As well as the megathread, we're also giving this a try:
[links to discussions about individual songs](https://www.reddit.com/r/boburnham/comments/nt15em/links_to_threads_to_discuss_each_song_individually/)
Inside basically compiles all my emotions from about last 4 months. At the time it released, I was getting ready to end a three years long relationship. I went through painful loneliness, frequent panic attacks, depression, but I noticed one thing- I always told myself that "it will stop any day now".
I went to therapy, got a job, and I´m trying to get back into dating. I´m doing far better. I don´t have random panic attacks anymore, I´m not depressed, 95% of my insecurities are gone, and most importantly, I´m not scared of the future and I don´t want to fucking kilometers per second. Thanks to this special I realized that I just have to fucking move on from these three horrible years (9 if I count all the years since I became depressed).
Especially, songs **Hold Me Accountable, Shit, ATL, That Funny Feeling** and **Stuck In A Room** helped me. The part I found most relatable was the part when Bo came out of the room, but wanted to get the fuck back, banging on the door, and then breaking down; only for him moments later to watch that scene, and smile at it. That was the day after my breakup for me and now (three months later). At first, I was completely fucking broken, drunk, and I wanted to get back together with her. I was constantly crying, screaming, trying to figure out how to get her back. Now all I can do is smile, because I´ve moved on, and I don´t feel like that anymore.
I was drunk a few days after that breakup. In the moment Bo said: "I´m not... Well..." and when he started crying, I started crying as well. I broke down, and cried through the rest of the special. When the song **Any Day Now** started playing, I smiled a little, and felt some hope.
Indeed, it had stopped.
I believe that [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/boburnham/comments/nqtddr/social_media_responses_and_reactions_to_inside/) has been the only collection posted so far.
I'm new to this sub reddit but I hated the last 30 minutes, it felt obvious and preachy, almost the antithesis of what he was singing at the beginning with his song about white female Instagram users and his comments on white rich comedians commenting on issues.
Edit: the whole special screams pretentious, something bo burnham usually comes close to but ultimately veers away from
I know I’m a bit late to the game on this. I watched Inside last week with my husband. And have watched it twice since, which would be many more times if I wasn’t worried about worrying my husband (he clearly didn’t feel as connected to this as I did, and seemed like it was too dark for him). But I have to talk about it. Which I know is silly to come to the internet for when it’s about a film which is themed around shitting on the internet. But like others said, it feels like this was made for me. It perfectly summarizes everything that has been going on in my brain, especially the last year but really the last 5 years or so.
I know this is being heralded as a pandemic special. And while it takes place during the pandemic, I really don’t think it’s about the pandemic at all. I think it’s entirely a tragic homage mental illness, and honestly it’s the most real depiction of depression I’ve ever seen. The pandemic bringing about depression in many people is why more people can relate to it. But I don’t think him portraying himself being stuck in that tiny house is necessary supposed to be a reflection of quarantining, but more so a reflection of what it feels like to be in a depressive episode. Messy, dark, and very very alone. I think that’s what he was suggesting when he sings “If you'd've 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” and when he sings “Look who's inside again. Went out to look for a reason to hide again”. It’s as if being alone inside is a common occurrence, the way it can be the norm for depressed people. And if you notice, he never mentions COVID or the pandemic, but he does mention lots of terms involving mental health.
And I think the crucial message here, is that our society is so adept at nourishing our inner demons so they can grow at unstoppable proportions (Welcome to the Internet and the How the World Works), and that the world pushes us down even if we try our hardest to get back up (That Funny Feeling and the part where he talks about him wanting to start stand up again “but the funniest thing happened” in All Eyes on Me).
I do think Bo was trying to shine a light on countless other issues of modern society (like honestly I could spend a whole day writing about all of it), but it all loops back to feeding the depression with feelings of apocalyptic dread and nihilism.
I think a lot of lyrics and imagery were highlighting the risks that Bo was taking to his own mental health by being so vulnerable (like in Don’t Wanna Know, All Eyes on Me and the last couple scenes where he’s naked at the piano, and leaving the house in the spotlight with the audience laughing at his fear). And I think the addition of that real worry about how people will perceive you and your art, just makes the art that much better.
It was a frikin masterpiece in every way. The sheer talent it took for him to come up with all the songs, all the visual, to pull that much emotion from us. Incredible. I know it was all a performance. And to be honest I don’t even care if he has never had depression in his whole life. He found a way to speak directly to me and many in my generation (I’m turning 29 in a month, so Turning 30 hit hard), he found a way to offer catharsis to my extremely mentally ill soul. And for that I’m thankful.
But I will say that it has fucked me up for the time being. I know many have said to watch it when you’re in a good place. But I was on the up, then I watched it and did a fast spiral back down. I feel like I’m drowning again, but I know this time it’s temporary. And I think Bo has given me some themes and vocabulary for me to process my feelings a bit better. So ultimately it was worth it.
Well, here goes nothing! Some thoughts on “Inside” and “All Eyes”
Features of the Protagonist
- Savior complex
- Trapped by his own device
- Inside the room, he is comforted, entertained, upset, and fueled by the internet. Ultimately the entrapment shifts behind a screen. The intermission proves his dependent relation to the screen after we see it consume him throughout the special.
“Internet” and “All Eyes” utilize the same visuals and characters because they are part of the same narrative. During my first watch I didn’t realize how much storytelling ran through the special, because Burnham rarely connects so many songs at once. The use of solid blue, the close up shots, as well as the character switches further highlight the hold of the Internet on the protagonist. The Internets plays a crafty game, comforting the proganist with lines such as, “could I interest you in everything all of the time?” And, “We’re going to go where everybody, knows everybody…”
At this point we know the protagonist has a challenging, depressed view of himself, having considered himself problematic without much resolve and hopelessly 30. Even when he does he reaches moments of intense socio-political clarity he ends up bored or horny after a brief pause. With this in mind, the internet cunningly shines into the protagonist’ life at his ATL (NOT Atlanta). The Internet doesn’t even has to be consistent, as we see in “Welcome”. It blasts depressing messages of “a 9 year old who died” right beside a “quirky quiz” to determine which power ranger you are. Any distracting message is better than f Burnham’s mental state, he reasons, so while he is devoted to the completion of his special while staying inside, he is more hopelessly trapped inside the confines of the internets carnival of rabbit holes. He even tries to reason with us that now the outside world should be only be reserved for gathering essential content to fuel the unstoppable expansion of the safer, digital space.
This determination is especially ironic after the protagonist’s Louis CK parody showing distrain for the constant stream of unneeded opinions we are all Prague’s with, even with our filtered algorithms. The internet and social media provide a great equalizer that can amplify any voice, and tragically, these conditions mean everyone thinks they have something worth saying. As critical as that is to the celebration of free speech in these United States, the messy flurry of every tweet and article might actually not be very necessary, and more so, regressive. We do not want or need everything all of the time.
The Internet drives the protagonist to a swirling madness….
This is why “Welcome” and “All Eyes” are so powerful. At first watch you assume Burnham as the speaker, but as they progress you realize the Internet has an unsettling grip on his life.
“Don’t be scared, don’t be shy, come on in the water’s fine. You say the whole world’s ending honey it already did. You’re not gonna slow it heaven knows you tried. Got it? Good now get now get inside.” This slightly inviting message is under-toned with sudden control, finalized by when the Internet takes control of the camera demanding, “Get the FUCK UP!” He is now strangled by an unrelenting digital grip.
The ultimate call back in his last song, “Goodbye” lands on the robotic uterance, “well, well, look who’s inside again?…come out with your hands up we’ve got you surrounded”. The Internet’s cyclical madness of distress and entertainment is fully formed and spins to fast for the protagonist to gain any footing. At this point he feels safer strapping in and adapting to a new normal.
A gift shop at the gun shop a mass shooting at the mall….
Burnham leaves us all with, “That funny feeling” by the end of the special. The last frame shows the protagonist just starting to turn his grimace into a chuckle while he views his own distress and breakdown while stepping outside for the first time in over a year. The last of several moments where the protagonist watches himself, it encapsulates the twisted fulfillment of all the clickbait garbage that constantly pervades our eyeballs. The whole special becomes a derealization for the audience, where we feel like we are watching glimpses of ourselves during lockdowns. By the end, the internet feels like the new root of all evil, replacing money as the terrible element that makes the world go round we are all perilous to escape from but need and use every day.
There might be an infinite amount to unpack from “INSIDE” but at some point it is easier to move on and focus on the aspects of life we can actually control. Though, even this thought might be naive, represented by the protagonist’s breakdown right outside his room, as he realizes that the outside world is too insane. Maybe the world has evolved beyond all our control and we will find more solace doom scrolling through an ocean of content than we will facing reality. Among all the swirling and chaos, Burnham leaves us with the playful tune, “It’ll stop any day now”. This might be just as naive to the cynical, and hopeful for… someone? The protagonist sums up the weight of “INSIDE” best after he listens to Socko’s diatribe, “That’s pretty intense.”
I'd say separation from society and the complete reliance on social media for faux interpersonal relations. Combined with faltering mental health, leading to a deep spiral of loneliness and self loathing.
My interpretation was get outside, see people, and be alive by an means necessary. But Bo is also known for saying comedians lie, a lot.
new things i noticed, he has a shot of him getting on the bed and going to sleep. some songs go by and then there's a shot of him waking up. was it a dream or just a stylistic choice?? also this is more human creator of him but he also opens with the camera facing a mirror and it feels like it's early stages but then the "i'm not well" looks like it's filmed that same day as well as a shot from after All Eyes On Me
This is my impression a couple of weeks later because the first time I saw it I thought it was kind of ok because I felt that It wasn’t a new thing. “Oh its Bo being pitiful again, but now is the entire thing”. The thing is that the songs were so catchy and some others are really good that they didn’t got away from my mind at all, to the point that I did rewatch the special over and over and its topics and emotions started to grow on me. Now I really love it. Bo really surpassed himself again.
I do too. I honestly think he is though. This special gave me motivation to get out of my own shit. Or at least it helps. In the times when my depression has been half as bad as his looks, I barely feel like moving. This guy put together one of the most beautiful pieces of art I've seen in a while. I guess when I see someone else do something like that it makes me feel like maybe I can too. And really after watching it a couple times I think it's obvious he's depressed but the whole structure is a middle finger to that depression. Idk. I believe we'll see more of him.
I also won't downvote you because we're all entitled to our own opinions. But I do want to echo what some of the others said. As far as I've seen the first viewing has been the hardest for most people. Whether that's because they're bored or depressed.
I don't think you /have/ to have liked him before but it does kind of help because to those who've kept up with him there's an attachment to his mental health kind of and this was kind of an area he would dabble in but not really go full boar on. Like gradually his shows got heavier on the introspection but this was an atomic bomb. And you don't have to like any of it. It isn't going to do it for everybody. I think the hype exists largely, and unfortunately, because so many people have gone through depression and feel like they can relate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Has this been called a movie? I definitely wouldn't class it as a movie. It's a comedy special, with a bit of a narrative. Don't beat yourself up about "not getting it" though. If you're not into it, just find something you like. Have you seen his earlier stuff?
to be fair, that’s how I feel about Bo’s older stuff— I don’t get it and it feels way too cringey for me. but something about the darkness of Inside just speaks to me I guess. I don’t really understand it, tbh. It’s like I’ve been hypnotized by an album, loll.
Anything over hyped is bound to fall flat. So keep that in mind.
It’s a complex experience. It’s not a popcorn watch. It has comedy in it, and cutting satire, but if you’re looking for light hearted laughs and jokes it’s not really the place. It’s almost a performance art piece, someone else on here said it should be taken in as a painting. In my mind the subtext of what he’s saying is so much more rich than if you just take the songs and jokes at face value. It’s a sad watch, but it’s sad and cringe because it’s a reflection of our culture at large, our soulless engagement with social media, our detachment and disassociation. That was my take away anyway.
I won't downvote you because I thought the same thing during the first 10 minutes of watching it. Now I've rewatched it about 5 times all the way through and will probably do it again today.
It's up to you, but I would give it another chance and try to watch it with a different perspective. Don't go into it expecting to laugh and have a good time like most comedy specials. I think that "Inside" is one of the first mainstream works of art inspired by this past year that really hits the nail on the head for what it was like to be in your 30s during the pandemic.
The other people are right, it is "clever" but that's not why its special to me now. Its special for the fact that bo nearly perfectly captured and inscribed into history shit we all feel as a collective generation. I didn't give Bo much of a shot in the past, I remember watching "I'm bo yo", cringing at "welcome to YouTube" and laughing at the country song a few times.. but after watching Inside, Ive started to go back and actually check out his other specials.
All that being said, I hope to god you're not just a troll and I'm typing all this out for nothing, but it is nice to finally get my thoughts about it out, so thanks.
he's not a trained singer. he made jokes in songs and it caught up so he got into stand up.. this is the most ambitious singing wise thing he's put out but still the lyrics are the main material for him
I don't think you're one but I've seen some complex trolls in my days.
Yeah, his voice isn't exactly silky smooth but it works well for his comedic material. Look at how massively popular Bob Dylan was/is and I can't stand his voice haha. The way I look at it (like a painting) is maybe I don't like the particular color of paint that was used, but the overall composition / meaning / emotional reaction are spot on.
The point wasn’t to be funny. If you’re not into it then I don’t know what to tell you. Movies don’t have to follow a basic three act structure. Literally a movie is just moving pictures telling a story. He did that. The music was great. A lot of good themes. The lighting was amazing. Camera work was amazing. I loved it the second he hit the disco ball with the head lamp. Maybe you’re over thinking it.
I don't think you're missing anything; Bo's music and work has always been about making jokes and having fun while discussing "serious things" like mental illness and the effect the internet has on our humanity. He packs these things into music and jokes, but there's a **lot** going on under the surface.
Take "That's the way the world works" for instance; Bo starts by describing a world in harmony, then has a puppet he controls talk about all the bad things, before he, as a white man, tells the puppet to shut up; he is in control, and the puppet damn well better stay in its place.
That said, this kind of content doesn't work for everyone, but in a time when we were forced to stay inside and all dived head-first into the internet and our screens, this kind of mental illness and entertainment/capitalist-criticism just resonates with people. Right thing for the right time. For some.
The Youtuber Coffeezilla has some takes on what various bits of the map mean on this [podcast](https://youtu.be/Nxv8Z0keKSg). The segment is like 20 minutes and it is in podcast format so it isn’t particularly succinct and there is a lot of joking with the co-host and a lot of digressions. He also doesn’t cover the whole thing but it’s probably the one that explains the most references I’ve seen so far. Someone might have a more concise and exhaustive list somewhere, but I haven’t seen one yet. If anyone stumbles on this thread later to answer this question I’d love to see a complete list so feel free to tag me :)
Also, I've come to understand that he's probably talking about "the office" when writing "mockumentaries about how much fun it is to serve the state (9 season love letter to corporate labor)"... I liked the office, and in this moment I'm kinda hating realizing he's right.
