The final shot is of him looking positively orgasmic, eyes closed, on the cross. 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. ", 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. I actually felt true mutual empathy with someone for the first time, and with someone Ive never even met, its kinda funny.. But now Burnham is showing us the clutter of the room where "Inside" was filmed. The song begins with a fade in from back, the shot painfully close to Burnhams face as he looks off to the side. Because there's also a little bit Bo Burnham the character in this almost. I'm talking to you, get the f--- up.". Whatever it is, NPR's Linda Holmes, host of Pop Culture Happy Hour, has reviewed it, and she liked it. Still terrified of that spotlight? This line comes full circle by the end of the special, so keep it in mind. Daddy made you your favorite. The album peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 chart, #1 on the Comedy Albums chart, and #18 on the Independent Albums chart. 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. 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. "), Burnham sang a parody song called "Sad" about, well, all the sad stuff in the world. 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. The tropes he says you may find on a white woman's Instagram page are peppered with cultural appropriation ("a dreamcatcher bought from Urban Outfitters") and ignorant political takes ("a random quote from 'Lord of the Rings' misattributed to Martin Luther King"). Still terrified of that spotlight? Having this frame of reference may help viewers better understand the design of "Inside." The title card appears in white, then changes to red, signaling that a camera is recording. Self-awareness does not absolve anybody of anything.". See our analysis of the end of the special, and why Burnham's analogy for depression works so well. 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. In the worst case, depression can convince a person to end their life. WebBo Burnham's Netflix special "Inside" features 20 new original songs. Its horrific.". Netflix And I think that's what you're getting here. This is when the musical numbers (and in-between skits) become much more grim. "A part of me loves you, part of me hates you," he sang to the crowd. ", "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? Yes, Amazon has a pre-order set up for the album on Vinyl. LINDA HOLMES, BYLINE: Thank you, Michel. 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. Burnham reacts to his reaction to his reaction to his reaction, focusing so intently on his body and image that he panics, stops the videoand then smiles at his audience, thanking them for watching. From the very beginning of "Inside," Burnham makes it clear that the narrative arc of the special will be self-referential. The fun thing about this is he started writing it and recording it early on, so you get to see clips of him singing it both, you know, with the short hair and with the long hair - when he had just started this special and when he was finishing it. "You say the whole world's ending, honey it already did, you're not gonna slow it, heaven knows you tried. 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? Most of the comments talk about how visceral it is to hear Burnhams real voice singing the upsetting lyrics. MARTIN: You know, about that, because it does move into a deeply serious place at some point. The question is now, Will you support Wheat Thins in the fight against Lyme disease?). Burnham's growth is admirable, but also revealing of how little we expect from men in the industry. When we saw that projection the first time, Burnham's room was clean and orderly. Bo Burnhams Inside: A Comedy Special and an Inspired Experiment, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/arts/television/bo-burnham-inside-comedy.html. Just wanted to make sure everybody knew about Bo's comedy special transcripts on Scraps. "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. 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. But during the bridge of the song, he imagines a post from a woman dedicated to her dead mother, and the aspect ratio on the video widens. "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. 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. He brushes his teeth, eats a bowl of cereal, and begins editing his videos. Coined in 1956 by researchers Donald Horton and Richard Wohl, the term initially was used to analyze relationships between news anchors who spoke directly to the audience and that audience itself. 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. Burnham slaps his leg in frustration and eventually gives a mirthless laugh before he starts slamming objects around him. "Got it? You can stream "Inside" on Netflix now, and see our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. Burnham was just 16 years old when he wrote a parody song ("My Whole Family") and filmed himself performing it in his bedroom. "Trying to be funny and stuck in a room, there isn't much more to say about it," he starts in a new song after fumbling a first take. Im talking to you. But then the video keeps playing, and so he winds up reacting to his own reaction, and then reacting yet again to that reaction. But unlike many of us, Burnham was also hard at work on a one-man show directed, written and performed all by himself. 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. "I didn't perform for five years," he says. The reason he started making this special, he explains in the show, is to distract himself from shooting himself in the head, the first of several mentions of suicide (including one in which he tells viewers to just dont). During the last 15 minutes of "Make Happy," Burnham turns the comedy switch down a bit and begins talking to the audience about how his comedy is almost always about performing itself because he thinks people are, at all times, doing a "performance" for one another. 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. Thank you, Michel. So we broke down each song and sketch and analyzed their meaning and context. Got it? Bo Burnham: Inside, was written, edited, and directed by the talent himself and the entire show is shot in one room. Now get inside.". Entertainment correspondent Kim Renfro ranked them in ascending order of greatness. It's an emergence from the darkness. Comedian Bo Burnham recently a new comedy special for Netflix aptly titled Inside which was filmed entirely by himself while under lockdown during the Coronavirus Pandemic in 2020. I was not, you know, having these particular experiences. I don't think it's perfectly morally defendable.". he sings as he refers to his birth name. Anything and everything all of the time. ", "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. It's like Burnham's special has swallowed you whole, bringing you fully into his mind at last. WebBo's transcripts on Scraps From The Loft. But look, I made you some content. "And I spent that time trying to improve myself mentally. .] Audiences who might not read a 1956 essay by researchers about news anchors still see much of the same discussion in Inside. 