Bo Burnham It also seems noteworthy that this is one of the only sketches in "Inside" that fades to black. He is now back to where he was, making jokes alone in his room, an effort to escape his reality. Oops. he sings as he refers to his birth name. 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. 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. I've been singing that song for about a week NOW. HOLMES: Well, logically enough, let's go out on the closing song. Toward the end, he appears completely naked behind his keyboard. It's as if Burnham knows there are valid criticisms of him that haven't really stuck in the public discourse around his work. But now Burnham is back. Self-awareness does not absolve anybody of anything.". Theres always been a tension in his comedy between an ironic, smarty-pants cleverness and an often melodramatic point of view. 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. 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 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. Bo Burnham Bo Burnham While he's laying in bed, eyes about the close, the screen shows a flash of an open door. 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." Carpool Karaoke, Steve Aoki, Logan Paul. I don't know exactly how it tracks his experience, Bo Burnham, the person, right? 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. 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. All rights reserved. Review: Bo Burnham's 'Inside 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. "Oh Jesus, sorry," Burnham says, hurrying over to pick it up. 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. It's a reprieve of the lyrics Burnham sang earlier in the special when he was reminiscing about being a kid stuck in his room. HOLMES: So before he was this celebrated filmmaker, Bo Burnham was himself a YouTube star. Perform everything to each other, all the time for no reason. By inserting that Twitch character in this earlier scene, Burnham was seemingly giving a peek into his daily routine. MARTIN: So a lot of us, you know, artists, journalists have been trying to describe what this period has been like, what has it meant, what's been going on with us. Down to the second, the clock changes to midnight exactly halfway through the runtime of "Inside.". He tries to talk into the microphone, giving his audience a one-year update. Bo Burnhams 2021 special, Inside. 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. 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. Bo Burnham: Inside HOLMES: That was NPR's Linda Holmes reviewing Bo Burnham's new Netflix special "Inside." Relieved to be done? I think you're getting from him, you know, the entertainment element. 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.". And many people will probably remember his 2018 movie, "Eighth Grade." And maybe the rest of us are ready, too. "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. Instead, thanks to his ultra-self-aware style, he seems to always get ahead of criticism by holding himself accountable first. Feelings of depersonalization and derealization can be very disturbing and may feel like you're living in a dream.". Underneath the Steve Martin-like formal trickery has always beaten the heaving heart of a flamboyantly dramatic theater kid. Burnham's creative background began with being a theater then he transitioned to musical-comedy. 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. ", 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.". You can stream "Inside" on Netflix now, and see our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. 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. And I think that, 'Oh if I'm self-aware about being a douchebag it'll somehow make me less of a douchebag.' 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. This is when the musical numbers (and in-between skits) become much more grim. Mid-song, a spotlight turns on Burnham and shows him completely naked as a voice sings: "Well, well, look who's inside again. Daddy made you your favorite. I actually felt true mutual empathy with someone for the first time, and with someone Ive never even met, its kinda funny.. Then he moves into a new layer of reaction, where he responds to that previous comment. 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. But also, it's clear that there's a lot on his mind. Burnham lingers on his behind-the-scenes technical tinkering handling lights, editing, practicing lines. Also, Burnham's air conditioner is set to precisely 69 degrees throughout this whole faux music video. Then, the video keeps going past the runtime of the song and into that reaction itself. "A part of me loves you, part of me hates you," he sang to the crowd. ", 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.". One of those is the internet itself. The penultimate song, "All Eyes On Me," is the best in the whole special, in this writer's opinion. But we weren't. Instead of a live performance, he's recorded himself in isolation over the course of a year. 7 on the Top 200. Its called INSIDE, and it will undoubtedly strike your hearts forevermore. ", He then pulls the same joke again, letting the song play after the audience's applause so it seems like a mistake. Burnham reacts to his reaction to his reaction: Im so afraid that this criticism will be levied against me that I levy it against myself before anyone else can. The video keeps going. Get the fuck up! Burnham walks towards the camera and grabs it like hes grabbing the viewer by the throat. Just wanted to make sure everybody knew about Bo's comedy special transcripts on Scraps. Bo Burnham .] Most of the comments talk about how visceral it is to hear Burnhams real voice singing the upsetting lyrics. ", 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. Photograph: Netflix Its a measure of the quality of Inside 1.0 that this stuff could end up on the cutting-room floor. 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. 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. Let's take a closer look at just a few of those bubbles, shall we? You know, as silly as that one is, some of the other ones are more sedate. This sketch, like the "White Woman Instagram" song, shows one of Burnham's writing techniques of bringing a common Internet culture into a fictionalized bit. Thank you so much for joining us. ", 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.". And so I think he's always had that stubborn insistence on holding both of those things in his head at the same time. Thank you, Michel. Its an instinct I have for all my work to have some deeper meaning or something. 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. And it's important to remember, you know, this is a piece of theater. Bo Burnhams latest Netflix special, Inside, is a solo venture about the comedian and filmmakers difficult experience in quarantine thats earned enthusiastic critical acclaim. Went out to look for a reason to hide again. Parasocial relationships can be positive too, as outlined in culture critic Stitchs essay On Parasocial Relationships and the Boundaries of Celebrity for Teen Vogue. 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. Burnhams eyes are sharply in focus; the rest of him faded out subtly, a detail you might not even notice with how striking his eyes are. 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. And they're biting, but he's also very talented at these little catchy pop hooks. But he knows how to do this. HOLMES: So, as you'll hear there, on the one hand, there's a lot of sadness in what he's talking about there. 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. Accuracy and availability may vary. The global pandemic and subsequent lockdown orders of March 2020 put a stop to these plans. Doona! 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. "And so today I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. After more sung repetitions of get your fuckin hands up, Burnham says, Get up. They may still be comical, but they have a different feel. The special is available exclusively on Netflix, while the album can be found on most streaming platforms.
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