How does one know if the joke punches down? Burnham brings back all the motifs from the earlier songs into his finale, revisiting all the stages of emotion he took us through for the last 90 minutes. That's when the younger Burnham, the one from the beginning of his special-filming days, appears. Inside, a new Netflix special written, performed, directed, shot, and edited by comedian Bo Burnham, invokes and plays with many forms. It's full circle from the start of the special, when Burnham sang about how he's been depressed and decided to try just getting up, sitting down, and going back to work. And it's important to remember, you know, this is a piece of theater. 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. 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. In this case, it's likely some combination of depression/anxiety/any other mental disorder. .] 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.". His new Netflix special Inside was directed, written and performed all inside one room. So when you get to the end of a song, it often just kind of cuts to something else. We're a long way from the days when he filmed "Comedy" and the contrast shows how fruitless this method of healing has been. Is he content with its content? 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). The whole video is filmed like one big thirst trap as he sweats and works out. "Problematic" is a roller coaster of self-awareness, masochism, and parody. 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. Because there's also a little bit Bo Burnham the character in this almost.
Bo Burnham Released on May 30, 2021, Bo Burnham wrote, recorded, directed, and produced Inside while in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. The comedians lifetime online explains the heart of most of his new songs, I made you some content, comedian Bo Burnham sings in the opening moments of his new Netflix special, Inside. When that future-Burnham appears, it's almost like a precursor to what he'll have shown us by the end of the special: That both he, and his audience, could never have known just how brutal the next year was about to be. An astronaut's return after a 30-year disappearance rekindles a lost love and sparks interest from a corporation determined to learn why he hasn't aged. And its easier to relax when the video focuses on a separate take of Burnham singing from farther away, the frame now showing the entire room. "And so today I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. It also seems noteworthy that this is one of the only sketches in "Inside" that fades to black. A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio (John Boyega, Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris) onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy. 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. 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. And it portends and casts doubt on a later scene when his mental health frays and Burnham cries in earnest. But unlike many of us, Burnham was also hard at work on a one-man show directed, written and performed all by himself. Right after the song ends, the shot of Burnham's guest house returns but this time it's filled with clutter. Its a stupid song, and, uh, it doesnt really mean anything. The video continues.
Bo Burnham 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.
Inside Audiences who might not read a 1956 essay by researchers about news anchors still see much of the same discussion in Inside. Then, the video keeps going past the runtime of the song and into that reaction itself. HOLMES: Thank you. 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. Something went wrong. Likewise. Long before the phrase parasocial relationship had entered the mainstream zeitgeist, Burnhams work discussed the phenomenon. BURNHAM: (Singing) Does anybody want to joke when no one's laughing in the background? MARTIN: You know, about that, because it does move into a deeply serious place at some point. Self-awareness does not absolve anyone of anything, he says. They may still be comical, but they have a different feel. He brushes his teeth, eats a bowl of cereal, and begins editing his videos. The voices of the characters eventually blend together to tell the live Burnham on stage, We think we know you.. 1 on Billboards comedy albums chart and eventually climbed to No. Bo Burnham: Inside review this is a claustrophobic masterpiece.
Bo Burnham: Inside Also, Burnham's air conditioner is set to precisely 69 degrees throughout this whole faux music video. 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. But he knows how to do this. 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. Released on May 30, 2021, Bo Burnham wrote, recorded, directed, and produced Inside while in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Bo Burnhams latest Netflix special, Inside, is a solo venture about the comedian and filmmakers difficult experience in quarantine thats earned enthusiastic critical acclaim. The song is like having a religious experience with your own mental disorder. You can tell that he's watched a ton of livestream gamers, and picked up on their intros, the way the talk with people in the chat, the cadence of their commentary on the game, everything. But on the other hand, it is lyrically so playful. "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.". The incentives of the web, those that reward outrage, excess and sentiment, are the villains of this show. On the Netflix special, however, Josh Senior is credited as a producer, Cooper Wehde is an assistant producer, and a number of people are credited for post-production, editing, and logistical coordinating. In his new Netflix special, Inside, Bo Burnham sings about trying to be funny while stuck in a room. 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. The first comes when Burnham looks directly into the camera as he addresses the audience, singing, Are you feeling nervous? In one interpretation, maybe the smile means he's ready to be outside again. A harsh skepticism of digital life (a life the pandemic has only magnified) is the dominant subject of the special. The arrogance is taught or it was cultivated. Its called INSIDE, and it will undoubtedly strike your hearts forevermore. 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. After more sung repetitions of get your fuckin hands up, Burnham says, Get up. The tension between creator and audience is a prominent theme in Burnhams work, likely because he got his start on YouTube. 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. Please enter a valid email and try again. Oops.
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.
Bo I've been hiding from the world and I need to reenter.' Might not help but still it couldn't hurt.
Bo Burnham 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. 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.