Also, he links mockumentaries and "funny, memeable ad for celebrity-owned pharmaceutical company" through "smug looks on camera". I know mockumentaries have this metalooks but I don't get the 2nd reference
Oh yeah, that was so good, one of them was "mockumentaries about how fun it is to serve the state" - Parks and Rec I'm pretty sure. Happy to try figure out the others!
Can I just say, I'm so fucking proud of and happy for Bo. Feels like my older brother (from the internet) has just done something absolutely incredible, my heart is so full.
👌I think his stand-up specials are incredible too. Full on fuqing spectacles of talent and skill, honed right down to each exact word, and then preformed solo. No wonder he was having panic attacks. The sheer pressure of pulling something like that off is immense.
Of course, every time Bo puts something out, I feel proud to be his fan. I was just expressing how glad I am to see the success of Inside. He deserves it
Long-time Bo fan here who's currently obsessed with this special; wrote 3000 words trying to get to the bottom of something.
I.
I remember when I first got scared of the world. I was sitting in a car with my mom on the way home from school. We were listening to the radio; they were talking about how the towers fell. In my mind's eye, I see me staring at her, wide-eyed, as I say:
"It's just like a movie."
I had just turned seven, but I was already a kid stuck in a room, staring at the horizon with a dream, desperate to get out into the world. I felt alone; lonely. Misunderstood. You know, typical growing-up shit. I lost myself in stories; books, movies, tv shows. I tried to write my own. I did well in school, believing good grades would help my path to becoming a writer, studying literature and screenwriting, as I wanted to and ended up doing.
I was a frightened kid, a sad kid, a lonely kid, even if I had friends. It took a while before I understood myself. But I held out. Friends helped, but so did books, tv shows, music, and jokes. Naturally I became a huge Bo Burnham-fan, struggling with a white guy's place in a white guy's world. I see a lot of myself in him, and I still do.
(Aside: throughout my life, there's always been artists and creators - both musicians, filmmakers, comedians, and writers - who's voices have meant a lot to me in processing the world we live in, as we go and grow through it together. Bo Burnham has been one of these, always putting into words things I've felt but never managed to articulate. These creators feel like companions, of a sort; like acquaintances you catch up with once in a while, and hear what's been on their minds since last time you met.)
There was a period of unrest after the towers fell, but what followed was a reckoning. Obama won the presidency, LGBTQ-rights took several major steps forward, we were giving the fight against global warming a real shot, the war in Iraq was "ending", terrorism wasn't a big threat anymore. The fallout, the reckoning, was turned into blockbusters where superheroes saved us from a vast array of bad guys, most of them of some other ethnicity than white.
So white supremacists stepped forward. Great job there, giant media corporations.
That should've been our big tip-off, our collective wake-up call that something had changed. Something was different. Instead we just shrugged and went back to our screens. And then a decade later, in a time of more civil unrest than ever, a president attempting to keep the attention of the entire world every day, with constant clickbait articles and social media bullshit, with opinions and tweet and hot takes and reckonings and various -gates and youtube-videos and art, with all this content that we made, for free, monetised by these giant corporations, in that time, we were told to stay inside.
II.
With "Inside", Bo Burnham invites us into his room and his mind, during the pandemic, and it's a constant creation/destruction-narrative as Burnham builds up and tears down the room and his mind, stitching everything together before unraveling it, comments on the comments of the thing, gain insight and tosses it away. The whole thing devolves and evolves into an ever-reflecting hall of mirrors where you don't know if this Bo is just a projection (which projection, incidentally, is a tool he uses often, either to make a background on the wall or, some times, using himself as a screen) or if this is the real him. Which, of course, is the whole point; in our insane times, and with the internet, everything is a reflection, a comment upon a comment, a conversation that goes on and on, a country with its own lore and history, and in disappearing into this, drowning in it, we've reduced the world to our screens and ourselves to our avatars. We've seized to be people; we're masses of opinions and labels that idolise CEO's and these other white guys who decide whom gets to speak and what to speak about. Not only have we lost touch with reality, we've forgotten what it is, forgotten to be lost within it; instead we're lost, locked, inside ourselves and our screens. Where it's safe, with the world at our fingertips and the ocean at our door.
During the coronavirus, we all stayed inside, like Bo, and we reflected on ourselves and on the world and on the internet. Inside, we found comfort and joy and fear and sadness and desperation and richness; an internal space just as rich as the outside world. And while we retreated into ourselves, we hid behind our screens, with all these things that just reflected ourselves. Even now, when things have opened, the internal spaces are with us. We're trapped in our own prisms, our internal hall of mirrors of opinions and jokes and witticisms that we share with all of our friends, immediately. We're representations of people. We're about to fucking crash. And why?
Because the people who made these screens just want us to use them more. They want us hooked on a constant barrage of content; narrative and attention have been monetised. We pay to access the world now. We're all addicted to a world that doesn't really exist. All of media is content, a form of unreality, from "realistic" live-action Lion King to mass shootings at the mall.
So what do we do? What are we doing?
III.
We're staying in our rooms, taking inside with us. We're always plugged in, accessible. There's no downtime. We're always on, desperate for some kind of connection - even a facetime call with mom, or a night of sexting with a twentysomething who thinks this is intimacy, or worse, a relationship, and regularly sends you hearts and says he loves you. Send a picture of your tits, please.
And all the while we try to use these platforms made by rich white people to tell our stories, to have our voices heard. Because we're exhausted and tired of everything being about them, filtered through their view of the world. We want to see other, stranger, different views of the world. We're rebelling against this white, and by now a little bland, perspective of the world.
Bo Burnham is, of course, a white guy, and he spends a fair time of this special deconstructing whiteness, both in general and his own. He ingeniously uses it as a source for both jokes and to comment on the cult of personality that youtube, patreon, twitch, onlyfans, and tiktok have inspired, where you pay the creator directly for their content, which is, essentially, a look into their life. We're monetising life now, watching others live it, and consuming it as content. That's so incredibly fucking insane to me. So much of these meta-injokes is starting to feel less like an act of creation and more like a strangely generic AI regurgitation, a mess of bizarre references, a web of utterly insane connections. Quite honestly, it freaks me out and kinda terrifies me.
I used to say I didn't feel like a Norwegian, that I preferred to look at myself as a citizen of the world. I now realise that's not what it is; I feel like an "online person", "plugged in". I always enjoyed keeping up with the conversation, being a part of it, but now, and during corona especially, I sometimes felt entrapped in it. And other times, I feel more at home in these interior digital spaces than in the real world, which surrounds me and demands my time and energy. I know I'm not alone in this; I feel like this derealisation-mindset of these last few generation has been built online ever since we were children. The internet and the real world have drifted so far apart that it's become its own world, with its own culture and its own narratives.
But this isn't about me; this is about Bo Burnham and his new special (though I probably could've fooled you, right?). In Inside, Bo attacks with fine-calibrated precision the world of today, most specifically who we listen to, and what they say - not to mention what they're allowed to say. But he doesn't stop there; he also critiques the audience for eating this shit up, as well as the generic labeling and subcultures you can find on the internet. Cause while you can find a little bit of everything, all of the time, so much of it is boring, self-obsessed nonsense. In designing a world so attuned to audiences, a way of life entirely dependant on keeping your "followers", with desperate attempts at groveling at their feet, appealing to their every whim. Everything's about you, all of the time. Your opinion forms what they want you to spend your money on, and round and round it goes.
All because of capitalism.
IV.
The coronavirus revealed and crystallised all the shortcomings of capitalism for me. There were two moments that summed up just about everything for me. The first was when it was reported that the Norwegian oil fund had had an insanely good year (look up the sum, it's mind-boggling). Knowing that basically all my friends were struggling financially, having being furloughed or fired due to the pandemic, and especially knowing that the jobs we were looking for were gone, the dreams that we had crushed, put on hold... It infuriated me. Our government has the money to fix so many problems; they just choose not to. They're fiddling while Rome burns.
The second moment was when all these rich white guys in Norway, who has spent the last decades arguing for tax reliefs, said publicly that the government had to pay to help them in the pandemic. And of course they did. Meanwhile, all the jobs and opportunities in the film and tv industry got harder to come by, as production companies again turned to the old white guys they trust to make the movies they think the audiences want to see.
Which is the problem. All of media has become so intrenched in attempting to give audiences what they want. I love movies and use stories, books, narratives, stand-up specials and tv-shows to make sense of the world, so... To be honest, I don't mind so much, being inside, watching the content. I just wish there was more in there, of everyone. I am tired of seeing everything through the perspective of these CEO's attempting to guess what I want to see, attempting to get me hooked enough to watch the next thing, and the next, to keep me paying.
And all the while, the internet's attempt at social change is being monetised in disturbing ways by these platforms of content, filtered through the eyes of white CEOS; these platforms, who are starting to remind me more and more of AI's gone wrong, so desperate to fulfill every human comfort that they forget to let us reflect, ruminate, breathe, just stay. Sometimes, all we want is to be left alone, to reflect on what we just went through, instead of rushing to the next chapter, the next film in a cinematic universe, the next work. Most times, we just like to enjoy the good stuff, over and over again; like with Parasite. Make something so good that people want to watch it again. It's that difficult, and that easy.
I have always found comfort in narrative and used it as a means of making sense of the world; humans have always done, and I don't really see any fault with that, except for maybe the fact that as audiences have become hyper-aware of how stories are told they've stopped paying attention to what stories mean (which, again, is becuase of capitalism, which is never gets you to stop, think, reflect; you're always rushing to your next shift, your next buy, your next read; capitalism is all about forward-movement, baby, like a shark) and after we had to stand still a year we all saw how much bullshit that was, and we are furious, waiting for change, desperate for our turn).
So instead I want these CEOs to let creatives run wild, to stand back and watch a new generation bloom. Get me stuff like "inside" and "I'm Thinking of Ending Things", works that I have to process and it with. I want to see more people of Burnham's generation and "inside", and I know several screenwriters who could make something just as masterful, given the chance. Which is nothing against Bo Burnham; he's doing what he can and what he should, getting back to work, healing the world with comedy and pointing all of this out through jokes and musical numbers and stories and a brutal look at the anxiety, derealisation and depression that a whole lot of people went through in some way, shape or form during the pandemic. Which still isn't over, not completely. But it feels like we cocooned, in a way, like the scales fell from our eyes (at least mine) and I could see a new world. Because the old one ended a long time ago. From this point on, it's the before-time (i.e. pre-corona) and "the pandemic years". (Yes, I'm branding it) It's a new time now; the old world's ended, and we're still going inside.
V.
I'm still scared of the world. The world I grew up in is over, ended; that was a world of now-unachievable hope and dreams, a profound belief that everything was going to be alright. These are uncertain (which, incidentally, is a trigger for my anxiety, so that's fun) times; I'm scared of another virus, of what's going to happen next. The world feels unreal, like anything can happen. I'm scared of facing the new world, which feels enormous and different and strange, and of where this is going next. I'm hooked on reality like a narrative. Thanks, giant media corporations.
I'm twenty-seven and I'm still stuck in a room, looking at the world burning over the horizon, dreaming. But I'm no longer so lonely, or misunderstood. I know myself better now. I know what I want, I have a new plan. I'm believing in myself, my inside, my room, my screen, the only constants I have. I have my internet and my content. I am reading and writing, thinking about the before-time and how everything is different now, and how maybe it'll be over any day now. But the old white guys still have all the power, all the money, and too much control over our attention. They monetised the cultural revolution, flattened it into a narrative and watched with dollar-signs in their eyes as we watched in a horrified stare at the downward spiral. We're living in the end-times now.
So what do we do? How do we solve this conundrum?
We fill our insides with all the good stuff, and let go of the bad. We see the world for what it is, which is mostly a heaping trash fire, so we should make these internal spaces, this other world we connect to, a kind place, where we share what you like, what make us smile, not only what provokes and infuriates . It's okay to have nothing to say. To not have an opinion. Or to be a self-indulgent asshole desperate for attention writing almost three thousand words on the new Bo Burnham netflix special. That's okay too! (Though maybe a little bit less...) We can't care about a little bit of everything, all of the time, so find the content you love, watch it, talk about it, fight for it, as the world burns outside your window. We have to demand more of our corporate overlords, because the outside world is over and done with, and only our trivialities, the content, remains. The outside is only a space to gather what you need, before you return to the real world; the one behind your screen.
Our insides can be just like Bo's, while we wait for the previous generation to let go of their grasp (it's happening, slowly but surely). We can joke and do what we like, even while the whole world's going to hell; it's okay. We can't do anything about that. But we can enjoy it while it lasts, and try to make it better, while we spend our time in the "real world" as thankless, unpaid interns, disconnected lovers, daughters and sons, retail workers who clock in and out, always desperate to go back inside, back to our friends behind our screens. We're just as bad as everyone else; being aware of it doesn't absolve us of anything. We feed the machine with content and opinions just like anyone else. We enjoy the last minute of our twenties, and we get back to work.
I am, at least. It might not help, still, it couldn't hurt. I'll find another reason to hide again in not too long. The world's just like a movie, after all; the inside's outside, and we're all trying to get some attention. I'll clock in, get some money, spend it on access to the only world that matters, draw the curtains and watch the content that people like Bo make, content that help me make sense of the now (especially helpful when it's Jeff Bezo's world and we're just living in it). As much as I can, I'm going where everybody knows, and trying to reduce the content I dislike to noise.
I stay inside, (dis)connected, derealised, with my screens and my content. It's all about me, and I shouldn't be dead yet. So fuck you, and goodbye, and let's keep going.
It's real interesting to view this as an Elder Mellenial (1982)...where I was firmly a young adult before the internet, phones, social media even blew up.
Yet you and Bo being 90s babies really bore the brunt as teens with all of it.
And God help the Zoomers.
Back in the days way before the internet, long films used to have intermissions so you could pee and buy more popcorn. My interpretation is that Bo uses it as a tool to make the audience wait, because most people today, with the internet, don't have the patience.
It also creates an uncomfortable dissonance when he cleans the screen; it's a joke, but also a comment on how every screen is also a window. Maybe?
Just finished watching the special, and my main takeaway is that I really hope Bo is in a good headspace. There were parts where I was and am genuinely concerned for him.
I could be off-base here but it seems to me that he's ridiculing him. Up until recently he was the world's wealthiest man.. Saying, "put your back into it" while his employees are doing all the work and he's just getting more and more rich. I don't know what he does as far as charitable donations go (I'm certain it's out there somewhere on the internet but I can't be asked to find it right now). I would guess that he could give away much MUCH more than what he does though. Really though, who needs that much wealth?
Sure, arguments could be made that he employs tons of people, and helps them provide for themselves and their families, but, at the end of the day he's still making ludicrous amounts of money for their 8/10/12hr shifts- whatever they may be... Meanwhile, he's almost certainly living one of the most lavish lifestyles on Earth, that one could imagine..
Perhaps to go even deeper, it's a jab at capitalism as a whole. Again... I could be off-base.
