bo burnham: inside transcript bo burnham: inside transcript

Back in 2010, Burnham appeared on Showtime's "The Green Room," a comics round table hosted by Paul Provenza. 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. But Burnham doesn't put the bottle down right, and it falls off the stool. Now Burnham is showing us the clutter of the room, where he's almost claustrophobically surrounded by equipment. Its a lyrically dense song with camerawork that speeds up with its rhythm. "Truly, it's like, for a 16-year-old kid in 2006, it's not bad. Still terrified of that spotlight? Its an uncanny, dystopian view of Burnham as an instrument in the soulless game of social media. 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. Relieved to be done? In the song, Burnham specifically mentions looking up "derealization," a disorder that may "feel like you're living in a dream. Finally doing basic care tasks for yourself like eating breakfast and starting work in the morning. "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.". Released on May 30, 2021, Bo Burnham wrote, recorded, directed, and produced Inside while in lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020. He takes a break in the song to talk about how he was having panic attacks on stage while touring the "Make Happy" special, and so he decided to stop doing live shows. All rights reserved. In Unpaid Intern, Burnham sings about how deeply unethical the position is to the workers in a pastiche of other labor-focused blues. Today We'll Talk About That Day During that taping, Burnham said his favorite comic at the time was Hans Teeuwen, a "Dutch absurdist," who has a routine with a sock puppet that eats a candy bar as Teeuwen sings. 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. he sings as he refers to his birth name. "You say the ocean's rising, like I give a s---," he sings. In the worst case, depression can convince a person to end their life. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. And you know what? I got so much better, in fact, that in January of 2020, I thought 'you know what I should start performing again. Bo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special "Inside" is jam-packed with references to his previous work. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. MARTIN: Well, that being said, Lynda, like, what song do you want to go out on? of the internet, welcoming everyone with a decadent menu of options while disco lights twirl. WebBo Burnham: Inside is by far one of the riskiest and original comedy specials to come out in years. 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. He grabs the camera and swings it around in a circle as the song enters another chorus, and a fake audience cheers in the background. When we see it again towards the end of the special, it's from a new camera angle. 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. BURNHAM: (Singing) The live-action "Lion King," the Pepsi halftime show, 20,000 years of this, seven more to go. It's self-conscious. HOLMES: Thank you. 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"). "Robert's been a little depressed," he sings (referring to himself by his birthname). Thematically, it deals with the events of 2020, rising wealth inequality, racial injustice, isolation, mental health, social media, and technologys role in our lives. While he's laying in bed, eyes about the close, the screen shows a flash of an open door. 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 then pulls the same joke again, letting the song play after the audience's applause so it seems like a mistake. The tension between creator and audience is a prominent theme in Burnhams work, likely because he got his start on YouTube. Got it? Long before the phrase parasocial relationship had entered the mainstream zeitgeist, Burnhams work discussed the phenomenon. 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). Other than Fred Rogers, Bo Burnham is one of the most cited single individual creators when discussing parasocial relationships. Burnham was just 16 years old when he wrote a parody song ("My Whole Family") and filmed himself performing it in his bedroom. That YouTube commenter might be understood by Burnham if they were to meet him. Then, the video keeps going past the runtime of the song and into that reaction itself. It moves kind of all over the place. The voices of the characters eventually blend together to tell the live Burnham on stage, We think we know you.. The song brings with it an existential dread, but Burnham's depression-voice tells us not to worry and sink into nihilism. "Oh Jesus, sorry," Burnham says, hurrying over to pick it up. One of those is the internet itself. Its an origin story of sorts. Now get inside.". 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. 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. The performer, along with the record label and brand deals, encourage a parasocial relationship for increased profits. Social media; it's just the market's answer to a generation that demanded to perform so the market said, here, perform. Oops. Disclosure: Mathias Dpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member. It's a series of musical numbers and skits that are inherently about the creation of comedy itself. The song begins with a fade in from back, the shot painfully close to Burnhams face as he looks off to the side. "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. Entertainment correspondent Kim Renfro ranked them in ascending order of greatness. Audiences who might not read a 1956 essay by researchers about news anchors still see much of the same discussion in Inside. Likewise, the finale of Burnhams next special, Make Happy (2016) closes in a song called Handle This (Kanye Rant). The song starts as him venting his hyperbolically small problems, until the tone shifts, and he starts directly addressing the audience, singing: The truth is, my biggest problem is you / [. The label of parasocial relationship is meant to be neutral, being as natural and normal and, frankly, inescapable as familial or platonic relationships. It's progress. And I think that, 'Oh if I'm self-aware about being a douchebag it'll somehow make me less of a douchebag.' That's what it is. Instead of a live performance, he's recorded himself in isolation over the course of a year. Doona! 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. Though it does have a twist. MARTIN: This special is titled, appropriately enough, "Inside," and it is streaming on Netflix now. It's a quiet, banal scene that many people coming out of a depressive episode might recognize. 