Review: Bo Burnham's 'Inside Who Were We Running From? In White Womans Instagram, the comedian assumes the role of a white woman and sings a list of common white lady Instagram posts (Latte foam art / Tiny pumpkins / Fuzzy, comfy socks) while acting out even more cliched photos in the video with wild accuracy. Now get inside.". I did! It chronicles Burnhams life during the pandemic and his journey creating the special. Burnham then kicks back into song, still addressing his audience, who seem unsure of whether to laugh, applaud, or sit somberly in their chairs. The special is set almost entirely in one cluttered room. So let's dive into "Inside" and take a closer look at nearly every song and sketch in Burnham's special.
But, like so many other plans and hopes people had in the early months of the pandemic, that goal proved unattainable. Its a visual that signifies a man exposing himself, until you realize hes in a spotlight. 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. Is he content with its content? MARTIN: This special is titled, appropriately enough, "Inside," and it is streaming on Netflix now. It's a reminder, coming almost exactly halfway through the special, of the toll that this year is taking on Burnham. 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. Burnham is an extraordinary actor, and "Inside" often feels like we're watching the intimate, real interior life of an artist. All rights reserved. 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. Please check your email to find a confirmation email, and follow the steps to confirm your humanity. "I didn't perform for five years," he says. And he's done virtually no press about it. 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. 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. Burnham has said in interviews that his inspiration for the character came from real YouTube videos he had watched, most with just a handful of views, and saw the way young women expressed themselves online. Burnham reacts to his reaction of the song, this time saying, Im being a little pretentious. 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. Good. The performer, along with the record label and brand deals, encourage a parasocial relationship for increased profits. It's a quiet, banal scene that many people coming out of a depressive episode might recognize. And many people will probably remember his 2018 movie, "Eighth Grade." WebBo Burnham's Netflix special "Inside" features 20 new original songs. It is set almost entirely within one room of his Los Angeles guest house, the same one shown in the closing song of the June 2016 Make Happy special, titled Are you happy?. BO BURNHAM: (Singing) If you'd have told me a year ago that I'd be locked inside of my home, I would have told you a year ago, interesting, now leave me alone. [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. 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." 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. Open wide.. While talking to the audience during the opening section, Burnham takes a sip out of a water bottle. The penultimate song, "All Eyes On Me," is the best in the whole special, in this writer's opinion. "And so, today, I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. Apathy's a tragedy, and boredom is a crime.
While this special is the product of evolution, Burnham is pointing out its also a regression. The first half is dominated by sharp, silly satires of the moment, like a visually precise and hilarious song about social media vanity, White Womans Instagram, and a commercial for a woke brand consultant. Photograph: Netflix Its a measure of the quality of Inside 1.0 that this stuff could end up on the cutting-room floor. The global pandemic and subsequent lockdown orders of March 2020 put a stop to these plans. 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. It's a quiet, banal scene that many people coming out of a depressive episode might recognize. 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. Viewer discretion is advised.
Bo Burnham Bo Burnham "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. You can stream "Inside" on Netflix now, and see our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. Burnham slaps his leg in frustration and eventually gives a mirthless laugh before he starts slamming objects around him. People experiencing depression often stop doing basic self-care tasks, like showering or laundry or brushing their teeth. It has extended versions of songs, cut songs, and alternate versions of songs that were eventually deleted; but is mainly comprised of outtakes. Many of his songs begin seriously, then shift into the joke, but this one doesnt. of the internet, welcoming everyone with a decadent menu of options while disco lights twirl. 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. They Cloned Tyrone. I've been singing that song for about a week NOW. Social media; it's just the market's answer to a generation that demanded to perform so the market said, here, perform. Now get inside.". I think this is something we've all been thinking about. The songs from the special were released on streaming platforms on June 10, 2021. But now Burnham is back. 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. I actually felt true mutual empathy with someone for the first time, and with someone Ive never even met, its kinda funny.. On the simplest level, Inside is the story of a comic struggling to make a funny show during quarantine and gradually losing his mind. It's a hint at the promised future; the possibility of once again being able to go outside and feel sunlight again. LINDA HOLMES, BYLINE: Thank you, Michel. 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. Then comes the third emotional jump scare. But we weren't. Anyone can read what you share. He was alone. Went out to look for a reason to hide again. 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. Likewise. Next in his special, Burnham performs a sketch song about being an unpaid intern, and then says he's going to do a "reaction" video to the song in classic YouTube format. At the second level of the reaction video, Burnham says: "I'm being a little pretentious. He, for example, it starts off with him rhyming carpool karaoke, which is a segment on James Corden's show, with Steve Aoki, who's a DJ. Burnham's growth is admirable, but also revealing of how little we expect from men in the industry. Its an instinct I have for all my work to have some deeper meaning or something. 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. A gift shop at the gun range, a mass shooting at the mall. But look, I made you some content. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Inside is the work of a comic with artistic tools most of his peers ignore or overlook. @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.". Accuracy and availability may vary. This is when the musical numbers (and in-between skits) become much more grim.