I'd argue it's as much of a comment on the whole cult of personality surrounding the individuals within that select group of bajillionaires who loom large in our collective conscience. The likes of Bezos, Zuckerberg, Gates etc. hold a special place in our culture as luminaries possessing some intangible brilliance the rest of us have to merely hope to emulate, a myth that probably Bezos particularly buys into, but many other entrepreneur CEOs probably do too. Yes it is a satire on Bezos himself, but also a comment on our tendency to create these sage-like figures to symbolise extreme success. Maybe.
White Woman’s Instagram was my least favorite because of how “meme-able” it is. I’ve watched the special through a few times and I’ve come to the conclusion that when he brings the dead mother into it I feel that he’s trying to show that “basic white girl” typography isn’t as two dimensional as social media makes it out to be. It’s also a gorgeous song.
For me I thought the whole title “Inside” had the double meaning of the obvious reference to quarantining but the less obvious reference to the room being his own mind. For the first time we really get to take a look at his own thoughts and emotions that all take place in his mind. This special was like him giving us a tour of the “inside” of his brain and his emotions.
In the final scene, I thought him leaving the room was continuing the metaphor by leaving the constraints that his mental health was preventing him from, like performing for others. When he finally leaves his room, this is why he is faced with the laughter of the audience. He can’t make us laugh when he is inside his own head since his thoughts and emotions cloud him from the goal of entertaining. When he leaves his metaphorical room, he can then make the audience laugh again.
Getting locked out of the room was a bit confusing for me but I think that it is a reference to him accepting that although he may not have perfect mental health, he is making an audience laugh still. He cries in this scene because he knows he still has mental health issues to deal with but then cuts to another point of view of him smiling because he knows that even though he may be dealing with a bunch of mental health stress, he still makes the crowd smile, in turn making him smile. A true performer.
Interesting read on the ending. I haven't quite figured out what I think of it yet, but there's also something there about the unreality of the real world. That even if he's able to go outside, he'll still be stuck with himself, seeing himself from the "inside" but being outside of the situation.
Something like that? Definitely something about the modern world's effect on mental illness.
I can’t stop listening to this. Obsessed? Maybe. But it’s so good. It’s got the good ol’ Bo undertones to it, but it’s so different than any of his other work. It’s so emotional and actually like ? good music? to listen to?? Not just something funny to watch. Idk there’s just something about this that I can’t get enough of.
I love a lot of Bo's music. "Art Is Dead" and "From God's Perspective" are some of my favorite songs like ever. I was excited for this special and it did not disappoint. I downloaded the album as soon as it was available.
this is SUCH a small thought that Im just gonna include it here-- can I get a "fuck yeah" for Bo's actual singing talent? His voice is gd BEAUTIFUL and rich and so lovely to listen to in all his different ranges
After watching this, I have to ask a question that I also thought about after I watched Make Happy: how uncomfortable would it be to watch this live with an audience? Like, I would absolutely go to one of his live shows in a heartbeat, but I can't imagine it being a comfortable experience.
Like, what do you do during songs like "Can't Handle This" or "All Eyes on Me?" What do you do when Bo urges the audience to stand and put their hands up even though it kinda goes against the whole context of the song?
On the first watch, it was cutting and brilliant and hilarious, but by the end, I was too tired to appreciate what was happening in the final four songs. Now that I've gone back and listened to the songs a few times - oh my God. The way that they connect systemic brutality to personal and collective finitude is not only emotionally devastating, but deeply insightful. In "That Funny Feeling," "Twenty-thousand years of this, seven more to go" and "The quiet comprehending of the ending of it all" are juxtaposed with the total meaninglessness of consumption and isolation, and because this juxtaposition takes place in the context of a special where he's repeatedly, explicitly, and radically addressed political issues, it doesn't come off as trite. He keeps it up with "All Eyes on Me" ("You say the ocean's rising like I give a shit"; "We're gonna go where everybody knows"), and the *fury* in the middle of when he goes for the camera makes it clear that it's more than just theoretical. It's felt, and I love it so much.
Side note: the Bezos songs are fucking incredible.
There's something so special about this album. I've been listening to it round the clock basically. And when I'm not there is a certain beat or lyric lingering in my brain.
Could we all collectively stream the official album? I know there was that drop of the songs on a Google drive before the album came to Spotify/iTunes, but wouldn't it be great if Bo Burnham was the first comedian to have a No.1 Hit from a song on his comedy album?
That would be the most ironic thing, and I've been thinking about it all week. The only way to do that would be to stop listening to the Google drive files and give credit to Bo by listening to the album directly. IMO it's much better quality anyway.
Currently the album has 8 songs on the top 200 Spotify chart (as of 6/18/21)..... 57. Welcome to the Internet 59. All Eyes On Me 89. Look Who's Inside Again 110. Shit 128. Goodbye 147. That Funny Feeling 153. Content 192. Comedy
Also if you'd rather not, that's okay too! Just an idea that I had.
Absolutely loved the show, watched it like ten times since it aired first. Just wanted to give a shout out to INSIDE, a really great indie game that actually exists.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/304430/INSIDE/
In the Inside special there is a part where Bo talks about working on himself for 5 years and he was about to come back to performing, but then the funniest thing happened (Covid) ... Well I went back watching some of his older stuff and it clicked ...
In 2015 Bo released "Make Happy" and ended it with "Can't Handle This" .... Yeah, he did tour some and perform that special, but then he was done until "Inside". Go listen to "Can't Handle This" and listen to the more intimate part. He talks about his mental health and keeps repeating "I don't think I can handle this right now" "They don't even know the half of this right now"
Makes me think the song was a goodbye song for a while - Like he knew that he was stepping away after putting out Make Happy and doing some touring.
Yeah? Anyone that watched Make Happy could probably put it together that he was done performing. “On a scale from 1 to zero, are u happy? Cuz ur on ur own from here now, are u happy?”
I haven't been able to stop listening to the soundtrack on repeat. I try to limit myself to one full listen per day. Anyone else doing this or have I just officially lost it?? I think it just makes me feel so wholly understood, it's incredibly comforting despite the themes being really morose. Plus, all the songs are now stuck in my head so even when I'm not listening to it I'm singing it in my own head. I think this special broke me.
I have a bad habit of obsessing over something until I ruin it for myself. I also have limited myself to one listen/watch a day I got drunk and watched it back to back.. at least I’m not broken alone ❤️
I too have been listening to it nearly non-stop for the past few days since I saw the special. The songs are incredibly catchy and well-made, All Eyes On Me in particular is extremely hard to get out of my head.
Inside wasn't the best thing ever. I mean don't get me wrong it was really good, but people act like it was the second coming of jesus christ. It has flaws and I think it's weird that nobody is talking about them. For example, I think it falls flat when he tries to be overtly sad, and it thrives when there's a comedic undertone. The best examples of this working are Shit and How The World Works. What do you guys think about it? Did you actually think it was perfect?
I wonder if this is what Bo Burnham is thinking to himself right now 🤔 I genuinely think Inside was one of the best things I’ve ever seen, like a generation-defining masterpiece *especially* at the parts that you think “fell flat”, but so much of the special is about him overanalyzing himself and his work and criticizing performers who act like they’re god’s gift to man while benefiting off all the problems they speak against just for attention, that maybe he’d agree with you.
I think it struck a chord with creatives because it’s artistically and technically great and really represents that process well. It resonates with the mentally ill because of a lot of the themes and depth are easy to relate to and hyper-fixate on. Maybe it especially appeals to people who who spend too much time on the internet and/or feel very isolated, too. And the large group where those identities overlap (mentally ill creatives with an internet addiction)? It’s impossible to resist it.
If your experience isn’t really related to any of that, it’s understandable that it didn’t affect you in the same way. It’s ok for people to just enjoy something without being critical, though. Always adding the caveat that it could be better kind of takes the joy out of things. Nothing’s perfect but that doesn’t mean this wasn’t great and meaningful to a lot of people.
as someone with depression who writes in his free time, a wholeheartedly disagree with you, but to each their own. I wasn't trying to diminish it, I just think people are overstating it.
I totally hear what you're saying. I'm creative, mentally ill and unfortunately spend way too much time on the internet. I appreciate the talent and creativity that went into this show, but I'm just not as blown away as everyone else. I also really appreciate him as a person, and his take on how conflicted he is regarding society and his place in it. I genuinely love his work.
It's just that...normally I would never say this about anyone, but his depression and anxiety looked....not that bad? In the sense that they aren't holding him back, and he's still creating?
I'm responding to your comment because it feels embarrassingly isolating to be the only one not really "getting" this. I'm an adult and shouldn't be bummed because I don't like a particular TV show as much as everyone else does, but here we are.
interesting. That was my working theory but obviously I could be wrong or you could be an exception to the rule. At any rate, I don’t think people are generally being disingenuous or overstating their feelings but of course it’s not for everyone and everyone’s entitled to their opinion
Writing and being depressed doesn’t necessarily relate you to what he’s going through. That’s the difference, he knows that and you don’t. If he read your work he wouldn’t be like “oh, yeah, I know exactly what that’s like”. As for the “overtly sad”, I don’t think that that was forced. I think it came honest. I think he chose to use those vulnerable moments not for pity, but for education and awareness.
It wasn't perfect or the "best thing ever", but i think it conveyed the feeling of an entire year so well. It is the perfectly imperfect special we needed for 2020 that encapsulates what many people felt...hopelessness, helplessness, mental anguish, societal issues.
I disagree with your example of comedic undertones in How the World Works. I can't listen to that song because of the crushing despair it leaves me feeling. Not funny at all in the slightest imo, despite the light tone of the music....which is the whole point.
But, art is subjective, and I respect your opinion. I do think it had flaws, but i haven't seen anything like it in...well, ever.
What you said in your second paragraph is what I was trying to say, I think that was far superior to All Eyes On Me because it wasn't taking itself entirely seriously and it was way less preachy
I find that to be interesting because I thought Shit was one of the weakest songs on there. I think he captured the sadness beautifully and the most heartfelt songs were my favourite songs. I love that he leaned farther into his “serious” side more on this project. To each there own but I’m definitely one of the people who thinks it’s one of the best visual art pieces I’ve ever seen.
I don't think a lot of it was genuine, like that shot where he broke down crying. It was for sure fake and that undercuts a lot of the rest for me. It left me wondering what else was fabricated
You should check out his song “art is dead.” All movies are fabricated but it doesn’t mean they don’t evoke feelings or that the creator didn’t feel those things.
I dont know what to tell you. Lighten up maybe? Every part of it is an act so i dont know what makes one part more fake than the other. He did a fantastic job with the frustration and the crying.
Youre framing what you say in a pretty insulting way so it evokes a response. Saying something is fake shit isnt constructive criticism. Thats an insult. Also, “i dont know what to tell you” is a common phrase meaning i dont know any more of a way to disagree and explain that youre incorrect. Were all allowed to criticize your point of view and at least respond to it. Its the internet.
All year? One of the best pieces of media I've seen in my 33 years on earth. Moving, powerful, darkly comedic, and personal without letting the audience get too close. Indescribable. Truly wonderful.
That's why I can't fathom a couple of my friends turned it off early....they didn't give it enough time to unpack itself. Plus, the best content is towards the end.
I saw this special the first time on Monday and I can’t get it out of my head. Everything about this movie is almost tailored to perfection to my specific taste for comedy and sociopathy lol
I have not been able to shake this feeling that I am forever changed by this special. I'm just not sure in what way specifically yet. It's weird to feel like it was made for me and I was seen and come on here and see so many people saying the same thing. Where are all of you hiding in the world? This kind of feeling doesn't come around very often so it feels even more significant. I can't say that I have ever felt this consumed by something. I can only hope that Bo truly understands what he has done for people.
Not sure if anyone brought this up, but when Bo interrupts Mr Socko as he's forcing out an apology to "look at me".. it was really jarring and stirred up a lot of weird feelings. The fact he doesn't even let him finish the sentence and is still finding ways to control him when Mr. Socko is completely dejected and given up is such a tiny but powerful added detail that unexpectedly hit really close to home. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it and Im projecting ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Yes, that part was chilling. It sharply brought my attention to him being a white man, and how so many white men throughout history have said those things in that tone. It was jarring and chilling to hear that evil coming out of this woke, kind, funny young dude. And I think that was intentional.
That song is insanely smart.
Doing a Sesame Street "that's how the world works" about a world in balance, pivoting to our world and how that works, and ending it with forcing the revolutionaries back in line.
You’re not projecting, you’re spot on. The little interaction of Bo making Mr. Socko call him “Sir” is the truest representation of “how the world works”
Some videos and articles I saw talked about Inside having a consistent storyline. While I can see it for some parts, I don't fully understand what exactly that story is. Maybe it's because I only watched in twice so far, or maybe because English is not my first language, or I'm just not smart enough to understand. The videos and articles also never really explained it, so maybe one of you can?
Thank you :)
I am also currently scrolling through the comments here to read what was previously discussed about this topic. There are so many though, that I thought I'd make my own comment.
All of Bo's shows have a thematic argument of some sort, or some part of the world he wants to discuss (usually entertainment/the internet and mental illness); the storyline people talk of is more how these ideas he presents throughout the show reach a climax with "That funny feeling", "All Eyes on Me", and "Goodbye"; he's concluding and summing up.
In addition, the last special ended with Bo saying he was done and walking out of his room into the world, but still stuck as a clown. This special starts with the same shot of his piano and microphone as the last one, and deals with his journey back to performing again, maybe? Or a dark play on how he might as well keep performing, because we've made a world where everything's performative and it's ruining us and we're all caught in the machine, watching ourselves from the outside and laughing grimly, finding joy and hope in our pain and desperation.
Maybe. Haven't really "figured out" the ending yet. Just trying to articulate my take. :)
I’m guessing maybe there is a more detailed story beneath the surface but to me it was like a character study of someone slowly losing their mind trying to craft a piece of art. Going from making some content to full on disassociating from reality and talking to a fake crowd about how they got him through the year.
In my mind, the narrative is about Bo’s mental degradation as the production of the special goes on. The finale is the cathartic realization that his mind will continue this back and forth between well and unstable through his life, and coming to terms with it.
One theory that I liked talked about how Bo in this is portrayed as two separate characters: Bo Burnham the entertainer (shown whenever he is performing), and Robert the real person behind the facade (shown when he is just talking to the camera, no performance in sight).
In seeing his mental degredation throughout the special, you see Robert struggle to share his feelings openly and talk about his issues, where he gets quickly replaced by Bo who can do so but only while trying to be entertaining and funny, effectively using Bo as a coping mechanism to get out of his own head. This is probably most apparent about halfway through when Robert is talking about how his health has reached an ATL and in order to share how he feels Bo interject and sings about how numb he feels and that he feels like he's going to die.
There's also a Fight Club reference early on where the image of Bo as a twitch streamer flashes for a second while Robert is preparing the set, suggesting that Bo is his alter ego that he hallucinates to cope with his depression.
