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19 Apr 2023

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. That's what it is. Review: Bo Burnham's 'Inside Toward the end, he appears completely naked behind his keyboard. Please check your email to find a confirmation email, and follow the steps to confirm your humanity. I think you're getting from him, you know, the entertainment element. A harsh skepticism of digital life (a life the pandemic has only magnified) is the dominant subject of the special. Bo Burnham He takes it, and Burnham cries robotically as a tinny version of the song about being stuck in the room plays. 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. 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). Then, the video keeps going past the runtime of the song and into that reaction itself. And then, of course, he had previous standup comedy specials. 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. Under stand up, Burnham wrote "Middle-aged men protecting free speech by humping stools and telling stories about edibles" and "podcasts. Burnham was just 16 years old when he wrote a parody song ("My Whole Family") and filmed himself performing it in his bedroom. And he's done virtually no press about it. MARTIN: And I understand you were saying that it moves between genres. Now, you heard me struggling to describe what this is, so help me out. 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. A Detailed Breakdown of How Bo Burnham Not a comedy per se, but a masterpiece nonetheless. I have a funky memory and I sometimes can't remember things from something I've watched, even if it was just yesterday. I did! It's not. 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. 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. And it's important to remember, you know, this is a piece of theater. Most of the comments talk about how visceral it is to hear Burnhams real voice singing the upsetting lyrics. HOLMES: Well, logically enough, let's go out on the closing song. Finally doing basic care tasks for yourself like eating breakfast and starting work in the morning. The title card appears in white, then changes to red, signaling that a camera is recording. An existential dread creeps in, but Burnham's depression-voice tells us not to worry and sink into nihilism. Bo Burnham Bo Burnham Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. 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.. Netflix Under the TV section, he has "adults playing twister" (something he referenced in "Make Happy" when he said that celebrity lip-syncing battles were the "end of culture") and "9 season love letter to corporate labor" (which is likely referencing "The Office"). "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. "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. 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 Each of the songs from the first half of the special are in line with Burnham's earlier Netflix specials and comedy albums. ", "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? Don't overthink this, look in my eye don't be scared, don't be shy, come on in the water's fine."). At the second level of the reaction video, Burnham says: "I'm being a little pretentious. He slaps his leg in frustration, and eventually gives a mirthless laugh before he starts slamming objects around him. BURNHAM: (Singing) Does anybody want to joke when no one's laughing in the background? Well, well, buddy you found it, now come out with your hands up we've got you surrounded.". But now Burnham is showing us the clutter of the room where "Inside" was filmed. And I think that's what you're getting here. From the very beginning of "Inside," Burnham makes it clear that the narrative arc of the special will be self-referential. His new Netflix special Inside was directed, written and performed all inside one room. It's self-conscious. He had a role in the film "Promising Young Woman." Thank you, Michel. Like most of Burnhams specials, it includes comedic songs and creative lighting effects. 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). 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. Its a visual that signifies a man exposing himself, until you realize hes in a spotlight. Burnham wrote out: "Does it target those who have been disenfranchised in a historical, political, social, economic and/or psychological context?". So this is how it ends. 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. Open wide.. 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.". 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. Bo Burnham's Netflix Special, 'Inside Entertainment correspondent Kim Renfro ranked them in ascending order of greatness. Theres always been a tension in his comedy between an ironic, smarty-pants cleverness and an often melodramatic point of view. / 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. The penultimate song "All Eyes on Me" makes for a particularly powerful moment. It's a hint at the promised future; the possibility of once again being able to go outside and feel sunlight again. "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.". You can stream "Inside" on Netflix now, and see our ranking of all 20 original songs from the special here. I've been hiding from the world and I need to reenter.' Though it does have a twist. The lead-in is Burnham thanking a nonexistent audience for being there with him for the last year. Parasocial relationships are neutral, and how we interact with them is usually a mixed bag. And it has a lot of very clever and very quick wordplay about the specific things you can get on the internet. The special was nominated for six Emmy Awards in 2021, of which it won three: Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, and Outstanding Music Direction. 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. 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. Because there's also a little bit Bo Burnham the character in this almost. When we see it again towards the end of the special, it's from a new camera angle. "And so, today, I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. While this special is the product of evolution, Burnham is pointing out its also a regression. When we saw that projection the first time, Burnham's room was clean and orderly. 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. Its an instinct I have for all my work to have some deeper meaning or something. When the song starts, the camera sitting in front of Burnham's mirror starts slowing zooming in, making the screen darker and darker until you (the audience member at home) are sitting in front of the black mirror of your screen. The incentives of the web, those that reward outrage, excess and sentiment, are the villains of this show. Went out to look for a reason to hide again. And now depression has its grips in him. It's conscious of self. Bo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special "Inside" is jam-packed with references to his previous work. Bo Burnham "Goodbye sadness, hello jokes!". This special spoke to me closer and clearer than Ive ever felt with another person. All Eyes on Me also earned Bo his first Grammy win for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 2022 Grammys. . 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. 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.

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bo burnham: inside transcript