"All Eyes On Me" starts right after Burnham's outburst of anger and sadness. "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.". He is not talking about it very much. Other than Fred Rogers, Bo Burnham is one of the most cited single individual creators when discussing parasocial relationships. Parasocial relationships can be positive too, as outlined in culture critic Stitchs essay On Parasocial Relationships and the Boundaries of Celebrity for Teen Vogue. Don't overthink this, look in my eye don't be scared don't be shy come on in the water's fine."). '", "Robert's been a little depressed, no!" And I don't think that I can handle this right now. He's almost claustrophobically surrounded by equipment. Relieved to be done? Apathy's a tragedy, and boredom is a crime. 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. Known as "Art is a Lie, Nothing is Real," there's a bit Burnham did at the start of his 2013 special "what." Then comes the third emotional jump scare. 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. It's a quiet, banal scene that many people coming out of a depressive episode might recognize. Hes been addressing us the entire time. 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. In this case, it's likely some combination of depression/anxiety/any other mental disorder. ", When asked about the inspiration for the song, like if people he knew thought he was gay, Burnham said, "A lot of my close friends were gay, and, you know, I wasn't certain I wasn't at that point.". The second emotional jump scare comes when Burnham monologues about how he stopped performing live because he started having panic attacks on stage, which is not a great place to have them. The monologue increases that sense of intimacy; Burnham is letting the audience in on the state of his mental health even before the global pandemic. Sitting in the meeting room, not making a sound becomes the perceived 24/7 access fans have to DM you, reply to you, ask you questions. Its called INSIDE, and it will undoubtedly strike your hearts forevermore. Also, Burnham's air conditioner is set to precisely 69 degrees throughout this whole faux music video. Doona! A harsh skepticism of digital life (a life the pandemic has only magnified) is the dominant subject of the special. 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. I got so much better, in fact, that in January of 2020, I thought 'you know what I should start performing again. And it has a real feel of restlessness to it, almost like stream of consciousness. of the internet, welcoming everyone with a decadent menu of options while disco lights twirl. Not in the traditional senseno music was released prior to the special other than a backing track from Content found in the trailer. "Everything that once was sad is somehow funny now, the Holocaust and 9/11, that s---'s funny, 24-7, 'cause tragedy will be exclusively joked about, because my empathy iss bumming me out," he sang. Entertainment correspondent Kim Renfro ranked them in ascending order of greatness. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. In a giddy homage to Cabaret, Burnham, in sunglasses, plays the M.C. 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. MARTIN: So as you can hear in that bit, he sounds something like other comedic songwriters who do these kind of parody or comedy songs, whether it's Tom Lehrer, Weird Al or whoever. It's so good to hear your voice. Released on May 30, 2021, Bo Burnham wrote, recorded, directed, and produced Inside while in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. "Any Day Now" The ending credits. our full breakdown of every detail and reference you might have missed in "Inside" here. Then he moves into a new layer of reaction, where he responds to that previous comment. But then, just as Burnham is vowing to always stay inside, and lamenting that he'll be "fully irrelevant and totally broken" in the future, the spotlight turns on him and he's completely naked. I've been hiding from the world and I need to reenter.' But what is it exactly - a concert, a comedy special? 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 now Burnham is showing us the clutter of the room where "Inside" was filmed. 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. Please enter a valid email and try again. On the simplest level, Inside is the story of a comic struggling to make a funny show during quarantine and gradually losing his mind. 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.. [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. In the song, Burnham specifically mentions looking up "derealization," a disorder that may "feel like you're living in a dream. It's like Burnham's special has swallowed you whole, bringing you fully into his mind at last. 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. . So we broke down each song and sketch and analyzed their meaning and context. Just wanted to make sure everybody knew about Bo's comedy special transcripts on Scraps. 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. 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. newsletter, On Parasocial Relationships and the Boundaries of Celebrity, Bo Burnham and the Trap of Parasocial Self-Awareness.. "And so today I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. 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.". 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. Bo Burnham: Inside, was written, edited, and directed by the talent himself and the entire show is shot in one room. WebBo Burnham is more than a comedian he's a writer-director-actor who first went viral in 2006. This line comes full circle by the end of the special, so keep it in mind. There's no more time left to add to the camera's clock. If the answer is yes, then it's not funny. 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. 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. Get up. Then, the video keeps going past the runtime of the song and into that reaction itself. 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. Burnham slaps his leg in frustration and eventually gives a mirthless laugh before he starts slamming objects around him. BURNHAM: (Singing) Could I interest you in everything all of the time, a little bit of everything all of the time? Anyone can read what you share. He is leaving it to speak for itself in terms of what it says about isolation and sadness. 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. Photograph: Netflix Its a measure of the quality of Inside 1.0 that this stuff could end up on the cutting-room floor. That quiet simplicity doesn't feel like a relief, but it is. Likewise. ", He then pulls the same joke again, letting the song play after the audience's applause so it seems like a mistake. Its a lyrically dense song with camerawork that speeds up with its rhythm. I'm talking to you, get the f--- up.". 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. 