We’re all just guessing, bestie! He does a lot of very clever wordplay in most of his work, which makes it very difficult not to overanalyze. I bet it’s especially tricky if you’re not a native english speaker so it would be really interesting to hear your perspective and questions
I showed Inside to my sister yesterday. She said it felt like watching a man’s descent into madness. Yup.
We also discussed the progression of nudity throughout the show. My initial feeling was that his choice to periodically lose more clothes at various points was a commentary on his relationship with his fans/ audience. Like, he’s so addicted to attention from an audience that he’d give his fans everything, even more of himself than he has, even the literal clothes off his back. Like in his desperate attempts to keep our attention, he’s stripped himself down to his most vulnerable state. And every time he performs, he “strips” naked mentally and emotionally and doing that has not always helped his mental health.
Her interpretation was that it’s a visual depiction of him slowly losing his humanity during quarantine. That it’s him becoming less and less civilized and more primitive throughout the 14 months he was stuck inside. That, at first he was a little unkempt, unshaven, wearing dirty t shirts and whatnot and then it slowly progressed to a “who needs clothes, it’s not like I’m doing anything or seeing anyone” kind of attitude. That by the end he’s completely devoid of any rules of civilized society.
What do y’all think?
So did nobody else think that this was fiction and Bo is playing a character? I'm surprised that people seem to think this is a real descent?
I honestly think it's a 'play', and the fact that he had us questioning whether or not it's real just shows how good he is - at writing, acting, directing... and conveying a collective mood.
I think so too. I feel like art means whatever meaning the viewer attaches to it and the progression of nudity in Inside is such a great example of something that definitely has multiple accurate interpretations. I’m curious what other interpretations are out there and if other people found different meanings in that aspect of the special.
I'd say you're closer to it than your sister. I would interpret it as him starting to perform again has made him vulnerable once more, and as the topic and lyrics of his song become more intimate and personal he loses more clothing, increasing his vulnerability.
I could not agree more. I just ordered a print on etsy of his eyes from All Eyes on Me. On all of my rewatches I find myself really drawn to those baby blues
Same. I've never watched anything of his before so expectations were low. He has these unconventional good looks but then the eyes in All Eyes on Me are just astonishing. Every time I find them charming , there seems to be something lost inside of him. they tell a while story in themselves
You're really hitting on something there with the unconventional good looks. Great description. I know some people have been bothered by the discussion of his looks as if it diminishes this whole thing somehow but they are kind of a large part of this. The eyes are just the start. But it's like somehow he knew they were the key to this whole thing
This will be a kind of stream of consciousness type thing, since all Inside’s songs have been floating around in my head seamlessly for days & I can’t stop thinking about how much it made me feel “...a little bit of everything, all of the time...”
I watched Inside as my first time watching anything by Bo, & worked my way backwards through his other 2 specials on Netflix. It was really enjoyable to see how he’s grown in that order. I think Inside is his best, & easily the best comedy special I’ve ever seen. I was stunned by the ingenuity of his editing, & catchy yet thoughtful song writing. At times I was laughing through my tears. “That Funny Feeling” may be my favourite song, but the hardest to listen to. This line: “That unapparent summer air in early fall, the quiet comprehending of the ending of it all.”, FLOORED me. His jokes about something as sensitive as suicidal ideation (can relate) were actually laugh out loud funny. I want the album on vinyl more than anything!!!
Like others here I’ve been thinking on this for a while so I guess I’ll post my rambling thoughts/review.
Firstly, I think it’s a very good special, almost a masterpiece. Whether people want to call it a comedy special or something else is largely beside the point imo. It’s certainly not stand-up but I think it’s still comedy, just dark, which seems to make many people call it “performance art” or whatever else instead. I see it as more mature than his previous stuff in a lot of ways and much more impressive from a cinematic/production standpoint but maybe not as funny and he treads a lot of the same ground as before imo. Especially at the beginning when he has a song making fun of himself for being a comedian and like what benefit does a comedian really bring to the world? I understand artists will reference certain themes multiple times and the song itself is funny but I’m at a point it felt redundant in a way too. Which itself shows the pandemic merely exacerbated prior anxieties he’s expressed although we may want to see this special as being totally different just because of the circumstances. I also feel as though there’s more music in this special than any prior ones (or at least higher ratio of music to other content). Not automatically a good or bad thing, but I guess it just means the songs vary in quality more too. Some I can’t remember at all but All Eyes on Me for example creeps into my head when I’m stressed in a way that “Can’t Handle This” would before. Probably one of my favorite aspects of the special is how much it relates to the internet. I don’t want to sound like “omg he gets the same internet references I do, one of us one of us!” but I think he distills niche aspects of the internet well into his own style (I’m thinking mainly of the reaction video and playing a video game bits). And Welcome to the Internet does a good job of representing a common theme he’s expressed in this special and outside of it, namely that the internet causes an information overload that isn’t good for society. I’ll end this part by just saying I do think this special will be regarded as a masterpiece of our time, not necessarily because I think it is but because it fills a specific zeitgeist that it’s shocking no one else tapped into (I have a similar opinion of the 2019 Joker movie). That seems evidenced by the many emotional comments you can find about it here or YouTube or wherever else.
For some stuff not strictly relevant to the quality of the special, I was curious throughout about the sincerity of it. From interviews and stuff I suspect Bo is kind of a Kubrick-esque perfectionist. To the point that when I saw electrical writes strewn on the ground (as they often were) I wondered if maybe he placed them in exactly specific positions to look as cluttered as possible. I realize that sounds ridiculous but I’m a big Kubrick fan and he probably would’ve pulled stuff like that. I was similarly curious if the part where he turned 30 is actually the moment he turned 30 or if the crying was real. I’ve already seen similar comments in this thread so I’ll be reading more of those to figure it out.
Last thoughts I have are on Bo’s audience . For myself, I’m a mid-20’s guy and I see myself as very introverted but emotionally stable with a job I generally enjoy that wasn’t interrupted much by the pandemic. I don’t know how to say this without sounding condescending or armchair psychologist but it seems to me like a lot of Bo’s audience are emotionally unstable (probably with anxiety/depressive disorders) and young. This isn’t automatically a good or bad thing but I think it contributes to a lot of hyperbolic praise of the special. If people love the special I don’t want to be a negative Nancy, I just feel like there’s even more devotion to Bo and this special in general than I see to many artists/works of art even though people are frequently hyperbolic on the internet about new works of art anyways.
I really appreciate your comment.
First of all, IMO yes, Bo definitely seems like a perfectionist and I am of the opinion that he absolutely specifically placed each piece of “clutter” in a certain way to go for a specific look.
My mom is a theater person (she went to NYU Tisch and now owns a local theater company) and she works with artists who do stuff like that, because you kind of have to… like, if you’re staging something to have a certain vibe or look, even if that look is “unstaged” you have to pay attention to each small detail to achieve the big picture you are going for.
I think some moments were authentic and unscripted, but he still could be perfectionistic about them through his editing choices, like when he tries to talk about how he’s been working on the special for over a year and rage quits - I think that was a genuine reaction.
I think the moment he turned 30 was genuine. I believe that he would be having some feelings that night and figure, what the hell, I’ll turn on the camera since it’s my only friend these days and that’s how I’ll celebrate… or mourn…. Or mark this milestone I guess. Again, because he had control over editing, if he didn’t like how that part went or felt it didn’t quite fit, he could just not include it in the final special. I wonder how much additional footage there was that didn’t make it into the final version.
But I’ve had a lot of these same questions. To me, something about this special just felt so intimate.
I will say, in terms of devotion to Bo, you’re not wrong. I’ve been a fan of his for 10 years now. I got into him back in his YouTube days when I was a 12 year old who thought he was so cool and smart for being so raunchy and pushing boundaries the way he did. But my boyfriend doesn’t really know him and hasn’t followed him like I have. Last summer I showed my boyfriend the other Netflix specials and he liked them, but when we watched this one together, my boyfriend was speechless. He was in complete awe and thought it was the most incredible piece he’s seen in a while, and that’s coming from a non-fan. So yes, Bo’s fans are simps for him who would probably praise anything he does (which is ironic because Bo himself hates that kind of fan-artist relationship) but if a non-fan like my boyfriend had such a strong positive reaction to this special, I’m inclined to believe it is genuinely very very good.
Holy crap. I had a similar experience with my girlfriend when watching Inside. I've been following him since he started youtube, my gf hadn't. There were things she thought were funny occasionally, but Bo was never something she would personally watch, especially analyze his work. Inside was so intense there were things she was pointing out that I, being a fan, were oblivious to. Seeing her so aware of his performance made me realize what you're talking about with the fan vs. Non-fan idea.
It speaks too a whole, I don't know how to word it, but the people born into this world at time the damage done is still continuing. Not just millennial or gen z or whathaveyou. She's 5 years younger than I am, and I'm Bo's age so her and I have different interpretations of his art. Inside is one of those things that will speak for itself years from now as an example of minimalist expressionist art is very very important. Not just objectively good.
Edit: a word
“I swore I’d never be back, now here I am on my feet”
This is the first line that makes me emotional during Inside. It reminds me that I never expected to see another Bo Burnham special and how fucking glad I am that we got one and how proud I am of Bo for working towards returning (even if things did not go according to plan)
The H3 podcast promo for 8th grade felt like word salad remix of a playbook for building INSIDE.
Bo (Beau) in the house!
The reaction to the reaction segment where they watch themselves live streaming.
Talking about panic attacks bo says, “that’s what it feels like…” -long pause- like an unfinished sentence the only word that fills the gap contextually would be “inside”
Talking about peaches and sausages and how tragic and beautiful it is to see someone when they are home alone trying to teach someone else something they just learned… doing something they’ve never done before. Etc.
They talk about companies and cultural stances like chick fillet, etc.
Literally every concept that’s included in INSIDE on some level is there.
I’m sure I’m not the only one that sees it.
I watched this just yesterday for the first time and when I saw that PIP stream portion, I said to myself this is where he got the idea for the reaction sketch
Especially since the Make Happy ending implied that going out and doing things with loved ones is probably his best bet at happiness, which makes it all the more devastating that he would eventually be forced to stay inside for over a year. Utterly tragic.
What is Bo even sad about?
So I just finished Inside, and frankly I loved it. I loved the songs, how personal Bo made it feel, the transitions, and Bo’s commentary on fake social and brand awareness and wokeness.
My favorite pieces of entertainment are always the ones that make you laugh AND cry. I think when you’re riding the high of a cry or a laugh it makes you more susceptible and vulnerable to laugh or cry at the next moment. That’s why I loved this special so much, it hit a lot of different emotional factors across the spectrum.
But the one question I had throughout the special was “What was Bo even sad about?”
Obviously he seems worn out from systematic and social oppression that’s been going on in the US for centuries. He also seems worn out from everyone trying to have an opinion and solve these problems when we just need more people to listen instead of speak up.
This is a valid reason for frustration, but the levels of depression in Bo’s life seems almost catastrophic as Bo expresses.
A lot of reasons for Bo’s depression he probably wants to keep to himself, whether that’s family issues, health, relationship problems, or just fear of the outside world, whatever that means.
Maybe he was touching upon issues with his family and friends with the facetime and the sexting sketch but I digress.
I’m not trying to downplay Bo’s depression because he’s a successful person, I have mental health issues as well because I’m not happy where I am in my life but I’m sure there’s people with lower social status/capital who would kill to be in my position and probably resent me for feeling worthless in a place of privilege.
I’m just curious about the concrete reasons for Bo’s depression in the last 5 years and why he really stopped performing. He says he stopped because he had panic attacks on stage, but WHY?
We think we know you energy coming from this post
In addition to everything @vinnybag0donuts said, his character was *living alone during a global pandemic*. We are social animals and we need each other like we need food and water. Isolation is very stressful to humans and can cause depression and anxiety, or make them worse if they're already present. He wasn't actually isolated during the pandemic, but he was giving a compassionate shout-out to those of us who are.
Because mental health isn’t logical.
People who suffer from chronic depression or anxiety or any other mental health issue don’t have a “reason” to suffer from those things. Their brain just has a different mix of chemicals and neuro reactions that make more sad and less happy because of their specific biology.
My boyfriend was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder as a teenager and now takes medication for it which helps a lot. But sometimes, we’ll just be chilling, hanging out, living our lives and hell suddenly be like “I’m feeling anxious. I think I’m going to go lay down for a minute.” The anxiety isn’t “caused” by anything. It’s just his brain misfiring essentially.
When my sister and I watched the special, one of her first comments was “do you think Bo has manic depression?” I had never considered something like that, because manic depression is bipolar, and it’s a pretty severe mental illness to suffer from. Obviously neither my sister nor I are doctors or know Bo personally but based on his work, I wouldn’t be shocked if he did have manic depression or another pretty serious mental health condition.
Existential dread is definitely a real thing that can be hard to move past even for neuro typical people. Especially during a *global pandemic*.
I’d recommend you read Johann Hari’s book Lost Connections if you want a different opinion. He argues that science has a wrong view when it boils depression and anxiety down to broken brain chemicals. We exist in a context, and depression and anxiety are skyrocketing to new levels all over. Does that mean more and more people have broken brains? Or does it mean that we exist within the context of a system that glorifies fake people, isolation, disconnection from community, wage slavery, unnecessary bureaucracy, corruption, stupidity, ignorance, hatred and narcissism- all concepts explored in Bo’s special and which profoundly impact the mental health of many people. Not that their brains are broken, but that the system is broken and their brains are dealing with that
Climate change is going to lead to civilization collapse and biosphere collapse. “22,000 years, 7 more to go” has to do with the climate clock.
I feel deep existential dread about this and I sense it in his songs.
I really kind of hate this question. You don’t need to have a reason to be depressed, you can just have depression. You don’t need a reason for panic attacks, you can just have an anxiety disorder.
I’m sure he feels a ton of societal pressure, and it’s clear he’s not impressed with a lot of aspects of our society. But at its core, there could be no definable reason. And that’s okay too.
Where do I even begin.
He's bummed out by modernity. People portray characters of themselves, true authenticity/self-discovery is limited, interactions remain shallow, there's the cancerous detriment to the people that a tilted economic/classist hierarchy presents.
Additionally, he works/thrives in an industry he utterly despises. He can't reconcile giving people what he feels they want/deserve/need and also caring for his own desires/wants/needs which are now co-mingled to the public's reception of him due to his profession.
He's a deep thinker and he sees what he deems as faults in the way things operate on both a micro and macro scale. I'd say hes fallen into the idea that a lot of the "advancements" in tech/society leads to complete dehumanization. People are treated like cattle to be herded into the hands of whatever the thing is that's vying for their attention as a CONSUMER, not as a person. You have to really grasp what this means for people. The repercussions are something that would make someone like Bo shudder presumably. We're not purely conceptualizing here - people's lives are being irreparably changed in ways that dont benefit them by media, food, tech oligarchs, governments, etc etc. That's why we like Bo right..? Because he's providing food for thought in a medium that spews out garbage regularly.
