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. 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. 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). 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. Well, well, buddy you found it, now come out with your hands up we've got you surrounded.". BURNHAM: (Singing) The live-action "Lion King," the Pepsi halftime show, 20,000 years of this, seven more to go. At the second level of the reaction video, Burnham says: "I'm being a little pretentious. A college student navigates life and school while dealing with a unique predicament he's living with a beautiful former K-pop sensation. Burnhams 2013 special, what., culminates in Burnham, the performer, reacting to pre-recorded versions of himself playing people from his life reacting to his work and fame, trying to capitalize on their tenuous relationship with him. Burnham's earlier Netflix specials and comedy albums. 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. WebOn a budget. 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?. Daddy made you your favorite. .] And then the funniest thing happened.". 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. 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. Daddy made you your favorite, open wide.". newsletter, On Parasocial Relationships and the Boundaries of Celebrity, Bo Burnham and the Trap of Parasocial Self-Awareness.. The global pandemic and subsequent lockdown orders of March 2020 put a stop to these plans. Good. 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? But Burnham doesn't put the bottle down right, and it falls off the stool. "All Eyes On Me" starts right after Burnham's outburst of anger and sadness. 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's a reminder, coming almost exactly halfway through the special, of the toll that this year is taking on Burnham. In a giddy homage to Cabaret, Burnham, in sunglasses, plays the M.C. The piece also highlights Bos anxieties with becoming older and his legacy as a comedian. We're a long way from the days when he filmed "Comedy" and the contrast shows how fruitless this method of healing has been. Thank you so much for joining us. And it has a lot of very clever and very quick wordplay about the specific things you can get on the internet. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. But he meant to knock the water over, yeah yeah yeah, art is a lie nothing is real. Its an instinct I have for all my work to have some deeper meaning or something. Burnham spent his teen years doing theater and songwriting, which led to his first viral video on YouTube a song he now likely categorizes as "offensive.". 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 got so much better, in fact, that in January of 2020, I thought 'you know what I should start performing again. 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. "I was in a full body sweat, so I didn't hear most of that," Burnham said after the clip played. While this special is the product of evolution, Burnham is pointing out its also a regression. The incentives of the web, those that reward outrage, excess and sentiment, are the villains of this show. 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. And the very format of it, as I said, it's very much this kind of sinister figure trying to get you interested. Web9/10. People experiencing depression often stop doing basic self-care tasks, like showering or laundry or brushing their teeth. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. "I was a kid who was stuck in his room, there isn't much more to say about it. "You say the whole world's ending, honey it already did, you're not gonna slow it, heaven knows you tried. And then, of course, he had previous standup comedy specials. 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. 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. 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. He points it at himself as he sways, singing again: Get your fuckin hands up / Get on out of your seat / All eyes on me, all eyes on me.. 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. The structured movements of the last hour and half fall away as Burnham snaps at the audience: "Get up. The lead-in is Burnham thanking a nonexistent audience for being there with him for the last year. ", 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.". Because there's also a little bit Bo Burnham the character in this almost. Research and analysis of parasocial relationships usually revolves around genres of performers instead of individuals. 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. Theres a nostalgic sweetness to this song, but parts of it return throughout the show, in darker forms, one of many variations on a theme. Its a stupid song, and, uh, it doesnt really mean anything. The video continues. MARTIN: You know, about that, because it does move into a deeply serious place at some point. 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"). "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. 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. 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. 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. Today We'll Talk About That Day Finally doing basic care tasks for yourself like eating breakfast and starting work in the morning. Don't overthink this, look in my eye don't be scared don't be shy come on in the water's fine."). And many people will probably remember his 2018 movie, "Eighth Grade." HOLMES: Well, logically enough, let's go out on the closing song. Like he's parodying white people who think that by crucifying themselves first they're somehow freed from the consequences of their actions. I've been singing that song for about a week NOW. 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. It's like Burnham's special has swallowed you whole, bringing you fully into his mind at last. Now get inside.". 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. 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. When you're a kid and you're stuck in your room, you'll do any old s--- to get out of it.". 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. Many of his songs begin seriously, then shift into the joke, but this one doesnt. Got it? "Problematic" is a roller coaster of self-awareness, masochism, and parody. "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 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. 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. Might not help but still it couldn't hurt. Still terrified of that spotlight? The final shot is of him looking positively orgasmic, eyes closed, on the cross. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The special is set almost entirely in one cluttered room. He tries to talk into the microphone, giving his audience a one-year update. "I don't know that it's not," he said. 