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. But it doesn't. The flow chat for "Is it funny?" But usually there is one particular voice that acts as a disembodied narrator character, some omniscient force that needles Burnham in the middle of his stand up (like the voice in "Make Happy" that interrupts Burnham's set to call him the f-slur). Then comes the third emotional jump scare. It's like Burnham's special has swallowed you whole, bringing you fully into his mind at last. The frame is intimate, and after such an intense special, something about that intimacy feels almost dangerous, like you should be preparing for some kind of emotional jump scare. 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. Parasocial relationships are neutral, and how we interact with them is usually a mixed bag. 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.". Theyre complicated. And maybe the rest of us are ready, too. The performer, along with the record label and brand deals, encourage a parasocial relationship for increased profits. 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. "You say the ocean's rising, like I give a s---," he sings. 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? And she's with us now to tell us more about it. 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. 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). Like most of Burnhams specials, it includes comedic songs and creative lighting effects. And now depression has its grips in him. Get up. BURNHAM: (Singing) The live-action "Lion King," the Pepsi halftime show, 20,000 years of this, seven more to go. Gross asked Burnham if people "misinterpreted" the song and thought it was homophobic. In one interpretation, maybe the smile means he's ready to be outside again. 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. Burnham then kicks back into song, still addressing his audience, who seem unsure of whether to laugh, applaud, or sit somberly in their chairs. And like those specials, Inside implores fans to think about deeper themes as well as how we think about comedy as a genre. Now, hes come a long way since his previous specials titled What. and Make Happy, where his large audiences roared with laughter / Are you having fun? The crowd directions are no longer stock pop song lyrics; now, the audience understands them as direct orders to them from Burnham. He is not talking about it very much. Its a visual that signifies a man exposing himself, until you realize hes in a spotlight. So we broke down each song and sketch and analyzed their meaning and context. 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. Like, what is it? Similarly, Burnham often speaks to the audience by filming himself speaking to himself in a mirror. Went out to look for a reason to hide again. 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. Burnham's career as a young, white, male comedian has often felt distinct from his peers because of the amount of public self-reflection and acknowledgment of his own privileges that he does on stage and off screen. The songs from the special were released on streaming platforms on June 10, 2021. Its a lyrically dense song with camerawork that speeds up with its rhythm. 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. 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. 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. The arrogance is taught or it was cultivated. 7 on the Top 200. By inserting that Twitch character in this earlier scene, Burnham was seemingly giving a peek into his daily routine. All rights reserved. And then, of course, he had previous standup comedy specials. 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. And it has a lot of very clever and very quick wordplay about the specific things you can get on the internet. Burnham is also the main character in the game, a character who is seen moving mechanically around a room. Accuracy and availability may vary. 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. Its called INSIDE, and it will undoubtedly strike your hearts forevermore. 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. I actually felt true mutual empathy with someone for the first time, and with someone Ive never even met, its kinda funny.. 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. Likewise. Bo Burnhams latest Netflix special, Inside, is a solo venture about the comedian and filmmakers difficult experience in quarantine thats earned enthusiastic critical acclaim. And it's important to remember, you know, this is a piece of theater. 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. 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. ", 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. This is a heartbreaking chiding coming from Burnham's own distorted voice, as if he's shaming himself for sinking back into that mental state. Finally doing basic care tasks for yourself like eating breakfast and starting work in the morning. How does one know if the joke punches down? This is when the musical numbers (and in-between skits) become much more grim. All Eyes on Me takes a different approach to rattling the viewer. 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. this breakdown of 31 details you might have missed in "Inside,". In Inside, Burnham confronts parasocial relationships in his most direct way yet. 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. I got better. A college student navigates life and school while dealing with a unique predicament he's living with a beautiful former K-pop sensation. Good. In the song Problematic, Burnham sings about his past problematic behavior, asking the audience, Isnt anyone going to hold me accountable? The specials intermission looks like a clear view into Burnhams room, until Burnham washes a window between himself and the viewer an explicit, but invisible, boundary between creator and audience. 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. "And so today I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. It's so good to hear your voice. 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. But also, it's clear that there's a lot on his mind. We're a long way from the days when he filmed "Comedy" and the contrast shows how fruitless this method of healing has been. This line comes full circle by the end of the special, so keep it in mind. 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 special is hitting an emotional climax as Burnham shows us both intense anger and then immediately after, a deep and dark sadness. Inside is the work of a comic with artistic tools most of his peers ignore or overlook. You can stream "Inside" on Netflix now, and see our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. 