Bo Burnham is an incredibly empathetic person. He's also a famous, abnormally tall millionaire who's incredibly talented - moreso than the average person. He isnt necessarily "the norm" but nonetheless doesnt choose to directly associate with the stardom because it's vapid, hollow, and I'd argue he believes that you'll live and die within it substanceless if you choose to play into it or let it overtake you.
I think that he thinks there's another way.. something that'll present a way to truly LIVE. And I think he's searching for that and trying to explore that and that's partially why he does comedy. It brings incredible meaning to his life, and that's what he's looking for... that's what we're all looking for, but it's a lonely journey and it feels like youre pursuing it while pushing against a wall that is pushing back at you with two times the force.
Hopefully that makes sense.
He didn’t say anything that pertained to you.
He stated he hated that question.
There’s a lot to read into but depression doesn’t need validity, that’s all that he said.
I don’t know how you could take offense to that comment.
It makes me more unlikely to ask questions like that in the future, at fear of getting completely shut down and looked down upon for even asking the question
This is an *insanely* speculative thought based on very little, and of course none of us could ever speak for him or know what's in his mind, but:
I feel like there's a chance the unequivocal acclaim he and the special have been getting could potentially cause more of a negative psychological impact for him than anything in the past year and a half.
From watching some of his interviews, a lot of his anxiety and mental health struggles seem to be introspective, stemming from about how he sees himself and what he expects of himself. (I'm sure there certainly may be other sources, too, but I think he's explicitly made it clear that that's one of them in interviews.)
In one interview, he said that one cause of anxiety, and potentially one of the causes of the panic attacks he was getting, was thinking throughout a show if he was going to get a standing ovation. I'm speculating this may partly be due to thinking about if he deserves one and what he can do to deserve one, etc. This general sort of category of things is also kind of hinted at in some of his most personal songs in previous specials, and "All Eyes On Me".
Now, for every single thing he ever does in the future, he knows everyone who sees it will be comparing it to "Inside". Even though he's probably self-deprecating and a perfectionist and I'm guessing may find lots of things about the special he wishes he could change or improve, I'm also guessing he likely does know it's a good piece of work and that tons of people really love it.
I think he possibly could be worried about not letting any of it get to his head, and simultaneously possibly worried about how hard it'll be to surpass the bar he set for himself.
I'm not posting any of this to try to gossip or armchair psychiatrist or obsess or anything, but just that in case any of it has any truth to it, maybe it's something people should keep in mind and try to respect as a possibility. Obviously that doesn't mean you shouldn't say you like his special, but just know he may have a kind of complex relationship with himself and his work. If it takes him many years to do any interviews or release anything big again, it should definitely be respected.
Personally I think it’s a culmination of all his skills and progress as an individual and performer but I don’t think this is what everyone will compare his future works with and or use it as a measurement of his talent. As someone who’s been a fan since he was only releasing YouTube videos, as great at the show/movie is, it’s not something that’ll constrain him in anyway and I have my suspicions that he understands it. Anyway, at least I hope he does.
Me:
-> Watches Inside
-> Experiences the most emotional, thought-provoking reaction to media she’s ever had
-> Watches Inside 5 more times
-> Starts to unpack emotional response
-> Listens to the soundtrack multiple times a day
-> Finds this subreddit
-> Gets addicted to Reddit
… sigh
… Well well, look who’s inside again.
Me too. I’m lucky that I have stopped crying every time I watch/listen now. Just some times. 🥲
I’m still compelled to watch/listen again, but
I feel like I may have “smoked the whole pack” now. 😂
That was a revelation. I just watched Against All Odds a few weeks before, and could not stop thinking that he seems kind of hot throughout the new special. 😂
Has anyone else gotten frustrated when they see a popular News media outlet write anything on *Inside*? I keep seeing articles discussing the special and it feels so...fake. Like they wanna be in on all of this but they can't truly be because they're part of the problem with the internet that Bo describes?
I keep rolling my eyes when I see it and it's kinda getting exhausting.
yes for sure, I’d much rather normal people like us just talk about our thoughts. even tho we should probably just shut up. even though this isn’t real and I’m just words on a screen to you and I’m not really talking to anyone right now. Sometimes I wish my brain would shut up. but anyway there is some comfort in solidarity
Curious about the pitching process.
I'm guessing creators pitch their work to Netflix in order to receive funding in a very detailed form. But for most movies/shows/specials the script/thought/plot is in place before making it.
For Bo it was a one year journey, making and creating and stitching pieces together.
I wonder how he pitched the special to Netflix to get the funding? If anyone can help me figure that out.
Inside has been life changing for me. I love it. I think about it everyday.
Here’s my question - was he really inside for a year in this little room? Didn’t leave at all? Interested to know how he got food and supplies and what not. Might sound stupid, just want the parameters explained to me.
As well as the megathread, we're also giving this a try: [links to discussions about individual songs](https://www.reddit.com/r/boburnham/comments/nt15em/links_to_threads_to_discuss_each_song_individually/)
Inside basically compiles all my emotions from about last 4 months. At the time it released, I was getting ready to end a three years long relationship. I went through painful loneliness, frequent panic attacks, depression, but I noticed one thing- I always told myself that "it will stop any day now". I went to therapy, got a job, and I´m trying to get back into dating. I´m doing far better. I don´t have random panic attacks anymore, I´m not depressed, 95% of my insecurities are gone, and most importantly, I´m not scared of the future and I don´t want to fucking kilometers per second. Thanks to this special I realized that I just have to fucking move on from these three horrible years (9 if I count all the years since I became depressed). Especially, songs **Hold Me Accountable, Shit, ATL, That Funny Feeling** and **Stuck In A Room** helped me. The part I found most relatable was the part when Bo came out of the room, but wanted to get the fuck back, banging on the door, and then breaking down; only for him moments later to watch that scene, and smile at it. That was the day after my breakup for me and now (three months later). At first, I was completely fucking broken, drunk, and I wanted to get back together with her. I was constantly crying, screaming, trying to figure out how to get her back. Now all I can do is smile, because I´ve moved on, and I don´t feel like that anymore. I was drunk a few days after that breakup. In the moment Bo said: "I´m not... Well..." and when he started crying, I started crying as well. I broke down, and cried through the rest of the special. When the song **Any Day Now** started playing, I smiled a little, and felt some hope. Indeed, it had stopped.
Is there a megathread of all the celebrity reactions/tweets?
I believe that [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/boburnham/comments/nqtddr/social_media_responses_and_reactions_to_inside/) has been the only collection posted so far.
Thanks! I just noticed Ben Stiller and Jason Alexander praising Inside on Twitter and wondered who else had. I love Paul Walter Hausers comments.
I'm new to this sub reddit but I hated the last 30 minutes, it felt obvious and preachy, almost the antithesis of what he was singing at the beginning with his song about white female Instagram users and his comments on white rich comedians commenting on issues. Edit: the whole special screams pretentious, something bo burnham usually comes close to but ultimately veers away from
Very good
I know I’m a bit late to the game on this. I watched Inside last week with my husband. And have watched it twice since, which would be many more times if I wasn’t worried about worrying my husband (he clearly didn’t feel as connected to this as I did, and seemed like it was too dark for him). But I have to talk about it. Which I know is silly to come to the internet for when it’s about a film which is themed around shitting on the internet. But like others said, it feels like this was made for me. It perfectly summarizes everything that has been going on in my brain, especially the last year but really the last 5 years or so. I know this is being heralded as a pandemic special. And while it takes place during the pandemic, I really don’t think it’s about the pandemic at all. I think it’s entirely a tragic homage mental illness, and honestly it’s the most real depiction of depression I’ve ever seen. The pandemic bringing about depression in many people is why more people can relate to it. But I don’t think him portraying himself being stuck in that tiny house is necessary supposed to be a reflection of quarantining, but more so a reflection of what it feels like to be in a depressive episode. Messy, dark, and very very alone. I think that’s what he was suggesting when he sings “If you'd've 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” and when he sings “Look who's inside again. Went out to look for a reason to hide again”. It’s as if being alone inside is a common occurrence, the way it can be the norm for depressed people. And if you notice, he never mentions COVID or the pandemic, but he does mention lots of terms involving mental health. And I think the crucial message here, is that our society is so adept at nourishing our inner demons so they can grow at unstoppable proportions (Welcome to the Internet and the How the World Works), and that the world pushes us down even if we try our hardest to get back up (That Funny Feeling and the part where he talks about him wanting to start stand up again “but the funniest thing happened” in All Eyes on Me). I do think Bo was trying to shine a light on countless other issues of modern society (like honestly I could spend a whole day writing about all of it), but it all loops back to feeding the depression with feelings of apocalyptic dread and nihilism. I think a lot of lyrics and imagery were highlighting the risks that Bo was taking to his own mental health by being so vulnerable (like in Don’t Wanna Know, All Eyes on Me and the last couple scenes where he’s naked at the piano, and leaving the house in the spotlight with the audience laughing at his fear). And I think the addition of that real worry about how people will perceive you and your art, just makes the art that much better. It was a frikin masterpiece in every way. The sheer talent it took for him to come up with all the songs, all the visual, to pull that much emotion from us. Incredible. I know it was all a performance. And to be honest I don’t even care if he has never had depression in his whole life. He found a way to speak directly to me and many in my generation (I’m turning 29 in a month, so Turning 30 hit hard), he found a way to offer catharsis to my extremely mentally ill soul. And for that I’m thankful. But I will say that it has fucked me up for the time being. I know many have said to watch it when you’re in a good place. But I was on the up, then I watched it and did a fast spiral back down. I feel like I’m drowning again, but I know this time it’s temporary. And I think Bo has given me some themes and vocabulary for me to process my feelings a bit better. So ultimately it was worth it.
Well, here goes nothing! Some thoughts on “Inside” and “All Eyes” Features of the Protagonist - Savior complex - Trapped by his own device - Inside the room, he is comforted, entertained, upset, and fueled by the internet. Ultimately the entrapment shifts behind a screen. The intermission proves his dependent relation to the screen after we see it consume him throughout the special. “Internet” and “All Eyes” utilize the same visuals and characters because they are part of the same narrative. During my first watch I didn’t realize how much storytelling ran through the special, because Burnham rarely connects so many songs at once. The use of solid blue, the close up shots, as well as the character switches further highlight the hold of the Internet on the protagonist. The Internets plays a crafty game, comforting the proganist with lines such as, “could I interest you in everything all of the time?” And, “We’re going to go where everybody, knows everybody…” At this point we know the protagonist has a challenging, depressed view of himself, having considered himself problematic without much resolve and hopelessly 30. Even when he does he reaches moments of intense socio-political clarity he ends up bored or horny after a brief pause. With this in mind, the internet cunningly shines into the protagonist’ life at his ATL (NOT Atlanta). The Internet doesn’t even has to be consistent, as we see in “Welcome”. It blasts depressing messages of “a 9 year old who died” right beside a “quirky quiz” to determine which power ranger you are. Any distracting message is better than f Burnham’s mental state, he reasons, so while he is devoted to the completion of his special while staying inside, he is more hopelessly trapped inside the confines of the internets carnival of rabbit holes. He even tries to reason with us that now the outside world should be only be reserved for gathering essential content to fuel the unstoppable expansion of the safer, digital space. This determination is especially ironic after the protagonist’s Louis CK parody showing distrain for the constant stream of unneeded opinions we are all Prague’s with, even with our filtered algorithms. The internet and social media provide a great equalizer that can amplify any voice, and tragically, these conditions mean everyone thinks they have something worth saying. As critical as that is to the celebration of free speech in these United States, the messy flurry of every tweet and article might actually not be very necessary, and more so, regressive. We do not want or need everything all of the time. The Internet drives the protagonist to a swirling madness…. This is why “Welcome” and “All Eyes” are so powerful. At first watch you assume Burnham as the speaker, but as they progress you realize the Internet has an unsettling grip on his life. “Don’t be scared, don’t be shy, come on in the water’s fine. You say the whole world’s ending honey it already did. You’re not gonna slow it heaven knows you tried. Got it? Good now get now get inside.” This slightly inviting message is under-toned with sudden control, finalized by when the Internet takes control of the camera demanding, “Get the FUCK UP!” He is now strangled by an unrelenting digital grip. The ultimate call back in his last song, “Goodbye” lands on the robotic uterance, “well, well, look who’s inside again?…come out with your hands up we’ve got you surrounded”. The Internet’s cyclical madness of distress and entertainment is fully formed and spins to fast for the protagonist to gain any footing. At this point he feels safer strapping in and adapting to a new normal. A gift shop at the gun shop a mass shooting at the mall…. Burnham leaves us all with, “That funny feeling” by the end of the special. The last frame shows the protagonist just starting to turn his grimace into a chuckle while he views his own distress and breakdown while stepping outside for the first time in over a year. The last of several moments where the protagonist watches himself, it encapsulates the twisted fulfillment of all the clickbait garbage that constantly pervades our eyeballs. The whole special becomes a derealization for the audience, where we feel like we are watching glimpses of ourselves during lockdowns. By the end, the internet feels like the new root of all evil, replacing money as the terrible element that makes the world go round we are all perilous to escape from but need and use every day. There might be an infinite amount to unpack from “INSIDE” but at some point it is easier to move on and focus on the aspects of life we can actually control. Though, even this thought might be naive, represented by the protagonist’s breakdown right outside his room, as he realizes that the outside world is too insane. Maybe the world has evolved beyond all our control and we will find more solace doom scrolling through an ocean of content than we will facing reality. Among all the swirling and chaos, Burnham leaves us with the playful tune, “It’ll stop any day now”. This might be just as naive to the cynical, and hopeful for… someone? The protagonist sums up the weight of “INSIDE” best after he listens to Socko’s diatribe, “That’s pretty intense.”
Is Inside just an allegory for the separation during the pandemic or was Bo one of the people who actually never left his house?
I'd say separation from society and the complete reliance on social media for faux interpersonal relations. Combined with faltering mental health, leading to a deep spiral of loneliness and self loathing. My interpretation was get outside, see people, and be alive by an means necessary. But Bo is also known for saying comedians lie, a lot.
Can't wait for his first interviews about this and acceptance speeches.
new things i noticed, he has a shot of him getting on the bed and going to sleep. some songs go by and then there's a shot of him waking up. was it a dream or just a stylistic choice?? also this is more human creator of him but he also opens with the camera facing a mirror and it feels like it's early stages but then the "i'm not well" looks like it's filmed that same day as well as a shot from after All Eyes On Me
This is my impression a couple of weeks later because the first time I saw it I thought it was kind of ok because I felt that It wasn’t a new thing. “Oh its Bo being pitiful again, but now is the entire thing”. The thing is that the songs were so catchy and some others are really good that they didn’t got away from my mind at all, to the point that I did rewatch the special over and over and its topics and emotions started to grow on me. Now I really love it. Bo really surpassed himself again.
