He also costarred in the Oscar-winning movie "Promising Young Woman," filmed in 2019. 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. Comedian and filmmaker Bo Burnham used his time alone during the pandemic to create a one-man show. Underneath the Steve Martin-like formal trickery has always beaten the heaving heart of a flamboyantly dramatic theater kid. From the very beginning of "Inside," Burnham makes it clear that the narrative arc of the special will be self-referential. Well, well, buddy you found it, now come out with your hands up we've got you surrounded.". Though it does have a twist. Instead of a live performance, he's recorded himself in isolation over the course of a year. HOLMES: It felt very true to me, not in the literal sense. 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. 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. His hair and beard were shorter, and he was full of inspired energy. But Burnham is of course the writer, director, editor, and star of this show. Burnham starts spiraling in a mental health crisis, mentioning suicidal ideation after lamenting his advance into his 30s. 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. True, but it can deepen and clarify art. People experiencing depression often stop doing basic self-care tasks, like showering or laundry or brushing their teeth. Throughout "Inside," there's a huge variety of light and background set-ups used, so it seems unlikely that this particular cloud-scape was just randomly chosen twice. It's conscious of self. 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. Other than Fred Rogers, Bo Burnham is one of the most cited single individual creators when discussing parasocial relationships. I don't know exactly how it tracks his experience, Bo Burnham, the person, right? Later in Inside, Burnham thanks the audience for their support while holding them at knifepoint. Also, Burnham's air conditioner is set to precisely 69 degrees throughout this whole faux music video. Finally doing basic care tasks for yourself like eating breakfast and starting work in the morning. 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 He brushes his teeth, eats a bowl of cereal, and begins editing his videos. 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. Good. 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. Entertainment correspondent Kim Renfro ranked them in ascending order of greatness. Burnham then kicks back into song, still addressing his audience, who seem unsure of whether to laugh, applaud, or sit somberly in their chairs. At various points, the gamer is given the option to make the character cry. "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. I feel very close and intimate with him in this version. And finally today, like many of us, writer, comedian and filmmaker Bo Burnham found himself isolated for much of last year - home alone, growing a beard, trying his best to stay sane. His career evolved through YouTube, MTV, Vine, his movie "Eighth Grade," and now Netflix's "Inside." "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. I'm talking to you, get the f--- up.". He brushes his teeth, eats a bowl of cereal, and begins editing his videos. As someone who has devoted time, energy, and years of research into parasocial relationships, I felt almost like this song was made for me, that Burnham and I do have so much in common. Audiences who might not read a 1956 essay by researchers about news anchors still see much of the same discussion in Inside. I got better. "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. Still terrified of that spotlight? 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. All Eyes on Me takes a different approach to rattling the viewer. Its folly to duplicate the feel of a live set, so why not fully adjust to the screen and try to make something as visually ambitious as a feature? Bo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special "Inside" is jam-packed with references to his previous work. While he's laying in bed, eyes about the close, the screen shows a flash of an open door. ", He then pulls the same joke again, letting the song play after the audience's applause so it seems like a mistake. WebBo Burnham is more than a comedian he's a writer-director-actor who first went viral in 2006. 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. "I'm so worried that criticism will be levied against me that I levy it against myself before anyone else can. ", 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.". The penultimate song "All Eyes on Me" makes for a particularly powerful moment. 20. "Oh Jesus, sorry," Burnham says, hurrying over to pick it up. 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. The tension between creator and audience is a prominent theme in Burnhams work, likely because he got his start on YouTube. When you're a kid and you're stuck in your room, you'll do any old s--- to get out of it.". and concludes that if it's mean, it's not funny. But he meant to knock the water over, yeah yeah yeah, art is a lie nothing is real. I actually felt true mutual empathy with someone for the first time, and with someone Ive never even met, its kinda funny.. It's wonderful to be with you. 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?". Because there's also a little bit Bo Burnham the character in this almost. Yes, Bo Burnham posted a trailer via Twitter on April 28, 2021. 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. Under stand up, Burnham wrote "Middle-aged men protecting free speech by humping stools and telling stories about edibles" and "podcasts. Relieved to be done? Something went wrong. HOLMES: I liked a bunch of the songs in this, and a lot of them are silly songs about the things that his comedy has already been concerned with for a long time, right? Its an origin story of sorts. he sings as he refers to his birth name. 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. ", 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. Then he moves into a new layer of reaction, where he responds to that previous comment. 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. Likewise. 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. Anyone can read what you share. 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. But unlike many of us, Burnham was also hard at work on a one-man show directed, written and performed all by himself. Bo Burnham: INSIDE | Trailer - YouTube 0:00 / 2:09 The following content may contain suicide or self-harm topics. "Got it? Finally doing basic care tasks for yourself like eating breakfast and starting work in the morning. 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. I'm sitting down, writing jokes, singing silly songs, I'm sorry I was gone. Perform everything to each other, all the time for no reason. Now, five years later, Burnham's new parody song is digging even deeper at the philosophical question of whether or not it's appropriate to be creating comedy during a horrifyingly raw period of tragedy like the COVID-19 pandemic and the social reckoning that followed George Floyd's murder. The whole video is filmed like one big thirst trap as he sweats and works out. The song is a pitched-down Charli XCX-styled banger of a ballad has minimal lyrics that are mostly just standard crowd instructions: put your hands up, get on your feet. "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.". See our full breakdown of every detail and reference you might have missed in "Inside" here. 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. 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. 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. "I'm criticizing my initial reaction for being pretentious, which is honestly a defense mechanism," he says. 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. this breakdown of 31 details you might have missed in "Inside,". He's almost claustrophobically surrounded by equipment. Inside, a new Netflix special written, performed, directed, shot, and edited by comedian Bo Burnham, invokes and plays with many forms. 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. The comedy special perfectly encapsulated the world's collective confusion, frustration, and exhaustion amid ongoing pandemic lockdowns, bringing a quirky spin to the ongoing existential terror that was the year 2020. Most sources discuss fictional characters, news anchors, childrens show hosts, or celebrity culture as a whole. 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. While talking to the audience during the opening section, Burnham takes a sip out of a water bottle. 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. The final shot is of him looking positively orgasmic, eyes closed, on the cross. All rights reserved. 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. (For example, the song "Straight, White, Male" from the "Make Happy" special). He doesn't really bother with any kind of transitions. 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. 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. 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.". Long before the phrase parasocial relationship had entered the mainstream zeitgeist, Burnhams work discussed the phenomenon. 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 ". That quiet simplicity doesn't feel like a relief, but it is. 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. 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). 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. He was only 16. 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. Mirroring the earlier scene where Burnham went to sleep, now Burnham is shown "waking up.". [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. But look, I made you some content. Look at them, they're just staring at me, like '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.