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. An ethereal voice (which is really just Burnham's own voice with effects over it) responds to Burnham's question while a bright light suddenly shines on his face, as if he's receiving a message from God. 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.". I like this song, Burnham says, before pointing out the the lack of modern songs about labor exploitation. It's not. His hair and beard were shorter, and he was full of inspired energy. Then he moves into a new layer of reaction, where he responds to that previous comment. For the album, Bo is credited as writer, performer, and producer on every song. Released on May 30, 2021, Bo Burnham wrote, recorded, directed, and produced Inside while in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. Well now the shots are reversed. By inserting that Twitch character in this earlier scene, Burnham was seemingly giving a peek into his daily routine. 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. Burnham starts spiraling in a mental health crisis, mentioning suicidal ideation after lamenting his advance into his 30s. 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. 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. Remember how Burnham's older, more-bearded self popped up at the beginning of "Inside" when we were watching footage of him setting up the cameras and lighting? Inside takes topics discussed academically, analytically, and delivers them to a new audience through the form of a comedy special by a widely beloved performer. 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. "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.". "Part of me needs you, part of me fears you. WebBo Burnham's "Inside" special on Netflix is an incredibly detailed musical-comedy artwork. The Volcano, which touched on labor rights. Some of the narrative of the show can be indulgently overheated, playing into clichs about the process of the brooding artist, but Burnham has anticipated this and other criticisms, and integrated them into the special, including the idea that drawing attention to potential flaws fixes them. Throughout the song and its accompanying visuals, Burnham is highlighting the "girlboss" aesthetic of many white women's Instagram accounts. 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, of course, it tangles that right back up; this emotional post was, ultimately, still Content. It's a dangerously tempting invitation to stop caring, coming from the villain of this musical comedy (depression). 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. But he's largely been given a pass by his fans, who praise his self-awareness and new approach. He is not talking about it very much. And she's with us now to tell us more about it. Parasocial relationships are neutral, and how we interact with them is usually a mixed bag. The penultimate song "All Eyes on Me" makes for a particularly powerful moment. That YouTube commenter might be understood by Burnham if they were to meet him. 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. (For example, the song "Straight, White, Male" from the "Make Happy" special). Netflix. 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. WebA grieving woman magically travels through time to 1998, where she meets a man with an uncanny resemblance to her late love. Maybe we'll call it isolation theater. In the song, Burnham specifically mentions looking up "derealization," a disorder that may "feel like you're living in a dream. Bo Burnham: Inside review this is a claustrophobic masterpiece. Like, what is it? Its called INSIDE, and it will undoubtedly strike your hearts forevermore. On the simplest level, Inside is the story of a comic struggling to make a funny show during quarantine and gradually losing his mind. Each of the songs from the first half of the special are in line with Burnham's earlier Netflix specials and comedy albums. 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. 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. 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. 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). Good. He doesn't really bother with any kind of transitions. 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. 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. Trying to grant his dying father's wish, a son discovers an epic love story buried in his family's distant past. Went out to look for a reason to hide again. While he's laying in bed, eyes about the close, the screen shows a flash of an open door. Today We'll Talk About That Day 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. The first comes when Burnham looks directly into the camera as he addresses the audience, singing, Are you feeling nervous? Might not help, but still, it couldn't hurt.". 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. 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. 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. Its a lyrically dense song with camerawork that speeds up with its rhythm. "And so, today, I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. 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.". At various points, the gamer is given the option to make the character cry. Inside is the work of a comic with artistic tools most of his peers ignore or overlook. An existential dread creeps in, but Burnham's depression-voice tells us not to worry and sink into nihilism. Only he knows. MARTIN: This special is titled, appropriately enough, "Inside," and it is streaming on Netflix now. Don't overthink this, look in my eye don't be scared don't be shy come on in the water's fine."). So when you get to the end of a song, it often just kind of cuts to something else. Thematically, it deals with the events of 2020, rising wealth inequality, racial injustice, isolation, mental health, social media, and technologys role in our lives. 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.". All rights reserved. WebBo Burnham is more than a comedian he's a writer-director-actor who first went viral in 2006. Burnham is especially aware as a creator constantly reflecting on his own life. At the end of the song, "Inside" cuts to a shot of Burnham watching his own video on a computer in the dark. 