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. Well now the shots are reversed. But now Burnham is back. It's a series of musical numbers and skits that are inherently about the creation of comedy itself. And then the funniest thing happened.". And it has a lot of very clever and very quick wordplay about the specific things you can get on the internet. Bo Burnhams Inside: A Comedy Special and an Inspired Experiment, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/arts/television/bo-burnham-inside-comedy.html. HOLMES: That was NPR's Linda Holmes reviewing Bo Burnham's new Netflix special "Inside." Good. We're a long way from the days when he filmed "Comedy" and the contrast shows how fruitless this method of healing has been. The song is like having a religious experience with your own mental disorder. Maybe we'll call it isolation theater. Many of his songs begin seriously, then shift into the joke, but this one doesnt. It's a dangerously tempting invitation to stop caring, coming from the villain of this musical comedy (depression). The picturesque view of sun-soaked clouds was featured in "Comedy," during the section of the song when Burnham stood up and decided that the only thing he (or his character in the song) could do was "heal the world with comedy.". Netflix Self-awareness does not absolve anybody of anything.". And like those specials, Inside implores fans to think about deeper themes as well as how we think about comedy as a genre. Because there's also a little bit Bo Burnham the character in this almost. 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. Burnham reacts to his reaction of the song, this time saying, Im being a little pretentious. "I'm so worried that criticism will be levied against me that I levy it against myself before anyone else can. Thank you, Michel. 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. "They say it's like the 'me' generation. MARTIN: And it's deep, too. Netflix. 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." Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. 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. It moves kind of all over the place. Most of the comments talk about how visceral it is to hear Burnhams real voice singing the upsetting lyrics. But by the end of the tune, his narrative changes into irreverence. Fifteen years later, Burnham found himself sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and decided to sit back down at his piano and see if he could once again entertain the world from the claustrophobic confines of a single room. 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). ", Right as Burnham is straightening up, music begins blaring over the speakers and Burnham's own voice sings: "He meant to knock the water over, yeah yeah yeah, but you all thought it was an accident. Is he content with its content? 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. ", 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.". BURNHAM: (Singing) Does anybody want to joke when no one's laughing in the background? WebBo Burnham: Inside is by far one of the riskiest and original comedy specials to come out in years. This special spoke to me closer and clearer than Ive ever felt with another person. The penultimate song "All Eyes on Me" makes for a particularly powerful moment. An existential dread creeps in, but Burnham's depression-voice tells us not to worry and sink into nihilism. Simply smiling at the irony of watching his own movie come to life while he's still inside? His new Netflix special Inside was directed, written and performed all inside one room. 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. 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. Relieved to be done? That's what it is. (For example, the song "Straight, White, Male" from the "Make Happy" special). The flow chat for "Is it funny?" See our analysis of the end of the special, and why Burnham's analogy for depression works so well. That YouTube commenter might be understood by Burnham if they were to meet him. The song begins with a fade in from back, the shot painfully close to Burnhams face as he looks off to the side. Like he's parodying white people who think that by crucifying themselves first they're somehow freed from the consequences of their actions. And now depression has its grips in him. But, like so many other plans and hopes people had in the early months of the pandemic, that goal proved unattainable. He, for example, it starts off with him rhyming carpool karaoke, which is a segment on James Corden's show, with Steve Aoki, who's a DJ. I don't know exactly how it tracks his experience, Bo Burnham, the person, right? Daddy made you your favorite, open wide.". HOLMES: Yeah. But look, I made you some content. 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. That's a really clever, fun little rhyme in this, you know, kind of heavy song. You know, as silly as that one is, some of the other ones are more sedate. While he's laying in bed, eyes about the close, the screen shows a flash of an open door. Whatever it is, NPR's Linda Holmes, host of Pop Culture Happy Hour, has reviewed it, and she liked it. 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.". Burnhams online success and an awareness of what kind of his audiences perceived closeness made the comedian key to one of the most prominent discussions in a creator- and influencer-driven era of media: the idea of parasocial relationships. The special is set almost entirely in one cluttered room. The clean, tidy interior that first connected "Inside" with "Make Happy" is gone in its place is a mess-riddled space. 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. In one interpretation, maybe the smile means he's ready to be outside again. This sketch, like the "White Woman Instagram" song, shows one of Burnham's writing techniques of bringing a common Internet culture into a fictionalized bit. "Robert's been a little depressed," he sings (referring to himself by his birthname). And she's with us now to tell us more about it. Not putting a name on parasocial relationships makes the theme less didactic, more blurred while still being astutesuch sharp focus on the eyes, you dont notice the rest of the face fades into shades of blue. An older Burnham sits at a stool in front of a clock, and he says into a microphone that he's been working on the special for six months now. "Problematic" is a roller coaster of self-awareness, masochism, and parody. 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. WebOn a budget. While talking to the audience during the opening section, Burnham takes a sip out of a water bottle. "A part of me loves you, part of me hates you," he sang to the crowd. You know, I was not, you know, I was alone, but I was not trapped in one room. and concludes that if it's mean, it's not funny. 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. It chronicles Burnhams life during the pandemic and his journey creating the special. They may still be comical, but they have a different feel. Later in Inside, Burnham thanks the audience for their support while holding them at knifepoint. 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. Im talking to you. Burnham is especially aware as a creator constantly reflecting on his own life. 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