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.". This is especially true for Patreon campaigns that give fans direct access to creators on platforms like Discord. On the simplest level, Inside is the story of a comic struggling to make a funny show during quarantine and gradually losing his mind. And I'm just wondering, like, how would you describe that? One comment stuck out to me: Theres something really powerful and painful about, hearing his actual voice singing and breaking at certain points. Well, well, buddy you found it, now come out with your hands up we've got you surrounded.". 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. A weekly roundup of the best things from Polygon, By submitting your email, you agree to our, Bo Burnhams Inside begs for our parasocial awareness, Sign up for the Like he's parodying white people who think that by crucifying themselves first they're somehow freed from the consequences of their actions. Bo Burnham also uploaded Welcome to the Internet and White Womans Instagram on his YouTube channel. I like this song, Burnham says, before pointing out the the lack of modern songs about labor exploitation. 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. 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. But now Burnham is back. 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. "You say the whole world's ending, honey it already did, you're not gonna slow it, heaven knows you tried. After more sung repetitions of get your fuckin hands up, Burnham says, Get up. Not a comedy per se, but a masterpiece nonetheless. Bo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special "Inside" is jam-packed with references to his previous work. Today We'll Talk About That Day Its an origin story of sorts. [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. I hope to see you inside at some point. A distorted voice is back again, mocking Burnham as he sits exposed on his fake stage: "Well, well, look who's inside again. He tries to talk into the microphone, giving his audience a one-year update. Now, the term is applied to how viewers devote time, energy, and emotion to celebrities and content creators like YouTubers, podcasters, and Twitch streamers people who do not know they exist. 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. HOLMES: Yeah. our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. A part of me loves you, part of me hates you / Part of me needs you, part of me fears you / [. WebA grieving woman magically travels through time to 1998, where she meets a man with an uncanny resemblance to her late love. Back in 2010, Burnham appeared on Showtime's "The Green Room," a comics round table hosted by Paul Provenza. MARTIN: So Bo Burnham has had a lot of different identities lately. "I'm so worried that criticism will be levied against me that I levy it against myself before anyone else can. Still, its difficult not to be lulled back into, again, this absolute banger. Netflix 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). WebBo Burnham is more than a comedian he's a writer-director-actor who first went viral in 2006. 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. Got it? 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. And then the funniest thing happened.". Burnham starts spiraling in a mental health crisis, mentioning suicidal ideation after lamenting his advance into his 30s. 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. Theres always been a tension in his comedy between an ironic, smarty-pants cleverness and an often melodramatic point of view. Im talking to you. 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. he sings as he refers to his birth name. "Any Day Now" The ending credits. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Many of his songs begin seriously, then shift into the joke, but this one doesnt. But now Burnham is showing us the clutter of the room where "Inside" was filmed. It's as if Burnham knows there are valid criticisms of him that haven't really stuck in the public discourse around his work. Hes bedraggled, increasingly unshaven, growing a Rasputin-like beard. Might not help, but still, it couldn't hurt.". "Inside" kicks off with Burnham reentering the same small studio space he used for the end of "Make Happy," when the 2016 Netflix special transitioned from the live stage to Burnham suddenly sitting down at his piano by himself to sing one final song for the at-home audience. It's like the mental despair of the last year has turned into a comfort. So this is how it ends. It also seems noteworthy that this is one of the only sketches in "Inside" that fades to black. And I think that, 'Oh if I'm self-aware about being a douchebag it'll somehow make me less of a douchebag.' Inside, a new Netflix special written, performed, directed, shot, and edited by comedian Bo Burnham, invokes and plays with many forms. The Volcano, which touched on labor rights. WebBo Burnham: Inside is by far one of the riskiest and original comedy specials to come out in years. 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. That's a really clever, fun little rhyme in this, you know, kind of heavy song. "Got it? 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'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. 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 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 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. Now get inside.". 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. 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? Years later, the comedian told NPR's Terry Gross that performing the special was so tough that he was having panic attacks on stage. Still terrified of that spotlight? It's a heartbreaking chiding coming from his own distorted voice, as if he's shaming himself for sinking back into that mental state. Anything and everything all of the time. He is now back to where he was, making jokes alone in his room, an effort to escape his reality. Bo Burnham; former YouTuber, iconic Viner, and acclaimed stand-up comedian has recently released a new Netflix special. "A part of me loves you, part of me hates you," he sang to the crowd. On June 9, Burnham released the music from the special in an album titled Inside (The Songs), which hit No. Whatever it is, NPR's Linda Holmes, host of Pop Culture Happy Hour, has reviewed it, and she liked it. 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 unlike many of us, Burnham was also hard at work on a one-man show directed, written and performed all by himself. They Cloned Tyrone. 