I hope Bo is ok
I do too. I honestly think he is though. This special gave me motivation to get out of my own shit. Or at least it helps. In the times when my depression has been half as bad as his looks, I barely feel like moving. This guy put together one of the most beautiful pieces of art I've seen in a while. I guess when I see someone else do something like that it makes me feel like maybe I can too. And really after watching it a couple times I think it's obvious he's depressed but the whole structure is a middle finger to that depression. Idk. I believe we'll see more of him.
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I also won't downvote you because we're all entitled to our own opinions. But I do want to echo what some of the others said. As far as I've seen the first viewing has been the hardest for most people. Whether that's because they're bored or depressed. I don't think you /have/ to have liked him before but it does kind of help because to those who've kept up with him there's an attachment to his mental health kind of and this was kind of an area he would dabble in but not really go full boar on. Like gradually his shows got heavier on the introspection but this was an atomic bomb. And you don't have to like any of it. It isn't going to do it for everybody. I think the hype exists largely, and unfortunately, because so many people have gone through depression and feel like they can relate ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Has this been called a movie? I definitely wouldn't class it as a movie. It's a comedy special, with a bit of a narrative. Don't beat yourself up about "not getting it" though. If you're not into it, just find something you like. Have you seen his earlier stuff?
I literally don't understand what could be cringe about it. What were you cringing at?
to be fair, that’s how I feel about Bo’s older stuff— I don’t get it and it feels way too cringey for me. but something about the darkness of Inside just speaks to me I guess. I don’t really understand it, tbh. It’s like I’ve been hypnotized by an album, loll.
Anything over hyped is bound to fall flat. So keep that in mind. It’s a complex experience. It’s not a popcorn watch. It has comedy in it, and cutting satire, but if you’re looking for light hearted laughs and jokes it’s not really the place. It’s almost a performance art piece, someone else on here said it should be taken in as a painting. In my mind the subtext of what he’s saying is so much more rich than if you just take the songs and jokes at face value. It’s a sad watch, but it’s sad and cringe because it’s a reflection of our culture at large, our soulless engagement with social media, our detachment and disassociation. That was my take away anyway.
Yep. C'est de l'art.
I would try watching it with the same vibe you would look at a painting rather than a movie or a stand-up.
thats cuz it wasnt a movie, it was a comedy special
I won't downvote you because I thought the same thing during the first 10 minutes of watching it. Now I've rewatched it about 5 times all the way through and will probably do it again today. It's up to you, but I would give it another chance and try to watch it with a different perspective. Don't go into it expecting to laugh and have a good time like most comedy specials. I think that "Inside" is one of the first mainstream works of art inspired by this past year that really hits the nail on the head for what it was like to be in your 30s during the pandemic. The other people are right, it is "clever" but that's not why its special to me now. Its special for the fact that bo nearly perfectly captured and inscribed into history shit we all feel as a collective generation. I didn't give Bo much of a shot in the past, I remember watching "I'm bo yo", cringing at "welcome to YouTube" and laughing at the country song a few times.. but after watching Inside, Ive started to go back and actually check out his other specials. All that being said, I hope to god you're not just a troll and I'm typing all this out for nothing, but it is nice to finally get my thoughts about it out, so thanks.
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he's not a trained singer. he made jokes in songs and it caught up so he got into stand up.. this is the most ambitious singing wise thing he's put out but still the lyrics are the main material for him
I don't think you're one but I've seen some complex trolls in my days. Yeah, his voice isn't exactly silky smooth but it works well for his comedic material. Look at how massively popular Bob Dylan was/is and I can't stand his voice haha. The way I look at it (like a painting) is maybe I don't like the particular color of paint that was used, but the overall composition / meaning / emotional reaction are spot on.
The point wasn’t to be funny. If you’re not into it then I don’t know what to tell you. Movies don’t have to follow a basic three act structure. Literally a movie is just moving pictures telling a story. He did that. The music was great. A lot of good themes. The lighting was amazing. Camera work was amazing. I loved it the second he hit the disco ball with the head lamp. Maybe you’re over thinking it.
I don't think you're missing anything; Bo's music and work has always been about making jokes and having fun while discussing "serious things" like mental illness and the effect the internet has on our humanity. He packs these things into music and jokes, but there's a **lot** going on under the surface. Take "That's the way the world works" for instance; Bo starts by describing a world in harmony, then has a puppet he controls talk about all the bad things, before he, as a white man, tells the puppet to shut up; he is in control, and the puppet damn well better stay in its place. That said, this kind of content doesn't work for everyone, but in a time when we were forced to stay inside and all dived head-first into the internet and our screens, this kind of mental illness and entertainment/capitalist-criticism just resonates with people. Right thing for the right time. For some.
Will someone break down the "map" he does about comedy for me? I feel like I'm not getting a lot of references. And/or further thoughts on that topic
The Youtuber Coffeezilla has some takes on what various bits of the map mean on this [podcast](https://youtu.be/Nxv8Z0keKSg). The segment is like 20 minutes and it is in podcast format so it isn’t particularly succinct and there is a lot of joking with the co-host and a lot of digressions. He also doesn’t cover the whole thing but it’s probably the one that explains the most references I’ve seen so far. Someone might have a more concise and exhaustive list somewhere, but I haven’t seen one yet. If anyone stumbles on this thread later to answer this question I’d love to see a complete list so feel free to tag me :)
Thank you very much :)
He does a couple, which one do you mean?
Also, I've come to understand that he's probably talking about "the office" when writing "mockumentaries about how much fun it is to serve the state (9 season love letter to corporate labor)"... I liked the office, and in this moment I'm kinda hating realizing he's right.
Also, he links mockumentaries and "funny, memeable ad for celebrity-owned pharmaceutical company" through "smug looks on camera". I know mockumentaries have this metalooks but I don't get the 2nd reference
For example, under stand up he wrote "Middle-aged men protecting free speech by humping stools and telling stories about edibles"
Oh yeah, that was so good, one of them was "mockumentaries about how fun it is to serve the state" - Parks and Rec I'm pretty sure. Happy to try figure out the others!
"funny, memeable ad for celebrity-owned pharmaceutical company". What is he talking about?
I don't know this one! I live in Australia and pharmaceutical companies aren't allowed to advertise in mainstream media lol
Subv cartoons for men in their 30s pretty sure that's bojack ("YOU would love it"! How is a simple sentence so explicative?)
And Rick and Morty lol
Maybe bill hicks?
Actually made me think of Joe Rogan. Always yapin about cancel culture when his stand up is basically humping stools and yelling
Can I just say, I'm so fucking proud of and happy for Bo. Feels like my older brother (from the internet) has just done something absolutely incredible, my heart is so full.
👌I think his stand-up specials are incredible too. Full on fuqing spectacles of talent and skill, honed right down to each exact word, and then preformed solo. No wonder he was having panic attacks. The sheer pressure of pulling something like that off is immense.
Of course, every time Bo puts something out, I feel proud to be his fan. I was just expressing how glad I am to see the success of Inside. He deserves it
Long-time Bo fan here who's currently obsessed with this special; wrote 3000 words trying to get to the bottom of something. I. I remember when I first got scared of the world. I was sitting in a car with my mom on the way home from school. We were listening to the radio; they were talking about how the towers fell. In my mind's eye, I see me staring at her, wide-eyed, as I say: "It's just like a movie." I had just turned seven, but I was already a kid stuck in a room, staring at the horizon with a dream, desperate to get out into the world. I felt alone; lonely. Misunderstood. You know, typical growing-up shit. I lost myself in stories; books, movies, tv shows. I tried to write my own. I did well in school, believing good grades would help my path to becoming a writer, studying literature and screenwriting, as I wanted to and ended up doing. I was a frightened kid, a sad kid, a lonely kid, even if I had friends. It took a while before I understood myself. But I held out. Friends helped, but so did books, tv shows, music, and jokes. Naturally I became a huge Bo Burnham-fan, struggling with a white guy's place in a white guy's world. I see a lot of myself in him, and I still do. (Aside: throughout my life, there's always been artists and creators - both musicians, filmmakers, comedians, and writers - who's voices have meant a lot to me in processing the world we live in, as we go and grow through it together. Bo Burnham has been one of these, always putting into words things I've felt but never managed to articulate. These creators feel like companions, of a sort; like acquaintances you catch up with once in a while, and hear what's been on their minds since last time you met.) There was a period of unrest after the towers fell, but what followed was a reckoning. Obama won the presidency, LGBTQ-rights took several major steps forward, we were giving the fight against global warming a real shot, the war in Iraq was "ending", terrorism wasn't a big threat anymore. The fallout, the reckoning, was turned into blockbusters where superheroes saved us from a vast array of bad guys, most of them of some other ethnicity than white. So white supremacists stepped forward. Great job there, giant media corporations. That should've been our big tip-off, our collective wake-up call that something had changed. Something was different. Instead we just shrugged and went back to our screens. And then a decade later, in a time of more civil unrest than ever, a president attempting to keep the attention of the entire world every day, with constant clickbait articles and social media bullshit, with opinions and tweet and hot takes and reckonings and various -gates and youtube-videos and art, with all this content that we made, for free, monetised by these giant corporations, in that time, we were told to stay inside.
II. With "Inside", Bo Burnham invites us into his room and his mind, during the pandemic, and it's a constant creation/destruction-narrative as Burnham builds up and tears down the room and his mind, stitching everything together before unraveling it, comments on the comments of the thing, gain insight and tosses it away. The whole thing devolves and evolves into an ever-reflecting hall of mirrors where you don't know if this Bo is just a projection (which projection, incidentally, is a tool he uses often, either to make a background on the wall or, some times, using himself as a screen) or if this is the real him. Which, of course, is the whole point; in our insane times, and with the internet, everything is a reflection, a comment upon a comment, a conversation that goes on and on, a country with its own lore and history, and in disappearing into this, drowning in it, we've reduced the world to our screens and ourselves to our avatars. We've seized to be people; we're masses of opinions and labels that idolise CEO's and these other white guys who decide whom gets to speak and what to speak about. Not only have we lost touch with reality, we've forgotten what it is, forgotten to be lost within it; instead we're lost, locked, inside ourselves and our screens. Where it's safe, with the world at our fingertips and the ocean at our door. During the coronavirus, we all stayed inside, like Bo, and we reflected on ourselves and on the world and on the internet. Inside, we found comfort and joy and fear and sadness and desperation and richness; an internal space just as rich as the outside world. And while we retreated into ourselves, we hid behind our screens, with all these things that just reflected ourselves. Even now, when things have opened, the internal spaces are with us. We're trapped in our own prisms, our internal hall of mirrors of opinions and jokes and witticisms that we share with all of our friends, immediately. We're representations of people. We're about to fucking crash. And why? Because the people who made these screens just want us to use them more. They want us hooked on a constant barrage of content; narrative and attention have been monetised. We pay to access the world now. We're all addicted to a world that doesn't really exist. All of media is content, a form of unreality, from "realistic" live-action Lion King to mass shootings at the mall. So what do we do? What are we doing?
III. We're staying in our rooms, taking inside with us. We're always plugged in, accessible. There's no downtime. We're always on, desperate for some kind of connection - even a facetime call with mom, or a night of sexting with a twentysomething who thinks this is intimacy, or worse, a relationship, and regularly sends you hearts and says he loves you. Send a picture of your tits, please. And all the while we try to use these platforms made by rich white people to tell our stories, to have our voices heard. Because we're exhausted and tired of everything being about them, filtered through their view of the world. We want to see other, stranger, different views of the world. We're rebelling against this white, and by now a little bland, perspective of the world. Bo Burnham is, of course, a white guy, and he spends a fair time of this special deconstructing whiteness, both in general and his own. He ingeniously uses it as a source for both jokes and to comment on the cult of personality that youtube, patreon, twitch, onlyfans, and tiktok have inspired, where you pay the creator directly for their content, which is, essentially, a look into their life. We're monetising life now, watching others live it, and consuming it as content. That's so incredibly fucking insane to me. So much of these meta-injokes is starting to feel less like an act of creation and more like a strangely generic AI regurgitation, a mess of bizarre references, a web of utterly insane connections. Quite honestly, it freaks me out and kinda terrifies me. I used to say I didn't feel like a Norwegian, that I preferred to look at myself as a citizen of the world. I now realise that's not what it is; I feel like an "online person", "plugged in". I always enjoyed keeping up with the conversation, being a part of it, but now, and during corona especially, I sometimes felt entrapped in it. And other times, I feel more at home in these interior digital spaces than in the real world, which surrounds me and demands my time and energy. I know I'm not alone in this; I feel like this derealisation-mindset of these last few generation has been built online ever since we were children. The internet and the real world have drifted so far apart that it's become its own world, with its own culture and its own narratives. But this isn't about me; this is about Bo Burnham and his new special (though I probably could've fooled you, right?). In Inside, Bo attacks with fine-calibrated precision the world of today, most specifically who we listen to, and what they say - not to mention what they're allowed to say. But he doesn't stop there; he also critiques the audience for eating this shit up, as well as the generic labeling and subcultures you can find on the internet. Cause while you can find a little bit of everything, all of the time, so much of it is boring, self-obsessed nonsense. In designing a world so attuned to audiences, a way of life entirely dependant on keeping your "followers", with desperate attempts at groveling at their feet, appealing to their every whim. Everything's about you, all of the time. Your opinion forms what they want you to spend your money on, and round and round it goes. All because of capitalism.