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. Mid-song, a spotlight turns on Burnham and shows him completely naked as a voice sings: "Well, well, look who's inside again. It's a hint at the promised future; the possibility of once again being able to go outside and feel sunlight again. WebBo Burnham's "Inside" special on Netflix is an incredibly detailed musical-comedy artwork. It's a reminder, coming almost exactly halfway through the special, of the toll that this year is taking on Burnham. "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. WebBo Burnham has been critical of his past self for the edgy, offensive comedy he used to make. 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. You know, as silly as that one is, some of the other ones are more sedate. Theres always been a tension in his comedy between an ironic, smarty-pants cleverness and an often melodramatic point of view. It's like the mental despair of the last year has turned into a comfort. This line comes full circle by the end of the special, so keep it in mind. He was alone. "And so, today, I'm gonna try just getting up, sitting down, going back to work. It has extended versions of songs, cut songs, and alternate versions of songs that were eventually deleted; but is mainly comprised of outtakes. 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. 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. At the start of the special, Burnham sings "Content," setting the stage for his musical-comedy. People experiencing depression often stop doing basic self-care tasks, like showering or laundry or brushing their teeth. 20. Please check your email to find a confirmation email, and follow the steps to confirm your humanity. And the very format of it, as I said, it's very much this kind of sinister figure trying to get you interested. He brushes his teeth, eats a bowl of cereal, and begins editing his videos. Get up. And part of it is sometimes he's just in despair. But on the other hand, it is lyrically so playful. Its easy to see Unpaid Intern as one scene and the reaction videos as another, but in the lens of parasocial relationships, digital media, and workers rights, the song and the reactions work as an analysis for another sort of labor exploitation: content creation. There's no more time left to add to the camera's clock. MARTIN: And I understand you were saying that it moves between genres. Self-awareness does not absolve anybody of anything.". All Eyes on Me takes a different approach to rattling the viewer. So we broke down each song and sketch and analyzed their meaning and context. 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. 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. He's self-evaluating his own visual creation in the same way people will often go back to look at their Instagram stories or posts to see how it looks after they've shared it. 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. Went out to look for a reason to hide again. 1 on Billboards comedy albums chart and eventually climbed to No. Linda, thank you so much for joining us. 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. Its an instinct I have for all my work to have some deeper meaning or something. WebBo Burnham's new Netflix comedy special "Inside" is jam-packed with references to his previous work. He's almost claustrophobically surrounded by equipment. 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. Well, well, buddy you found it, now come out with your hands up we've got you surrounded.". 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. Anyone can read what you share. MARTIN: So Bo Burnham has had a lot of different identities lately. Just as often, Burnhams shot sequencing plays against the meaning of a song, like when he breaks out a glamorous split screen to complement a comic song about FaceTiming with his mom. I like this song, Burnham says, before pointing out the the lack of modern songs about labor exploitation. At the forefront of this shift has been Bo Burnham, one of YouTubes earliest stars, who went on to make his own innovative specials with satirical songs backed by theatrical lighting and disembodied voices. And I'm just wondering, like, how would you describe that? They Cloned Tyrone. 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. 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. WebBo Burnham: Inside is a 2021 special written, directed, filmed, edited, and performed by American comedian Bo Burnham. jonnyewers 30 May 2021. 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.". 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. 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.". "That's a good start. The first comes when Burnham looks directly into the camera as he addresses the audience, singing, Are you feeling nervous? Who Were We Running From? He says his goal had been to complete filming before his 30th birthday. Hes bedraggled, increasingly unshaven, growing a Rasputin-like beard. Depression acts like an outside force, one that is rather adept at convincing our minds to simply stay in bed, to not care, and to not try anymore. Each of the songs from the first half of the special are in line with Burnham's earlier Netflix specials and comedy albums. Viewer discretion is advised. You know, I was not, you know, I was alone, but I was not trapped in one room. 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. BURNHAM: (Singing) Start a rumor, buy a broom or send a death threat to a Boomer. HOLMES: That was NPR's Linda Holmes reviewing Bo Burnham's new Netflix special "Inside." 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. A part of me loves you, part of me hates you / Part of me needs you, part of me fears you / [. At various points, the gamer is given the option to make the character cry. Instead of working his muscles at open mics or in improv, Burnham uploaded joke songs to the platform in 2006. "Problematic" is a roller coaster of self-awareness, masochism, and parody. Don't overthink this, look in my eye don't be scared, don't be shy, come on in the water's fine."). Its a visual that signifies a man exposing himself, until you realize hes in a spotlight. The special is available exclusively on Netflix, while the album can be found on most streaming platforms. BURNHAM: (Singing) Could I interest you in everything all of the time, a little bit of everything all of the time? 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. The special is hitting an emotional climax as Burnham shows us both intense anger and then immediately after, a deep and dark sadness. Thank you so much for joining us. HOLMES: Right. 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. 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. 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. 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. He slaps his leg in frustration, and eventually gives a mirthless laugh before he starts slamming objects around him. Like most of Burnhams specials, it includes comedic songs and creative lighting effects.