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's growth is admirable, but also revealing of how little we expect from men in the industry. 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. Not in the traditional senseno music was released prior to the special other than a backing track from Content found in the trailer. 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. Inside doesnt give clear answers like parasocial relationships good or parasocial relationships bad, because those answers do not, and cannot, exist. Who Were We Running From? Burnham uses vocal tuning often throughout all of his specials. Viewer discretion is advised. (The question is no longer, Do you want to buy Wheat Thins?, for example. Then, the video keeps going past the runtime of the song and into that reaction itself. Well now the shots are reversed. 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. His career evolved through YouTube, MTV, Vine, his movie "Eighth Grade," and now Netflix's "Inside." Partway through the song, the battery icon switches to low and starts blinking in warning as if death is imminent. It's a quiet, banal scene that many people coming out of a depressive episode might recognize. 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). Yes, Amazon has a pre-order set up for the album on Vinyl. It has extended versions of songs, cut songs, and alternate versions of songs that were eventually deleted; but is mainly comprised of outtakes. It's a quiet, banal scene that many people coming out of a depressive episode might recognize. 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. At just 20 years old, Burnham was a guest alongside Judd Apatow, Marc Maron, Ray Romano, and Garry Shandling. He decided to stop doing live performances, and instead set out to write and direct his first feature film, the critically-acclaimed 2018 movie "Eighth Grade." Open wide.. 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. It's as if Burnham is showing how wholesale judgments about the way people choose to use social media can gloss over earnest, genuine expressions of love and grief being shared online. WebBo's transcripts on Scraps From The Loft. MARTIN: And I understand you were saying that it moves between genres. Instead of working his muscles at open mics or in improv, Burnham uploaded joke songs to the platform in 2006. In his new Netflix special, Inside, Bo Burnham sings about trying to be funny while stuck in a room. I'm talking to you, get the f--- up.". With menacing horror movie sound effects and hectic, dreamy camerawork, what becomes clear is Burnhams title has a double meaning: referring to being inside not just a room, but also his head. 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. "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.". ", "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. 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. Entertainment correspondent Kim Renfro ranked them in ascending order of greatness. The penultimate song "All Eyes on Me" makes for a particularly powerful moment. Most sources discuss fictional characters, news anchors, childrens show hosts, or celebrity culture as a whole. Or was it an elaborate callback to his earlier work, planted for fans seeking evidence that art is lie? Its a stupid song, and, uh, it doesnt really mean anything. The video continues. 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. WebA Girl and an Astronaut. ", 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.". Simply smiling at the irony of watching his own movie come to life while he's still inside? Burnham reacts to his reaction of the song, this time saying, Im being a little pretentious. Its an instinct I have for all my work to have some deeper meaning or something. Bo Burnham: Inside review this is a claustrophobic masterpiece. 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. Long before the phrase parasocial relationship had entered the mainstream zeitgeist, Burnhams work discussed the phenomenon. 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. And many people will probably remember his 2018 movie, "Eighth Grade." 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?". The video is an hour-long edit of footage that was deleted from the making of Inside. Now, you heard me struggling to describe what this is, so help me out. He also costarred in the Oscar-winning movie "Promising Young Woman," filmed in 2019. 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. 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. 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. Bo Burnhams 2021 special, Inside. WebBo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special "Inside" is jam-packed with references to his previous work. But he meant to knock the water over, yeah yeah yeah, art is a lie nothing is real. At the second level of the reaction video, Burnham says: "I'm being a little pretentious. Doona! Most creator-made content online is available for free, meaning creators usually have to rely on their fans for income via crowdfunding like Patreon. "I was a kid who was stuck in his room, there isn't much more to say about it. Trying to grant his dying father's wish, a son discovers an epic love story buried in his family's distant past. 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. He tries to talk into the microphone, giving his audience a one-year update. The special is available exclusively on Netflix, while the album can be found on most streaming platforms. True, but it can deepen and clarify art. Transcript Comedian and filmmaker Bo Burnham used his time alone during the pandemic to create a one-man show. And I think that's what you're getting here. It's a reminder, coming almost exactly halfway through the special, of the toll that this year is taking on Burnham. And I think the pandemic was a time when a lot of people were in this do I laugh or cry space in their own minds. 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. You know, as silly as that one is, some of the other ones are more sedate. But he's largely been given a pass by his fans, who praise his self-awareness and new approach. Finally doing basic care tasks for yourself like eating breakfast and starting work in the morning. That his special is an indictment of the internet by an artist whose career was born and flourished there is the ultimate joke. And did you have any favorites? The song is like having a religious experience with your own mental disorder. HOLMES: So before he was this celebrated filmmaker, Bo Burnham was himself a YouTube star.