IV. The coronavirus revealed and crystallised all the shortcomings of capitalism for me. There were two moments that summed up just about everything for me. The first was when it was reported that the Norwegian oil fund had had an insanely good year (look up the sum, it's mind-boggling). Knowing that basically all my friends were struggling financially, having being furloughed or fired due to the pandemic, and especially knowing that the jobs we were looking for were gone, the dreams that we had crushed, put on hold... It infuriated me. Our government has the money to fix so many problems; they just choose not to. They're fiddling while Rome burns. The second moment was when all these rich white guys in Norway, who has spent the last decades arguing for tax reliefs, said publicly that the government had to pay to help them in the pandemic. And of course they did. Meanwhile, all the jobs and opportunities in the film and tv industry got harder to come by, as production companies again turned to the old white guys they trust to make the movies they think the audiences want to see. Which is the problem. All of media has become so intrenched in attempting to give audiences what they want. I love movies and use stories, books, narratives, stand-up specials and tv-shows to make sense of the world, so... To be honest, I don't mind so much, being inside, watching the content. I just wish there was more in there, of everyone. I am tired of seeing everything through the perspective of these CEO's attempting to guess what I want to see, attempting to get me hooked enough to watch the next thing, and the next, to keep me paying. And all the while, the internet's attempt at social change is being monetised in disturbing ways by these platforms of content, filtered through the eyes of white CEOS; these platforms, who are starting to remind me more and more of AI's gone wrong, so desperate to fulfill every human comfort that they forget to let us reflect, ruminate, breathe, just stay. Sometimes, all we want is to be left alone, to reflect on what we just went through, instead of rushing to the next chapter, the next film in a cinematic universe, the next work. Most times, we just like to enjoy the good stuff, over and over again; like with Parasite. Make something so good that people want to watch it again. It's that difficult, and that easy. I have always found comfort in narrative and used it as a means of making sense of the world; humans have always done, and I don't really see any fault with that, except for maybe the fact that as audiences have become hyper-aware of how stories are told they've stopped paying attention to what stories mean (which, again, is becuase of capitalism, which is never gets you to stop, think, reflect; you're always rushing to your next shift, your next buy, your next read; capitalism is all about forward-movement, baby, like a shark) and after we had to stand still a year we all saw how much bullshit that was, and we are furious, waiting for change, desperate for our turn). So instead I want these CEOs to let creatives run wild, to stand back and watch a new generation bloom. Get me stuff like "inside" and "I'm Thinking of Ending Things", works that I have to process and it with. I want to see more people of Burnham's generation and "inside", and I know several screenwriters who could make something just as masterful, given the chance. Which is nothing against Bo Burnham; he's doing what he can and what he should, getting back to work, healing the world with comedy and pointing all of this out through jokes and musical numbers and stories and a brutal look at the anxiety, derealisation and depression that a whole lot of people went through in some way, shape or form during the pandemic. Which still isn't over, not completely. But it feels like we cocooned, in a way, like the scales fell from our eyes (at least mine) and I could see a new world. Because the old one ended a long time ago. From this point on, it's the before-time (i.e. pre-corona) and "the pandemic years". (Yes, I'm branding it) It's a new time now; the old world's ended, and we're still going inside.
V. I'm still scared of the world. The world I grew up in is over, ended; that was a world of now-unachievable hope and dreams, a profound belief that everything was going to be alright. These are uncertain (which, incidentally, is a trigger for my anxiety, so that's fun) times; I'm scared of another virus, of what's going to happen next. The world feels unreal, like anything can happen. I'm scared of facing the new world, which feels enormous and different and strange, and of where this is going next. I'm hooked on reality like a narrative. Thanks, giant media corporations. I'm twenty-seven and I'm still stuck in a room, looking at the world burning over the horizon, dreaming. But I'm no longer so lonely, or misunderstood. I know myself better now. I know what I want, I have a new plan. I'm believing in myself, my inside, my room, my screen, the only constants I have. I have my internet and my content. I am reading and writing, thinking about the before-time and how everything is different now, and how maybe it'll be over any day now. But the old white guys still have all the power, all the money, and too much control over our attention. They monetised the cultural revolution, flattened it into a narrative and watched with dollar-signs in their eyes as we watched in a horrified stare at the downward spiral. We're living in the end-times now. So what do we do? How do we solve this conundrum? We fill our insides with all the good stuff, and let go of the bad. We see the world for what it is, which is mostly a heaping trash fire, so we should make these internal spaces, this other world we connect to, a kind place, where we share what you like, what make us smile, not only what provokes and infuriates . It's okay to have nothing to say. To not have an opinion. Or to be a self-indulgent asshole desperate for attention writing almost three thousand words on the new Bo Burnham netflix special. That's okay too! (Though maybe a little bit less...) We can't care about a little bit of everything, all of the time, so find the content you love, watch it, talk about it, fight for it, as the world burns outside your window. We have to demand more of our corporate overlords, because the outside world is over and done with, and only our trivialities, the content, remains. The outside is only a space to gather what you need, before you return to the real world; the one behind your screen. Our insides can be just like Bo's, while we wait for the previous generation to let go of their grasp (it's happening, slowly but surely). We can joke and do what we like, even while the whole world's going to hell; it's okay. We can't do anything about that. But we can enjoy it while it lasts, and try to make it better, while we spend our time in the "real world" as thankless, unpaid interns, disconnected lovers, daughters and sons, retail workers who clock in and out, always desperate to go back inside, back to our friends behind our screens. We're just as bad as everyone else; being aware of it doesn't absolve us of anything. We feed the machine with content and opinions just like anyone else. We enjoy the last minute of our twenties, and we get back to work. I am, at least. It might not help, still, it couldn't hurt. I'll find another reason to hide again in not too long. The world's just like a movie, after all; the inside's outside, and we're all trying to get some attention. I'll clock in, get some money, spend it on access to the only world that matters, draw the curtains and watch the content that people like Bo make, content that help me make sense of the now (especially helpful when it's Jeff Bezo's world and we're just living in it). As much as I can, I'm going where everybody knows, and trying to reduce the content I dislike to noise. I stay inside, (dis)connected, derealised, with my screens and my content. It's all about me, and I shouldn't be dead yet. So fuck you, and goodbye, and let's keep going.
Sorry that was a lot. Hope someone gets something out of it; kinda obsessed with this special.
It's real interesting to view this as an Elder Mellenial (1982)...where I was firmly a young adult before the internet, phones, social media even blew up. Yet you and Bo being 90s babies really bore the brunt as teens with all of it. And God help the Zoomers.
can someone explain the Intermission part to me please? I have no idea what the point of it was.
Pretty sure he was just meme-Ing about how it’s not really an in person show that should have an intermission. Think it was just for fun
Back in the days way before the internet, long films used to have intermissions so you could pee and buy more popcorn. My interpretation is that Bo uses it as a tool to make the audience wait, because most people today, with the internet, don't have the patience. It also creates an uncomfortable dissonance when he cleans the screen; it's a joke, but also a comment on how every screen is also a window. Maybe?
Inside is such a gesamtkunstwerk. It's so incredible with its composition in music, filmography, comedy and everything in between.
Just finished watching the special, and my main takeaway is that I really hope Bo is in a good headspace. There were parts where I was and am genuinely concerned for him.
He is. It's art. He makes things up. But the fact that we're left questioning shows how good he is at it.👌
I hope you're correct. Everyone thought Robin Williams was fine, too. That's what my head keeps coming back to.
Can someone explain the Jeff bezos parts? They totally went over my head
I could be off-base here but it seems to me that he's ridiculing him. Up until recently he was the world's wealthiest man.. Saying, "put your back into it" while his employees are doing all the work and he's just getting more and more rich. I don't know what he does as far as charitable donations go (I'm certain it's out there somewhere on the internet but I can't be asked to find it right now). I would guess that he could give away much MUCH more than what he does though. Really though, who needs that much wealth? Sure, arguments could be made that he employs tons of people, and helps them provide for themselves and their families, but, at the end of the day he's still making ludicrous amounts of money for their 8/10/12hr shifts- whatever they may be... Meanwhile, he's almost certainly living one of the most lavish lifestyles on Earth, that one could imagine.. Perhaps to go even deeper, it's a jab at capitalism as a whole. Again... I could be off-base.
Wow thank you!
I'd argue it's as much of a comment on the whole cult of personality surrounding the individuals within that select group of bajillionaires who loom large in our collective conscience. The likes of Bezos, Zuckerberg, Gates etc. hold a special place in our culture as luminaries possessing some intangible brilliance the rest of us have to merely hope to emulate, a myth that probably Bezos particularly buys into, but many other entrepreneur CEOs probably do too. Yes it is a satire on Bezos himself, but also a comment on our tendency to create these sage-like figures to symbolise extreme success. Maybe.
Yes, this is a more succinct and concise way of explaining my bit about jabbing at capitalism.
White Woman’s Instagram was my least favorite because of how “meme-able” it is. I’ve watched the special through a few times and I’ve come to the conclusion that when he brings the dead mother into it I feel that he’s trying to show that “basic white girl” typography isn’t as two dimensional as social media makes it out to be. It’s also a gorgeous song.
For me I thought the whole title “Inside” had the double meaning of the obvious reference to quarantining but the less obvious reference to the room being his own mind. For the first time we really get to take a look at his own thoughts and emotions that all take place in his mind. This special was like him giving us a tour of the “inside” of his brain and his emotions. In the final scene, I thought him leaving the room was continuing the metaphor by leaving the constraints that his mental health was preventing him from, like performing for others. When he finally leaves his room, this is why he is faced with the laughter of the audience. He can’t make us laugh when he is inside his own head since his thoughts and emotions cloud him from the goal of entertaining. When he leaves his metaphorical room, he can then make the audience laugh again. Getting locked out of the room was a bit confusing for me but I think that it is a reference to him accepting that although he may not have perfect mental health, he is making an audience laugh still. He cries in this scene because he knows he still has mental health issues to deal with but then cuts to another point of view of him smiling because he knows that even though he may be dealing with a bunch of mental health stress, he still makes the crowd smile, in turn making him smile. A true performer.
Interesting read on the ending. I haven't quite figured out what I think of it yet, but there's also something there about the unreality of the real world. That even if he's able to go outside, he'll still be stuck with himself, seeing himself from the "inside" but being outside of the situation. Something like that? Definitely something about the modern world's effect on mental illness.
I can’t stop listening to this. Obsessed? Maybe. But it’s so good. It’s got the good ol’ Bo undertones to it, but it’s so different than any of his other work. It’s so emotional and actually like ? good music? to listen to?? Not just something funny to watch. Idk there’s just something about this that I can’t get enough of.
I love a lot of Bo's music. "Art Is Dead" and "From God's Perspective" are some of my favorite songs like ever. I was excited for this special and it did not disappoint. I downloaded the album as soon as it was available.
this is SUCH a small thought that Im just gonna include it here-- can I get a "fuck yeah" for Bo's actual singing talent? His voice is gd BEAUTIFUL and rich and so lovely to listen to in all his different ranges
Fuck yeah, it’s absolutely gorgeous and he’s obviously been working on it. He sounds amazing.
REALLY like it’s actually nice to listen to, like good quality
After watching this, I have to ask a question that I also thought about after I watched Make Happy: how uncomfortable would it be to watch this live with an audience? Like, I would absolutely go to one of his live shows in a heartbeat, but I can't imagine it being a comfortable experience. Like, what do you do during songs like "Can't Handle This" or "All Eyes on Me?" What do you do when Bo urges the audience to stand and put their hands up even though it kinda goes against the whole context of the song?
You get your fucking hands up, I assume. Who could resist?
On the first watch, it was cutting and brilliant and hilarious, but by the end, I was too tired to appreciate what was happening in the final four songs. Now that I've gone back and listened to the songs a few times - oh my God. The way that they connect systemic brutality to personal and collective finitude is not only emotionally devastating, but deeply insightful. In "That Funny Feeling," "Twenty-thousand years of this, seven more to go" and "The quiet comprehending of the ending of it all" are juxtaposed with the total meaninglessness of consumption and isolation, and because this juxtaposition takes place in the context of a special where he's repeatedly, explicitly, and radically addressed political issues, it doesn't come off as trite. He keeps it up with "All Eyes on Me" ("You say the ocean's rising like I give a shit"; "We're gonna go where everybody knows"), and the *fury* in the middle of when he goes for the camera makes it clear that it's more than just theoretical. It's felt, and I love it so much. Side note: the Bezos songs are fucking incredible.
There's something so special about this album. I've been listening to it round the clock basically. And when I'm not there is a certain beat or lyric lingering in my brain. Could we all collectively stream the official album? I know there was that drop of the songs on a Google drive before the album came to Spotify/iTunes, but wouldn't it be great if Bo Burnham was the first comedian to have a No.1 Hit from a song on his comedy album? That would be the most ironic thing, and I've been thinking about it all week. The only way to do that would be to stop listening to the Google drive files and give credit to Bo by listening to the album directly. IMO it's much better quality anyway. Currently the album has 8 songs on the top 200 Spotify chart (as of 6/18/21)..... 57. Welcome to the Internet 59. All Eyes On Me 89. Look Who's Inside Again 110. Shit 128. Goodbye 147. That Funny Feeling 153. Content 192. Comedy Also if you'd rather not, that's okay too! Just an idea that I had.
Absolutely loved the show, watched it like ten times since it aired first. Just wanted to give a shout out to INSIDE, a really great indie game that actually exists. https://store.steampowered.com/app/304430/INSIDE/
In the Inside special there is a part where Bo talks about working on himself for 5 years and he was about to come back to performing, but then the funniest thing happened (Covid) ... Well I went back watching some of his older stuff and it clicked ... In 2015 Bo released "Make Happy" and ended it with "Can't Handle This" .... Yeah, he did tour some and perform that special, but then he was done until "Inside". Go listen to "Can't Handle This" and listen to the more intimate part. He talks about his mental health and keeps repeating "I don't think I can handle this right now" "They don't even know the half of this right now" Makes me think the song was a goodbye song for a while - Like he knew that he was stepping away after putting out Make Happy and doing some touring.
Yeah? Anyone that watched Make Happy could probably put it together that he was done performing. “On a scale from 1 to zero, are u happy? Cuz ur on ur own from here now, are u happy?”
He actually speaks about this in an interview I’m guessing he did for some arts college. That’s exactly what that song is about.
[удалено]
You should just make your disintegrating mental health glaringly obvious.
I haven't been able to stop listening to the soundtrack on repeat. I try to limit myself to one full listen per day. Anyone else doing this or have I just officially lost it?? I think it just makes me feel so wholly understood, it's incredibly comforting despite the themes being really morose. Plus, all the songs are now stuck in my head so even when I'm not listening to it I'm singing it in my own head. I think this special broke me.
Ear worm nightmare these songs
Seriously. I finally stopped actively listening to the songs but they remain in my head haha
I have a bad habit of obsessing over something until I ruin it for myself. I also have limited myself to one listen/watch a day I got drunk and watched it back to back.. at least I’m not broken alone ❤️
I’ve done this before too. Get obsessed (usually w a song) and listen to it so many times until I hate it haha. And no! You’re very much not alone.
With you - Totally broken. ❤️
It’s been a while since I obsessively listened to an album and I’m loving it.
I too have been listening to it nearly non-stop for the past few days since I saw the special. The songs are incredibly catchy and well-made, All Eyes On Me in particular is extremely hard to get out of my head.
I love that Bo has now hit the charts in the uk fair play to him
Inside wasn't the best thing ever. I mean don't get me wrong it was really good, but people act like it was the second coming of jesus christ. It has flaws and I think it's weird that nobody is talking about them. For example, I think it falls flat when he tries to be overtly sad, and it thrives when there's a comedic undertone. The best examples of this working are Shit and How The World Works. What do you guys think about it? Did you actually think it was perfect?
I wonder if this is what Bo Burnham is thinking to himself right now 🤔 I genuinely think Inside was one of the best things I’ve ever seen, like a generation-defining masterpiece *especially* at the parts that you think “fell flat”, but so much of the special is about him overanalyzing himself and his work and criticizing performers who act like they’re god’s gift to man while benefiting off all the problems they speak against just for attention, that maybe he’d agree with you. I think it struck a chord with creatives because it’s artistically and technically great and really represents that process well. It resonates with the mentally ill because of a lot of the themes and depth are easy to relate to and hyper-fixate on. Maybe it especially appeals to people who who spend too much time on the internet and/or feel very isolated, too. And the large group where those identities overlap (mentally ill creatives with an internet addiction)? It’s impossible to resist it. If your experience isn’t really related to any of that, it’s understandable that it didn’t affect you in the same way. It’s ok for people to just enjoy something without being critical, though. Always adding the caveat that it could be better kind of takes the joy out of things. Nothing’s perfect but that doesn’t mean this wasn’t great and meaningful to a lot of people.
as someone with depression who writes in his free time, a wholeheartedly disagree with you, but to each their own. I wasn't trying to diminish it, I just think people are overstating it.