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. It feels like the ending of a show, a climax, but it's not. Viewer discretion is advised. "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. In one interpretation, maybe the smile means he's ready to be outside again. Still, its difficult not to be lulled back into, again, this absolute banger. "And so today I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. Burnham uses vocal tuning often throughout all of his specials. our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. In Inside, Burnham confronts parasocial relationships in his most direct way yet. 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. But by the end of the tune, his narrative changes into irreverence. WebA Girl and an Astronaut. And that can be a really - if you're not very good at it, that kind of thing, where there's a balance between sort of the sarcastic and ironic versus the very sincere can be really exhausting. 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. He's the writer, director, editor, and star of this show. 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. Its a feat, the work of a gifted experimentalist whose craft has caught up to his talent. 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. It's a quiet, banal scene that many people coming out of a depressive episode might recognize. It has extended versions of songs, cut songs, and alternate versions of songs that were eventually deleted; but is mainly comprised of outtakes. This special spoke to me closer and clearer than Ive ever felt with another person. While he's laying in bed, eyes about the close, the screen shows a flash of an open door. 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. The global pandemic and subsequent lockdown orders of March 2020 put a stop to these plans. The whole video is filmed like one big thirst trap as he sweats and works out. 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.. Let's take a closer look at just a few of those bubbles, shall we? As he shows in this new sketch, he's aware at a meta level that simply trying to get ahead of the criticism that could be tossed his way is itself a performance sometimes. 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. 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. One comment stuck out to me: Theres something really powerful and painful about, hearing his actual voice singing and breaking at certain points. Right after the song ends, the shot of Burnham's guest house returns but this time it's filled with clutter. In a giddy homage to Cabaret, Burnham, in sunglasses, plays the M.C. WebBo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special "Inside" is jam-packed with references to his previous work. To save you the time freeze-framing, here's the complete message: "No pressure by the way at any point we can stop i just want to make sure ur comfortable all this and please dont feel obligated to send anything you dont want to just cuz i want things doesnt mean i should get them and its sometimes confusing because i think you enjoy it when i beg and express how much i want you but i dont ever want that to turn into you feeling pressured into doing something you don't want or feeling like youre disappointing me this is just meant to be fun and if at any point its not fun for you we can stop and im sorry if me saying this is killing the mood i just like ". "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. Then, the video keeps going past the runtime of the song and into that reaction itself. 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. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. 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. And you know what? As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. 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. The piece also highlights Bos anxieties with becoming older and his legacy as a comedian. HOLMES: Right. WebBo Burnham has been critical of his past self for the edgy, offensive comedy he used to make. Back in 2010, Burnham appeared on Showtime's "The Green Room," a comics round table hosted by Paul Provenza. Burnham wrote out: "Does it target those who have been disenfranchised in a historical, political, social, economic and/or psychological context?". "Any Day Now" The ending credits. 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?". 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. "All Eyes On Me" starts right after Burnham's outburst of anger and sadness. . It's a reminder, coming almost exactly halfway through the special, of the toll that this year is taking on Burnham. 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. "Healing the world with comedy, the indescribable power of your comedy," the voice sings. Feelings of depersonalization and derealization can be very disturbing and may feel like you're living in a dream.". And it has a real feel of restlessness to it, almost like stream of consciousness. HOLMES: It felt very true to me, not in the literal sense. How does one know if the joke punches down? But he meant to knock the water over, yeah yeah yeah, art is a lie nothing is real. Now, you heard me struggling to describe what this is, so help me out. He also revealed an official poster, a single frame from the special, and the cover art prior to its release. Known as "Art is a Lie, Nothing is Real," there's a bit Burnham did at the start of his 2013 special "what." It's so good to hear your voice. People experiencing depression often stop doing basic self-care tasks, like showering or laundry or brushing their teeth. WebBo Burnham: Inside is by far one of the riskiest and original comedy specials to come out in years. 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. 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. Web9/10. It's a hint at the promised future; the possibility of once again being able to go outside and feel sunlight again. And like unpaid interns, most working artists cant afford a mortgage (and yeah, probably torrent a porn). 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. 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. While sifting through fan reactions to Inside, the YouTube algorithm suggested I watch a fan-made video that pitch corrects All Eyes on Me to Burnhams actual voice. Its a stupid song, and, uh, it doesnt really mean anything. The video continues. Relieved to be done? He tries to talk into the microphone, giving his audience a one-year update. 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.