"Oh Jesus, sorry," Burnham says, hurrying over to pick it up. Burnham's career as a young, white, male comedian has often felt distinct from his peers because of the amount of public self-reflection and acknowledgment of his own privileges that he does on stage and off screen. He doesn't really bother with any kind of transitions. Burnham quickly shifts from the song to a reaction video of the song itself in the style of a YouTuber or Twitch streamer. One comment stuck out to me: Theres something really powerful and painful about, hearing his actual voice singing and breaking at certain points. As someone who has devoted time, energy, and years of research into parasocial relationships, I felt almost like this song was made for me, that Burnham and I do have so much in common. HOLMES: Yeah. The tension between creator and audience is a prominent theme in Burnhams work, likely because he got his start on YouTube. Still terrified of that spotlight? It's wonderful to be with you. "I'm criticizing my initial reaction for being pretentious, which is honestly a defense mechanism," he says. Its an origin story of sorts. And it portends and casts doubt on a later scene when his mental health frays and Burnham cries in earnest. He puts himself on a cross using his projector, and the whole video is him exercising, like he's training for when he's inevitably "canceled.". Viewer discretion is advised. He is not talking about it very much. Anyone can read what you share. The Volcano, which touched on labor rights. The penultimate song "All Eyes on Me" makes for a particularly powerful moment. In the worst case, depression can convince a person to end their life. "I was in a full body sweat, so I didn't hear most of that," Burnham said after the clip played. Most of the comments talk about how visceral it is to hear Burnhams real voice singing the upsetting lyrics. HOLMES: I liked a bunch of the songs in this, and a lot of them are silly songs about the things that his comedy has already been concerned with for a long time, right? One of the most encouraging developments in comedy over the past decade has been the growing directorial ambition of stand-up specials. That cloud scene was projected onto Burnham during the section of "Comedy" when Burnham stood up right after the God-like voice had given him his directive to "heal the world with comedy." It's a hint at the promised future; the possibility of once again being able to go outside and feel sunlight again. Went out to look for a reason to hide again. Partway through the song, the battery icon switches to low and starts blinking in warning as if death is imminent. Instead of a live performance, he's recorded himself in isolation over the course of a year. He says his goal had been to complete filming before his 30th birthday. Photograph: Netflix Its a measure of the quality of Inside 1.0 that this stuff could end up on the cutting-room floor. 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. 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. 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. That's a really clever, fun little rhyme in this, you know, kind of heavy song. Depression acts like an outside force, one that is rather adept at convincing our minds to simply stay in bed, to not care, and to not try anymore. It's an instinct that I have where I need everything that I write to have some deeper meaning or something, but it's a stupid song and it doesn't really mean anything, and it's pretty unlikable that I feel this desperate need to be seen as intelligent.". It has extended versions of songs, cut songs, and alternate versions of songs that were eventually deleted; but is mainly comprised of outtakes. He tries to talk into the microphone, giving his audience a one-year update. Maybe we'll call it isolation theater. Went out to look for a reason to hide again. It's self-conscious. Burnham says he had quit live comedy several years ago because of panic attacks and returned in January 2020 before, as he puts it in typical perverse irony, the funniest thing happened. And I don't think that I can handle this right now. As energetic as the song "S---" is, it's really just another clear message about the mental disorder that has its grips in Burnham (or at least the version of him we're seeing in this special). WebBo Burnham: Inside is by far one of the riskiest and original comedy specials to come out in years. our full breakdown of every detail and reference you might have missed in "Inside" here. 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. Burnham was just 16 years old when he wrote a parody song ("My Whole Family") and filmed himself performing it in his bedroom. Right after the song ends, the shot of Burnham's guest house returns but this time it's filled with clutter. Thought modern humans have been around for much longer than 20,000 years, that's around how long ago people first migrated to North America. Its a stupid song, and, uh, it doesnt really mean anything. The video continues. In his new Netflix special, Inside, Bo Burnham sings about trying to be funny while stuck in a room. Copyright 2021 NPR. In the song Problematic, Burnham sings about his past problematic behavior, asking the audience, Isnt anyone going to hold me accountable? The specials intermission looks like a clear view into Burnhams room, until Burnham washes a window between himself and the viewer an explicit, but invisible, boundary between creator and audience. Having this frame of reference may help viewers better understand the design of "Inside." The penultimate song, "All Eyes On Me," is the best in the whole special, in this writer's opinion. "I don't know that it's not," he said. "I'm so worried that criticism will be levied against me that I levy it against myself before anyone else can. But by using this meta-narrative throughout the whole special, Burnham messes with our ability to know when we're seeing a genuine struggle with artistic expression versus a meticulously staged fictional breakdown. "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. Or was it an elaborate callback to his earlier work, planted for fans seeking evidence that art is lie? [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. And you know what? My heart hurts with and for him. Let's take a closer look at just a few of those bubbles, shall we? Well, well, buddy you found it, now come out with your hands up we've got you surrounded.". "Part of me needs you, part of me fears you. "A part of me loves you, part of me hates you," he sang to the crowd. At just 20 years old, Burnham was a guest alongside Judd Apatow, Marc Maron, Ray Romano, and Garry Shandling. Its called INSIDE, and it will undoubtedly strike your hearts forevermore. One of those is the internet itself. "Inside" feels like the creative culmination of Bo Burnham's career over the last 15 years, starting with his first viral YouTube video in 2006. Then comes the third emotional jump scare. Thank you so much for joining us. 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. Throughout the song and its accompanying visuals, Burnham is highlighting the "girlboss" aesthetic of many white women's Instagram accounts. So we broke down each song and sketch and analyzed their meaning and context. He's self-evaluating his own visual creation in the same way people will often go back to look at their Instagram stories or posts to see how it looks after they've shared it. "You say the whole world's ending, honey it already did, you're not gonna slow it, heaven knows you tried. I don't know exactly how it tracks his experience, Bo Burnham, the person, right? After more sung repetitions of get your fuckin hands up, Burnham says, Get up. In another scene, Burnham gives a retroactive disclaimer to discussions of his suicidal ideation by telling the audience, And if youre out there and youre struggling with suicidal thoughts and you want to kill yourself, I just wanna tell you Dont! Look Whos Inside Again is largely a song about being creative during quarantine, but ends with Now come out with your hands up, weve got you surrounded, a reflection on police violence but also being mobbed by his fans. WebA grieving woman magically travels through time to 1998, where she meets a man with an uncanny resemblance to her late love. Burnham reacts to his reaction of the song, this time saying, Im being a little pretentious. Transcript Comedian and filmmaker Bo Burnham used his time alone during the pandemic to create a one-man show. .] 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. But the cultural standards of what is appropriate comedy and also the inner standards of my own mind have changed rapidly since I was 16. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. 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. Burnham makes it textual, too. Theres a nostalgic sweetness to this song, but parts of it return throughout the show, in darker forms, one of many variations on a theme. True, but it can deepen and clarify art. He slaps his leg in frustration, and eventually gives a mirthless laugh before he starts slamming objects around him. WebBo Burnham's Netflix special "Inside" features 20 new original songs. He's the writer, director, editor, and star of this show. 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. that shows this exact meta style. Good. It's so good to hear your voice. The song, written in 2006, is about how his whole family thinks he's gay, and the various conversations they're having trying to figure it out. "Goodbye sadness, hello jokes!". 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 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. I've been hiding from the world and I need to reenter.' So we broke down each song and sketch and analyzed their meaning and context. If the answer is yes, then it's not funny. In Unpaid Intern, Burnham sings about how deeply unethical the position is to the workers in a pastiche of other labor-focused blues.
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