The penultimate song "All Eyes on Me" makes for a particularly powerful moment. Relieved to be done? Burnham achieved a similar uncanny sense of realism in his movie "Eighth Grade," the protagonist of which is a 13-year-old girl with extreme social anxiety who makes self-help YouTube videos. Each of the songs from the first half of the special are in line with Burnham's earlier Netflix specials and comedy albums. But also, it's clear that there's a lot on his mind. Audiences who might not read a 1956 essay by researchers about news anchors still see much of the same discussion in Inside. And part of it is sometimes he's just in despair. Similarly, Burnham often speaks to the audience by filming himself speaking to himself in a mirror. There's also another little joke baked into this bit, because the game is made by a company called SSRI interactive the most common form of antidepressant drugs are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, aka SSRIs. This plays almost like a glitch and goes unexplained until later in the special when a sketch plays out with Burnham as a Twitch streamer who is testing out a game called "INSIDE" (in which the player has to have a Bo Burnham video game character do things like cry, play the piano, and find a flashlight in order to complete their day). And they're biting, but he's also very talented at these little catchy pop hooks. From the very beginning of "Inside," Burnham makes it clear that the narrative arc of the special will be self-referential. ", He then pulls the same joke again, letting the song play after the audience's applause so it seems like a mistake. It's so good to hear your voice. The special is available exclusively on Netflix, while the album can be found on most streaming platforms. He is not talking about it very much. It's like the mental despair of the last year has turned into a comfort. His career evolved through YouTube, MTV, Vine, his movie "Eighth Grade," and now Netflix's "Inside." Some of the things he mentions that give him "that funny feeling" include discount Etsy agitprop (aka communist-themed merchandise) and the Pepsi halftime show. Self-awareness does not absolve anyone of anything, he says. 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. He tries to talk into the microphone, giving his audience a one-year update. TikTok creator @TheWoodMother made a video about how Burnham's "Inside" is its own poioumenon thanks to the meta scenes of Burnham setting up lights and cameras, not to mention the musical numbers like "Content" and "Comedy" that all help to tell the story of Burnham making this new special. And I think that, 'Oh if I'm self-aware about being a douchebag it'll somehow make me less of a douchebag.' 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. He brushes his teeth, eats a bowl of cereal, and begins editing his videos. The song begins with a fade in from back, the shot painfully close to Burnhams face as he looks off to the side. 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. Inside is a tricky work that for all its boundary-crossing remains in the end a comedy in the spirit of neurotic, self-loathing stand-up. HOLMES: Yeah. Anything and everything all of the time. In recent years, he has begun directing other comics specials, staging stand-up sets by Chris Rock and Jerrod Carmichael with his signature extreme close-ups. "Healing the world with comedy, the indescribable power of your comedy," the voice sings. 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 part of me loves you, part of me hates you / Part of me needs you, part of me fears you / [. 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. So when you get to the end of a song, it often just kind of cuts to something else. The song brings with it an existential dread, but Burnham's depression-voice tells us not to worry and sink into nihilism. But what is it exactly - a concert, a comedy special? It also seems noteworthy that this is one of the only sketches in "Inside" that fades to black. Underneath the Steve Martin-like formal trickery has always beaten the heaving heart of a flamboyantly dramatic theater kid. If we continue to look at it from the lens of a musical narrative, this is the point at which our protagonist realizes he's failed at his mission. Hes been addressing us the entire time. It's a series of musical numbers and skits that are inherently about the creation of comedy itself. Good. .] His 2014 song Repeat Stuff and its music video parodies how boy bands and other corporately-owned pop stars prey on young fans desire to feel loved by writing songs with lyrics vague enough anyone can feel like it was written specifically about them. So we broke down each song and sketch and analyzed their meaning and context. 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.". But Burnham is of course the writer, director, editor, and star of this show. "If greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current rate, then when the clock runs out, the average global temperature will be irreversibly on its way to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels.". "All Eyes On Me" starts right after Burnham's outburst of anger and sadness. Unpaid Intern isnt just about unpaid internships; when your livelihood as an artist depends on your perceived closeness with each individual fan, fetching a coffee becomes telling someone theyre valid when they vent to you like they would a friend (or a therapist). Went out to look for a reason to hide again. The penultimate song "All Eyes on Me" makes for a particularly powerful moment. That's a really clever, fun little rhyme in this, you know, kind of heavy song. Burnham had no idea that his song would be seen more than 10 million times,nor that it would kick start his career in a niche brand of self-aware musical comedy. Its a feat, the work of a gifted experimentalist whose craft has caught up to his talent. Not in the traditional senseno music was released prior to the special other than a backing track from Content found in the trailer. "Goodbye sadness, hello jokes!". The piece also highlights Bos anxieties with becoming older and his legacy as a comedian. MARTIN: So Bo Burnham has had a lot of different identities lately. Thank you, Michel. Now get inside.". "The quiet comprehending of the ending of it all," is another of Burnham's lyrics in this song that seems to speak to the idea that civilization is nearing collapse, and also touches on suicidal ideation. All Eyes on Me takes a different approach to rattling the viewer. Known as "Art is a Lie, Nothing is Real," there's a bit Burnham did at the start of his 2013 special "what." "That's a good start. Because there's also a little bit Bo Burnham the character in this almost. 