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. WebBo Burnham's Netflix special "Inside" features 20 new original songs. 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. Relieved to be done? 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? As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. He's the writer, director, editor, and star of this show. 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 notably, Burnhams work focuses on parasocial relationships not from the perspective of the audience, but the perspective of the performer.Inside depicts how being a creator can feel: you are a cult leader, you are holding your audience hostage, your audience is holding you hostage, you are your audience, your audience can never be you, you need your audience, and you need to escape your audience. Known as "Art is a Lie, Nothing is Real," there's a bit Burnham did at the start of his 2013 special "what." Now we've come 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. 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 is a heartbreaking chiding coming from Burnham's own distorted voice, as if he's shaming himself for sinking back into that mental state. 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.". 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. Instead, thanks to his ultra-self-aware style, he seems to always get ahead of criticism by holding himself accountable first. Yes, Bo Burnham posted a trailer via Twitter on April 28, 2021. 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. 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. Similarly, Burnham often speaks to the audience by filming himself speaking to himself in a mirror. The title card appears in white, then changes to red, signaling that a camera is recording. Im talking to you. Linda Holmes, welcome. And it has a real feel of restlessness to it, almost like stream of consciousness. "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. 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?". His hair and beard were shorter, and he was full of inspired energy. And now depression has its grips in him. But he knows how to do this. At the end of the song, "Inside" cuts to a shot of Burnham watching his own video on a computer in the dark. An existential dread creeps in, but Burnham's depression-voice tells us not to worry and sink into nihilism. our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. It's conscious of self. Only he knows. 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. 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. 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, 'Oh if I'm self-aware about being a douchebag it'll somehow make me less of a douchebag.' A gift shop at the gun range, a mass shooting at the mall. ", He then pulls the same joke again, letting the song play after the audience's applause so it seems like a mistake. It's just Burnham, his room, the depressive-sound of his song, and us watching as his distorted voice tries to convince us to join him in that darkness. A distorted voice is back again, mocking Burnham as he sits exposed on his fake stage: "Well, well, look who's inside again. @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.". The tension between creator and audience is a prominent theme in Burnhams work, likely because he got his start on YouTube. Bo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special "Inside" is jam-packed with references to his previous work. For those who are unaware, Bos real name is Robert Burnham. 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"). Burnham slaps his leg in frustration and eventually gives a mirthless laugh before he starts slamming objects around him. WebBo Burnham's "Inside" special on Netflix is an incredibly detailed musical-comedy artwork. Whatever it is, NPR's Linda Holmes, host of Pop Culture Happy Hour, has reviewed it, and she liked it. 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. By inserting that Twitch character in this earlier scene, Burnham was seemingly giving a peek into his daily routine. Like most of Burnhams specials, it includes comedic songs and creative lighting effects. "Any Day Now" The ending credits. 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. WebBo's transcripts on Scraps From The Loft. And like those specials, Inside implores fans to think about deeper themes as well as how we think about comedy as a genre. Years later, the comedian told NPR's Terry Gross that performing the special was so tough that he was having panic attacks on stage. But, like so many other plans and hopes people had in the early months of the pandemic, that goal proved unattainable. It's as if Burnham knows there are valid criticisms of him that haven't really stuck in the public discourse around his work. 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. Inside is the work of a comic with artistic tools most of his peers ignore or overlook. The song begins with a fade in from back, the shot painfully close to Burnhams face as he looks off to the side. But what is it exactly - a concert, a comedy special? WebBo Burnham is more than a comedian he's a writer-director-actor who first went viral in 2006. 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. 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. Inside doesnt give clear answers like parasocial relationships good or parasocial relationships bad, because those answers do not, and cannot, exist. Entertainment correspondent Kim Renfro ranked them in ascending order of greatness. But he's largely been given a pass by his fans, who praise his self-awareness and new approach. "I'm so worried that criticism will be levied against me that I levy it against myself before anyone else can. 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? 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. of the internet, welcoming everyone with a decadent menu of options while disco lights twirl. 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. Most of the comments talk about how visceral it is to hear Burnhams real voice singing the upsetting lyrics. Also, Burnham's air conditioner is set to precisely 69 degrees throughout this whole faux music video. MARTIN: Well, that being said, Lynda, like, what song do you want to go out on? But by the end of the tune, his narrative changes into irreverence. It chronicles Burnhams life during the pandemic and his journey creating the special. His new Netflix special Inside was directed, written and performed all inside one room. The voices of the characters eventually blend together to tell the live Burnham on stage, We think we know you.. And you know what? Netflix And you can roughly think about this, I think, as a series of short videos that are mostly of him singing songs and that are sewn together with a little bit of other material, whether it's shots of him lying in bed or setting up the cameras.
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