Get up. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. In his first Netflix special (2013's "what. When he appeared on NPR's radio show "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross in 2018, the host played a clip of "My Whole Family" and Burnham took his headphones off so he didn't have to relisten to the song. So for our own little slice of the world, Burnham's two time spans seem to be referencing the start and end of an era in our civilization. Parasocial relationships are neutral, and how we interact with them is usually a mixed bag. Maybe we'll call it isolation theater. And part of it is sometimes he's just in despair. Come and watch the skinny kid with a / Steadily declining mental health, and laugh as he attempts / To give you what he cannot give himself. Like Struccis Fake Friends documentary, this song is highlighted in Anuska Dhars video essay, Bo Burnham and the Trap of Parasocial Self-Awareness. Burnhams work consistently addresses his relationship with his audience, the ways he navigates those parasocial relationships, and how easy they can be to exploit. "I'm so worried that criticism will be levied against me that I levy it against myself before anyone else can. But by the end of the tune, his narrative changes into irreverence. When we see it again towards the end of the special, it's from a new camera angle. His hair and beard were shorter, and he was full of inspired energy. At the end of the song, "Inside" cuts to a shot of Burnham watching his own video on a computer in the dark. 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. "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. At the second level of the reaction video, Burnham says: "I'm being a little pretentious. ", The Mayo Clinic defines depersonalization-derealization disorder as occurring "when you persistently or repeatedly have the feeling that you're observing yourself from outside your body or you have a sense that things around you aren't real, or both. Is he content with its content? That's when the younger Burnham, the one from the beginning of his special-filming days, appears. He was only 16. And like those specials, Inside implores fans to think about deeper themes as well as how we think about comedy as a genre. Bo Burnhams Inside begs for our parasocial awareness The comedians lifetime online explains the heart of most of his new songs By Wil Williams @wilw_writes Jun 28, 2021, 11:01am EDT Toward the end, he appears completely naked behind his keyboard. Tell us a little bit more about that. People experiencing depression often stop doing basic self-care tasks, like showering or laundry or brushing their teeth. Burnham may also be trying to parody the hollow, PR-scripted apologies that celebrities will trot out before they've possibly had the time to self-reflect and really understand what people are trying to hold them accountable for. The album peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 chart, #1 on the Comedy Albums chart, and #18 on the Independent Albums chart. Most creator-made content online is available for free, meaning creators usually have to rely on their fans for income via crowdfunding like Patreon. Hes bedraggled, increasingly unshaven, growing a Rasputin-like beard. By inserting that Twitch character in this earlier scene, Burnham was seemingly giving a peek into his daily routine. The special is set almost entirely in one cluttered room. The arrogance is taught or it was cultivated. Hes been addressing us the entire time. Burnham slaps his leg in frustration and eventually gives a mirthless laugh before he starts slamming objects around him. And like unpaid interns, most working artists cant afford a mortgage (and yeah, probably torrent a porn). newsletter, On Parasocial Relationships and the Boundaries of Celebrity, Bo Burnham and the Trap of Parasocial Self-Awareness.. He grabs the camera and swings it around in a circle as the song enters another chorus, and a fake audience cheers in the background. He decided to stop doing live performances, and instead set out to write and direct his first feature film, the critically-acclaimed 2018 movie "Eighth Grade." "I didn't perform for five years," he says. The vocal key used in "All Eyes On Me" could be meant to represent depression, an outside force that is rather adept at convincing our minds to simply stay in bed, to not care, and to not try anymore. And then, of course, he had previous standup comedy specials. Here's a little bit of that. Long before the phrase parasocial relationship had entered the mainstream zeitgeist, Burnhams work discussed the phenomenon. Well, well, buddy you found it, now come out with your hands up we've got you surrounded.". For fans who struggle with panic attacks (myself included) its a comfort to see yourself represented in an artist whose work you respect. Burnham's growth is admirable, but also revealing of how little we expect from men in the industry. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. Having this frame of reference may help viewers better understand the design of "Inside." (SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY SPECIAL, "BO BURNHAM: INSIDE"). At the forefront of this shift has been Bo Burnham, one of YouTubes earliest stars, who went on to make his own innovative specials with satirical songs backed by theatrical lighting and disembodied voices. Throughout the song and its accompanying visuals, Burnham is highlighting the "girlboss" aesthetic of many white women's Instagram accounts. Poioumenon (from the Greek word for "product") is a term created by author Alastair Fowler and usually used to refer to a kind of metafiction. It's a dangerously tempting invitation to stop caring, coming from the villain of this musical comedy (depression). Burnham makes it textual, too. It chronicles Burnhams life during the pandemic and his journey creating the special. Don't overthink this, look in my eye don't be scared don't be shy come on in the water's fine."). Now get inside.". Linda Holmes, welcome. [1] Created in the guest house of Burnham's Los Angeles home during the COVID-19 pandemic without a crew or audience, it was released on Netflix on May 30, 2021. "A part of me loves you, part of me hates you," he sang to the crowd. Web9/10. 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. 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. Netflix did, however, post Facetime with My Mom (Tonight) on YouTube. HOLMES: Well, logically enough, let's go out on the closing song. Went out to look for a reason to hide again. In a giddy homage to Cabaret, Burnham, in sunglasses, plays the M.C. 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. See our analysis of the end of the special, and why Burnham's analogy for depression works so well.