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. "And so today I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. When we saw that projection the first time, Burnham's room was clean and orderly. Perform everything to each other, all the time for no reason. It's just Burnham, his room, the depressive-sound of his song, and us watching as his distorted voice tries to convince us to join him in that darkness. 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. He's showing us how terrifying it can be to present something you've made to the world, or to hear laughter from an audience when what you were hoping for was a genuine connection. And did you have any favorites? The lead-in is Burnham thanking a nonexistent audience for being there with him for the last year. 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. Feelings of depersonalization and derealization can be very disturbing and may feel like you're living in a dream.". Under the movies section, there's a bubble that says "sequel to classic comedy that everyone watches and then pretends never happened" and "Thor's comebacks.". In this case, it's likely some combination of depression/anxiety/any other mental disorder. Burnham's growth is admirable, but also revealing of how little we expect from men in the industry. While he's laying in bed, eyes about the close, the screen shows a flash of an open door. (SOUNDBITE OF COMEDY SPECIAL, "BO BURNHAM: INSIDE"). On May 30, 2022, Burnham uploaded the video Inside: The Outtakes, to his YouTube channel, marking a rare original upload, similar to how he used his YouTube channel when he was a teenager. His new Netflix special Inside was directed, written and performed all inside one room. Burnham's creative background began with being a theater then he transitioned to musical-comedy. Bo Burnham: INSIDE | Trailer - YouTube 0:00 / 2:09 The following content may contain suicide or self-harm topics. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. 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. The songs from the special were released on streaming platforms on June 10, 2021. 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. But by the end of the tune, his narrative changes into irreverence. Bo Burnham also uploaded Welcome to the Internet and White Womans Instagram on his YouTube channel. I have a funky memory and I sometimes can't remember things from something I've watched, even if it was just yesterday. So we broke down each song and sketch and analyzed their meaning and context. But then the video keeps playing, and so he winds up reacting to his own reaction, and then reacting yet again to that reaction. For those who are unaware, Bos real name is Robert Burnham. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. And like unpaid interns, most working artists cant afford a mortgage (and yeah, probably torrent a porn). He's almost claustrophobically surrounded by equipment. BURNHAM: (Singing) Start a rumor, buy a broom or send a death threat to a Boomer. A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio (John Boyega, Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris) onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy. In a giddy homage to Cabaret, Burnham, in sunglasses, plays the M.C. 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. But he's largely been given a pass by his fans, who praise his self-awareness and new approach. It's conscious of self. This is especially true for Patreon campaigns that give fans direct access to creators on platforms like Discord. So this is how it ends. For all the ways Burnham had been desperate to leave the confines of his studio, now that he's able to go back out into the world (and onto a real stage), he's terrified. 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. 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?". You can stream "Inside" on Netflix now, and see our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. Simply smiling at the irony of watching his own movie come to life while he's still inside? But I described it to a couple of people as, you know, this looks like what the inside of my head felt like because of his sort of restlessness, his desire to create, create, create. And maybe the rest of us are ready, too. A harsh skepticism of digital life (a life the pandemic has only magnified) is the dominant subject of the special. And many people will probably remember his 2018 movie, "Eighth Grade." Burnham skewers himself as a virtue-signaling ally with a white-savior complex, a bully and an egoist who draws a Venn diagram and locates himself in the overlap between Weird Al and Malcolm X. And it portends and casts doubt on a later scene when his mental health frays and Burnham cries in earnest. And so I think he's always had that stubborn insistence on holding both of those things in his head at the same time. Bo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special "Inside" is jam-packed with references to his previous work. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Under stand up, Burnham wrote "Middle-aged men protecting free speech by humping stools and telling stories about edibles" and "podcasts. 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. "You say the ocean's rising, like I give a s---," he sings. It has extended versions of songs, cut songs, and alternate versions of songs that were eventually deleted; but is mainly comprised of outtakes. "You say the ocean's rising, like I give a s---, you say the whole world's ending, honey it already did, you're not gonna slow it, heaven knows you tried," he sings. 