Bo Burnham Went out to look for a reason to hide again. Similarly, Burnham often speaks to the audience by filming himself speaking to himself in a mirror. 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. But Burnham doesn't put the bottle down right, and it falls off the stool. "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. While he's laying in bed, eyes about the close, the screen shows a flash of an open door. 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 I think you're getting from him, you know, the entertainment element. Netflix Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. this breakdown of 31 details you might have missed in "Inside,". HOLMES: So before he was this celebrated filmmaker, Bo Burnham was himself a YouTube star. The special is hitting an emotional climax as Burnham shows us both intense anger and then immediately after, a deep and dark sadness. 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. "Healing the world with comedy, the indescribable power of your comedy," the voice sings. By keeping that reveal until the end of the special, Burnham is dropping a hammer on the actual at-home audience, letting us know why his mental health has hit an ATL, as he calls it ("all time low"). And part of it is sometimes he's just in despair. BURNHAM: (Singing) Could I interest you in everything all of the time, a little bit of everything all of the time? My heart hurts with and for him. Feelings of depersonalization and derealization can be very disturbing and may feel like you're living in a dream.". 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. Parasocial relationships are neutral, and how we interact with them is usually a mixed bag. Having this frame of reference may help viewers better understand the design of "Inside." Its horrific.". 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.". 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. Bo Burnhams 2021 special, Inside. Inside has been making waves for comedy fans, similar to the ways previous landmark comedy specials like Hannah Gadsbys Nanette or Tig Notaros Live (aka Hello, I Have Cancer) have. It feels like the ending of a show, a climax, but it's not. It's not. He tries to talk into the microphone, giving his audience a one-year update. HOLMES: Right. An existential dread creeps in, but Burnham's depression-voice tells us not to worry and sink into nihilism. Comedian and filmmaker Bo Burnham used his time alone during the pandemic to create a one-man show. 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. "A part of me loves you, part of me hates you," he sang to the crowd. ", 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.". See our analysis of the end of the special, and why Burnham's analogy for depression works so well. We see Burnham moving around in the daylight, a welcome contrast to the dark setting of "All Eyes on Me." The whole song ping pongs between Burnham's singing character describing a very surface-level, pleasant definition of the world functioning as a cohesive ecosystem and his puppet, Socko, saying that the truth is the world functions at a much darker level of power imbalance and oppression. It's a hint at the promised future; the possibility of once again being able to go outside and feel sunlight again. The piece also highlights Bos anxieties with becoming older and his legacy as a comedian. 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 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. ", He then pulls the same joke again, letting the song play after the audience's applause so it seems like a mistake. The question is now, Will you support Wheat Thins in the fight against Lyme disease?). The song begins with a fade in from back, the shot painfully close to Burnhams face as he looks off to the side. It's like the mental despair of the last year has turned into a comfort. For the album, Bo is credited as writer, performer, and producer on every song. 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.. Toward the end, he appears completely naked behind his keyboard. "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. But now Burnham is showing us the clutter of the room where "Inside" was filmed. HOLMES: Yeah.
Bo Burnham: Inside A part of me loves you, part of me hates you / Part of me needs you, part of me fears you / [. But what is it exactly - a concert, a comedy special? He's also giving us a visual representation of the way social media feeds can jarringly swing between shallow photos and emotional posts about trauma and loss. "And I spent that time trying to improve myself mentally. 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. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Now, hes come a long way since his previous specials titled What. and Make Happy, where his large audiences roared with laughter Like, what is it? .] Burnham's creative background began with being a theater then he transitioned to musical-comedy. 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. Web9/10. Under the TV section, he has "adults playing twister" (something he referenced in "Make Happy" when he said that celebrity lip-syncing battles were the "end of culture") and "9 season love letter to corporate labor" (which is likely referencing "The Office"). The lead-in is Burnham thanking a nonexistent audience for being there with him for the last year. It's a series of musical numbers and skits that are inherently about the creation of comedy itself. On June 9, Burnham released the music from the special in an album titled Inside (The Songs), which hit No. HOLMES: That was NPR's Linda Holmes reviewing Bo Burnham's new Netflix special "Inside."
Bo Burnham: Inside Simply smiling at the irony of watching his own movie come to life while he's still inside? Daddy made you your favorite. Down to the second, the clock changes to midnight exactly halfway through the runtime of "Inside.". '", "Robert's been a little depressed, no!" Once he's decided he's done with the special, Burnham brings back all the motifs from the earlier songs into "Goodbye," his finale of this musical movie. Not a comedy per se, but a masterpiece nonetheless. Burnham wrote out: "Does it target those who have been disenfranchised in a historical, political, social, economic and/or psychological context?". Known as "Art is a Lie, Nothing is Real," there's a bit Burnham did at the start of his 2013 special "what." Burnham was just 16 years old when he wrote a parody song ("My Whole Family") and filmed himself performing it in his bedroom. And I think that's what you're getting here. Mirroring the earlier scene where Burnham went to sleep, now Burnham is shown "waking up.". Perform everything to each other, all the time for no reason. 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.