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. Who Were We Running From? 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. It's a quiet, banal scene that many people coming out of a depressive episode might recognize. WebBo Burnham's "Inside" special on Netflix is an incredibly detailed musical-comedy artwork. "Oh Jesus, sorry," Burnham says, hurrying over to pick it up. Teeuwen's performance shows a twisted, codependent relationship between him and the puppet on his hand, something Burnham is clearly channeling in his own sock puppet routine in "Inside.". 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. If "All Eyes on Me" sounds disconcertingly comforting to you, it could be because you can recognize the mental symptoms of a mood disorder like depression. this breakdown of 31 details you might have missed in "Inside,". They Cloned Tyrone. WebStuck in a passionless marriage, a journalist must choose between her distant but loving husband and a younger ex-boyfriend who has reentered her life. Bo Burnham: Inside is a devastating portrait of the actor-director-singer-comedian's dysfunctional interiority and 2020's unyielding assault on mental and social health. But look, I made you some content. 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. Now, hes come a long way since his previous specials titled What. and Make Happy, where his large audiences roared with laughter He brushes his teeth, eats a bowl of cereal, and begins editing his videos. "Truly, it's like, for a 16-year-old kid in 2006, it's not bad. Research and analysis of parasocial relationships usually revolves around genres of performers instead of individuals. 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. But in both of those cases, similarity and connection would come from the way the art itself connects people, not any actual tie between Burnham and myself, Burnham and the commenter. Burnham wrote out: "Does it target those who have been disenfranchised in a historical, political, social, economic and/or psychological context?". Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. Burnham lingers on his behind-the-scenes technical tinkering handling lights, editing, practicing lines. I cant say how Burnham thinks or feels with any authority, but as text and form-driven comedy, Inside urges the audience to reflect on how they interact with creators. 7 on the Top 200. In the song "That Funny Feeling," Burnham mentions these two year spans without further explanation, but it seems like he's referencing the "critical window for action to prevent the effects of global warming from becoming irreversible. Transcript Comedian and filmmaker Bo Burnham used his time alone during the pandemic to create a one-man show. 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. Burnham is also the main character in the game, a character who is seen moving mechanically around a room. See our analysis of the end of the special, and why Burnham's analogy for depression works so well. After about 35 minutes of candy-colored, slickly designed sketch comedy, the tone shifts with Burnhams first completely earnest song, a lovely indie-rock tune with an ear worm of a hook about trying to be funny and stuck in a room. This is the shows hinge. Viewer discretion is advised. Now get inside.". that shows this exact meta style. 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. Don't overthink this, look in my eye don't be scared, don't be shy, come on in the water's fine."). 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. The album peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 chart, #1 on the Comedy Albums chart, and #18 on the Independent Albums chart. Likewise, the finale of Burnhams next special, Make Happy (2016) closes in a song called Handle This (Kanye Rant). The song starts as him venting his hyperbolically small problems, until the tone shifts, and he starts directly addressing the audience, singing: The truth is, my biggest problem is you / [. 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. All Eyes on Me also earned Bo his first Grammy win for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2022 Grammys. It's self-conscious. On June 9, Burnham released the music from the special in an album titled Inside (The Songs), which hit No. BURNHAM: (Singing) The live-action "Lion King," the Pepsi halftime show, 20,000 years of this, seven more to go. The result, a special titled "Inside," shows all of Burnham's brilliant instincts of parody and meta-commentary on the role of white, male entertainers in the world and of poisons found in internet culture that digital space that gave him a career and fostered a damaging anxiety disorder that led him to quit performing live comedy after 2015. "Any Day Now" The ending credits. We see Burnham moving around in the daylight, a welcome contrast to the dark setting of "All Eyes on Me." He is now back to where he was, making jokes alone in his room, an effort to escape his reality. Don't overthink this, look in my eye don't be scared don't be shy come on in the water's fine."). 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. Linda, thank you so much for joining us. 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. And I think that's what you're getting here. One of those is the internet itself. 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. 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. HOLMES: Thank you. I was not, you know, having these particular experiences. For fans who struggle with panic attacks (myself included) its a comfort to see yourself represented in an artist whose work you respect. That YouTube commenter might be understood by Burnham if they were to meet him. It's a reminder, coming almost exactly halfway through the special, of the toll that this year is taking on Burnham. Carpool Karaoke, Steve Aoki, Logan Paul. And if you go back and you look at a film like "Eighth Grade," he's always been really consumed by sort of the positive and the negative of social media and the internet and the life of of young kids. Whatever it is, NPR's Linda Holmes, host of Pop Culture Happy Hour, has reviewed it, and she liked it. 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. But, of course, it tangles that right back up; this emotional post was, ultimately, still Content. Today We'll Talk About That Day "A part of me loves you, part of me hates you," he sang to the crowd. Burnham then kicks back into song, still addressing his audience, who seem unsure of whether to laugh, applaud, or sit somberly in their chairs. 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. 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. Still, its difficult not to be lulled back into, again, this absolute banger. Bo Burnhams latest Netflix special, Inside, is a solo venture about the comedian and filmmakers difficult experience in quarantine thats earned enthusiastic critical acclaim. "I'm so worried that criticism will be levied against me that I levy it against myself before anyone else can. And the biggest risk Burnham takes in the show is letting his emotional side loose, but not before cracking a ton of jokes. Throughout the song and its accompanying visuals, Burnham is highlighting the "girlboss" aesthetic of many white women's Instagram accounts. And it has a lot of very clever and very quick wordplay about the specific things you can get on the internet. But unlike many of us, Burnham was also hard at work on a one-man show directed, written and performed all by himself. WebOn a budget. 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. The flow chat for "Is it funny?" Maybe we'll call it isolation theater. Its a stupid song, and, uh, it doesnt really mean anything. The video continues. The tension between creator and audience is a prominent theme in Burnhams work, likely because he got his start on YouTube. 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. And it's important to remember, you know, this is a piece of theater. Burnham spoofs a PewDiePie-like figure a YouTuber who narrates his playing of a video game with a dead-eyed smugness, as shown in an image at the bottom-right corner of the screen. Social media; it's just the market's answer to a generation that demanded to perform so the market said, here, perform. WebBo Burnham: Inside is by far one of the riskiest and original comedy specials to come out in years. Bo Burnham: Inside review this is a claustrophobic masterpiece. Entertainment correspondent Kim Renfro ranked them in ascending order of greatness. 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. After more sung repetitions of get your fuckin hands up, Burnham says, Get up. ", "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. But we weren't. Please check your email to find a confirmation email, and follow the steps to confirm your humanity. In Unpaid Intern, Burnham sings about how deeply unethical the position is to the workers in a pastiche of other labor-focused blues. "And so, today, I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. Get up. Some of this comes through in how scenes are shot and framed: its common for the special to be filmed, projected onto Burnhams wall (or, literally, himself), and then filmed again for the audience. The voices of the characters eventually blend together to tell the live Burnham on stage, We think we know you.. (For example, the song "Straight, White, Male" from the "Make Happy" special). 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. But now Burnham is back. Burnham is an extraordinary actor, and "Inside" often feels like we're watching the intimate, real interior life of an artist. That's when the younger Burnham, the one from the beginning of his special-filming days, appears. MARTIN: This special is titled, appropriately enough, "Inside," and it is streaming on Netflix now. His virtuosic new special, Inside (on Netflix), pushes this trend further, so far that it feels as if he has created something entirely new and unlikely, both sweepingly cinematic and claustrophobically intimate, a Zeitgeist-chasing musical comedy made alone to an audience of no one. Parasocial relationships can be positive too, as outlined in culture critic Stitchs essay On Parasocial Relationships and the Boundaries of Celebrity for Teen Vogue. Is he content with its content? Initially, this seems like a pretty standard takedown of the basic bitch stereotype co-opted from Black Twitter, until the aspect ratio widens and Burnham sings a shockingly personal, emotional caption from the same feed. 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.". ", And last but not least, for social media he put "sexually pranking unsuspecting women at public beaches" and "psychologically abusive parents making rube goldberg machines" alongside "white people using GIFs of Black people widening their eyes.". ", From then on, the narrative of "Inside" follows Burnham returning to his standard comedic style and singing various parody songs like "FaceTime with My Mom" and "White Woman's Instagram.". One of the most encouraging developments in comedy over the past decade has been the growing directorial ambition of stand-up specials. At the beginning of "Inside," Burnham is not only coming back to that same room, but he's wearing a very similar outfit: jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers picking up right back where he left off. Then, of course, the aspect ratio shrinks again as the white woman goes back to posting typical content. The song untangles the way we view peoples social media output as the complete vision of who they are, when really, we cannot know the full extent of someones inner world, especially not just through social media. And then the funniest thing happened.". And while its an ominous portrait of the isolation of the pandemic, theres hope in its existence: Written, designed and shot by Burnham over the last year inside a single room, it illustrates that theres no greater inspiration than limitations. It chronicles Burnhams life during the pandemic and his journey creating the special. We're a long way from the days when he filmed "Comedy" and the contrast shows how fruitless this method of healing has been. Or DM a girl and groom her, do a Zoomer, find a tumor in her HOLMES: And this is what the chorus of that song sounds like. 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.".

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