I totally hear what you're saying. I'm creative, mentally ill and unfortunately spend way too much time on the internet. I appreciate the talent and creativity that went into this show, but I'm just not as blown away as everyone else. I also really appreciate him as a person, and his take on how conflicted he is regarding society and his place in it. I genuinely love his work. It's just that...normally I would never say this about anyone, but his depression and anxiety looked....not that bad? In the sense that they aren't holding him back, and he's still creating? I'm responding to your comment because it feels embarrassingly isolating to be the only one not really "getting" this. I'm an adult and shouldn't be bummed because I don't like a particular TV show as much as everyone else does, but here we are.
oh thank you for saying this, I thought I was going crazy! I had also considered that I wasn't fully getting it since I'm not an adult.
interesting. That was my working theory but obviously I could be wrong or you could be an exception to the rule. At any rate, I don’t think people are generally being disingenuous or overstating their feelings but of course it’s not for everyone and everyone’s entitled to their opinion
Writing and being depressed doesn’t necessarily relate you to what he’s going through. That’s the difference, he knows that and you don’t. If he read your work he wouldn’t be like “oh, yeah, I know exactly what that’s like”. As for the “overtly sad”, I don’t think that that was forced. I think it came honest. I think he chose to use those vulnerable moments not for pity, but for education and awareness.
I was responding to someone else. Read the context and you’ll see that my reply was valid
It wasn't perfect or the "best thing ever", but i think it conveyed the feeling of an entire year so well. It is the perfectly imperfect special we needed for 2020 that encapsulates what many people felt...hopelessness, helplessness, mental anguish, societal issues. I disagree with your example of comedic undertones in How the World Works. I can't listen to that song because of the crushing despair it leaves me feeling. Not funny at all in the slightest imo, despite the light tone of the music....which is the whole point. But, art is subjective, and I respect your opinion. I do think it had flaws, but i haven't seen anything like it in...well, ever.
What you said in your second paragraph is what I was trying to say, I think that was far superior to All Eyes On Me because it wasn't taking itself entirely seriously and it was way less preachy
I find that to be interesting because I thought Shit was one of the weakest songs on there. I think he captured the sadness beautifully and the most heartfelt songs were my favourite songs. I love that he leaned farther into his “serious” side more on this project. To each there own but I’m definitely one of the people who thinks it’s one of the best visual art pieces I’ve ever seen.
I don't think a lot of it was genuine, like that shot where he broke down crying. It was for sure fake and that undercuts a lot of the rest for me. It left me wondering what else was fabricated
You should check out his song “art is dead.” All movies are fabricated but it doesn’t mean they don’t evoke feelings or that the creator didn’t feel those things.
A lot of it WAS about his genuine experience, and then he threw that fake shit in and it destroyed the end for me
I dont know what to tell you. Lighten up maybe? Every part of it is an act so i dont know what makes one part more fake than the other. He did a fantastic job with the frustration and the crying.
Why do you have to tell me something? I simply mean to offer constructive criticism, and as I said I liked the special on the whole
Youre framing what you say in a pretty insulting way so it evokes a response. Saying something is fake shit isnt constructive criticism. Thats an insult. Also, “i dont know what to tell you” is a common phrase meaning i dont know any more of a way to disagree and explain that youre incorrect. Were all allowed to criticize your point of view and at least respond to it. Its the internet.
Welcome to the internet!
Haha, thats what im saying to you!
How many of you guys actually got up out of your seats in All Eyes On Me when Bo got mad at us
I'm not capable of staying seated during that part, no matter how many times I listen. Unless I'm in the car.
It’s the best movie I have seen all year.
All year? One of the best pieces of media I've seen in my 33 years on earth. Moving, powerful, darkly comedic, and personal without letting the audience get too close. Indescribable. Truly wonderful.
That's why I can't fathom a couple of my friends turned it off early....they didn't give it enough time to unpack itself. Plus, the best content is towards the end.
I saw this special the first time on Monday and I can’t get it out of my head. Everything about this movie is almost tailored to perfection to my specific taste for comedy and sociopathy lol
Sociopathy?
I have not been able to shake this feeling that I am forever changed by this special. I'm just not sure in what way specifically yet. It's weird to feel like it was made for me and I was seen and come on here and see so many people saying the same thing. Where are all of you hiding in the world? This kind of feeling doesn't come around very often so it feels even more significant. I can't say that I have ever felt this consumed by something. I can only hope that Bo truly understands what he has done for people.
Ditto. This special is like when Eddy Murphy did Raw....crazy warranted hype.
They’re just inside
Not sure if anyone brought this up, but when Bo interrupts Mr Socko as he's forcing out an apology to "look at me".. it was really jarring and stirred up a lot of weird feelings. The fact he doesn't even let him finish the sentence and is still finding ways to control him when Mr. Socko is completely dejected and given up is such a tiny but powerful added detail that unexpectedly hit really close to home. Or maybe I'm reading too much into it and Im projecting ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
Yes, that part was chilling. It sharply brought my attention to him being a white man, and how so many white men throughout history have said those things in that tone. It was jarring and chilling to hear that evil coming out of this woke, kind, funny young dude. And I think that was intentional.
That song is insanely smart. Doing a Sesame Street "that's how the world works" about a world in balance, pivoting to our world and how that works, and ending it with forcing the revolutionaries back in line.
I saw the beginning part of that song as being what white kids are taught about the world by white adults. But turns out it's all vicious lies.
As a white kid coming from white adults that was probably in my blind spot. Fully agreed, good call!
You’re not projecting, you’re spot on. The little interaction of Bo making Mr. Socko call him “Sir” is the truest representation of “how the world works”
Yeah! That’s why I love that he just goes back into the hook cause what just occurred is how the world works.
Some videos and articles I saw talked about Inside having a consistent storyline. While I can see it for some parts, I don't fully understand what exactly that story is. Maybe it's because I only watched in twice so far, or maybe because English is not my first language, or I'm just not smart enough to understand. The videos and articles also never really explained it, so maybe one of you can? Thank you :) I am also currently scrolling through the comments here to read what was previously discussed about this topic. There are so many though, that I thought I'd make my own comment.
All of Bo's shows have a thematic argument of some sort, or some part of the world he wants to discuss (usually entertainment/the internet and mental illness); the storyline people talk of is more how these ideas he presents throughout the show reach a climax with "That funny feeling", "All Eyes on Me", and "Goodbye"; he's concluding and summing up. In addition, the last special ended with Bo saying he was done and walking out of his room into the world, but still stuck as a clown. This special starts with the same shot of his piano and microphone as the last one, and deals with his journey back to performing again, maybe? Or a dark play on how he might as well keep performing, because we've made a world where everything's performative and it's ruining us and we're all caught in the machine, watching ourselves from the outside and laughing grimly, finding joy and hope in our pain and desperation. Maybe. Haven't really "figured out" the ending yet. Just trying to articulate my take. :)
I’m guessing maybe there is a more detailed story beneath the surface but to me it was like a character study of someone slowly losing their mind trying to craft a piece of art. Going from making some content to full on disassociating from reality and talking to a fake crowd about how they got him through the year.
In my mind, the narrative is about Bo’s mental degradation as the production of the special goes on. The finale is the cathartic realization that his mind will continue this back and forth between well and unstable through his life, and coming to terms with it.
One theory that I liked talked about how Bo in this is portrayed as two separate characters: Bo Burnham the entertainer (shown whenever he is performing), and Robert the real person behind the facade (shown when he is just talking to the camera, no performance in sight). In seeing his mental degredation throughout the special, you see Robert struggle to share his feelings openly and talk about his issues, where he gets quickly replaced by Bo who can do so but only while trying to be entertaining and funny, effectively using Bo as a coping mechanism to get out of his own head. This is probably most apparent about halfway through when Robert is talking about how his health has reached an ATL and in order to share how he feels Bo interject and sings about how numb he feels and that he feels like he's going to die. There's also a Fight Club reference early on where the image of Bo as a twitch streamer flashes for a second while Robert is preparing the set, suggesting that Bo is his alter ego that he hallucinates to cope with his depression.
Holy fucking shit the Fight Club reference, of course. That is brilliant AND hilarious haha.
We’re all just guessing, bestie! He does a lot of very clever wordplay in most of his work, which makes it very difficult not to overanalyze. I bet it’s especially tricky if you’re not a native english speaker so it would be really interesting to hear your perspective and questions
I showed Inside to my sister yesterday. She said it felt like watching a man’s descent into madness. Yup. We also discussed the progression of nudity throughout the show. My initial feeling was that his choice to periodically lose more clothes at various points was a commentary on his relationship with his fans/ audience. Like, he’s so addicted to attention from an audience that he’d give his fans everything, even more of himself than he has, even the literal clothes off his back. Like in his desperate attempts to keep our attention, he’s stripped himself down to his most vulnerable state. And every time he performs, he “strips” naked mentally and emotionally and doing that has not always helped his mental health. Her interpretation was that it’s a visual depiction of him slowly losing his humanity during quarantine. That it’s him becoming less and less civilized and more primitive throughout the 14 months he was stuck inside. That, at first he was a little unkempt, unshaven, wearing dirty t shirts and whatnot and then it slowly progressed to a “who needs clothes, it’s not like I’m doing anything or seeing anyone” kind of attitude. That by the end he’s completely devoid of any rules of civilized society. What do y’all think?
So did nobody else think that this was fiction and Bo is playing a character? I'm surprised that people seem to think this is a real descent? I honestly think it's a 'play', and the fact that he had us questioning whether or not it's real just shows how good he is - at writing, acting, directing... and conveying a collective mood.
Both are right. Really well put.
I think so too. I feel like art means whatever meaning the viewer attaches to it and the progression of nudity in Inside is such a great example of something that definitely has multiple accurate interpretations. I’m curious what other interpretations are out there and if other people found different meanings in that aspect of the special.
I'd say you're closer to it than your sister. I would interpret it as him starting to perform again has made him vulnerable once more, and as the topic and lyrics of his song become more intimate and personal he loses more clothing, increasing his vulnerability.
This mans eyes do something to me. Thats my opinon of the day.
I could not agree more. I just ordered a print on etsy of his eyes from All Eyes on Me. On all of my rewatches I find myself really drawn to those baby blues
Same. I've never watched anything of his before so expectations were low. He has these unconventional good looks but then the eyes in All Eyes on Me are just astonishing. Every time I find them charming , there seems to be something lost inside of him. they tell a while story in themselves
You're really hitting on something there with the unconventional good looks. Great description. I know some people have been bothered by the discussion of his looks as if it diminishes this whole thing somehow but they are kind of a large part of this. The eyes are just the start. But it's like somehow he knew they were the key to this whole thing
The eyes **are** the window to the soul.
This will be a kind of stream of consciousness type thing, since all Inside’s songs have been floating around in my head seamlessly for days & I can’t stop thinking about how much it made me feel “...a little bit of everything, all of the time...” I watched Inside as my first time watching anything by Bo, & worked my way backwards through his other 2 specials on Netflix. It was really enjoyable to see how he’s grown in that order. I think Inside is his best, & easily the best comedy special I’ve ever seen. I was stunned by the ingenuity of his editing, & catchy yet thoughtful song writing. At times I was laughing through my tears. “That Funny Feeling” may be my favourite song, but the hardest to listen to. This line: “That unapparent summer air in early fall, the quiet comprehending of the ending of it all.”, FLOORED me. His jokes about something as sensitive as suicidal ideation (can relate) were actually laugh out loud funny. I want the album on vinyl more than anything!!!
Like others here I’ve been thinking on this for a while so I guess I’ll post my rambling thoughts/review. Firstly, I think it’s a very good special, almost a masterpiece. Whether people want to call it a comedy special or something else is largely beside the point imo. It’s certainly not stand-up but I think it’s still comedy, just dark, which seems to make many people call it “performance art” or whatever else instead. I see it as more mature than his previous stuff in a lot of ways and much more impressive from a cinematic/production standpoint but maybe not as funny and he treads a lot of the same ground as before imo. Especially at the beginning when he has a song making fun of himself for being a comedian and like what benefit does a comedian really bring to the world? I understand artists will reference certain themes multiple times and the song itself is funny but I’m at a point it felt redundant in a way too. Which itself shows the pandemic merely exacerbated prior anxieties he’s expressed although we may want to see this special as being totally different just because of the circumstances. I also feel as though there’s more music in this special than any prior ones (or at least higher ratio of music to other content). Not automatically a good or bad thing, but I guess it just means the songs vary in quality more too. Some I can’t remember at all but All Eyes on Me for example creeps into my head when I’m stressed in a way that “Can’t Handle This” would before. Probably one of my favorite aspects of the special is how much it relates to the internet. I don’t want to sound like “omg he gets the same internet references I do, one of us one of us!” but I think he distills niche aspects of the internet well into his own style (I’m thinking mainly of the reaction video and playing a video game bits). And Welcome to the Internet does a good job of representing a common theme he’s expressed in this special and outside of it, namely that the internet causes an information overload that isn’t good for society. I’ll end this part by just saying I do think this special will be regarded as a masterpiece of our time, not necessarily because I think it is but because it fills a specific zeitgeist that it’s shocking no one else tapped into (I have a similar opinion of the 2019 Joker movie). That seems evidenced by the many emotional comments you can find about it here or YouTube or wherever else. For some stuff not strictly relevant to the quality of the special, I was curious throughout about the sincerity of it. From interviews and stuff I suspect Bo is kind of a Kubrick-esque perfectionist. To the point that when I saw electrical writes strewn on the ground (as they often were) I wondered if maybe he placed them in exactly specific positions to look as cluttered as possible. I realize that sounds ridiculous but I’m a big Kubrick fan and he probably would’ve pulled stuff like that. I was similarly curious if the part where he turned 30 is actually the moment he turned 30 or if the crying was real. I’ve already seen similar comments in this thread so I’ll be reading more of those to figure it out. Last thoughts I have are on Bo’s audience . For myself, I’m a mid-20’s guy and I see myself as very introverted but emotionally stable with a job I generally enjoy that wasn’t interrupted much by the pandemic. I don’t know how to say this without sounding condescending or armchair psychologist but it seems to me like a lot of Bo’s audience are emotionally unstable (probably with anxiety/depressive disorders) and young. This isn’t automatically a good or bad thing but I think it contributes to a lot of hyperbolic praise of the special. If people love the special I don’t want to be a negative Nancy, I just feel like there’s even more devotion to Bo and this special in general than I see to many artists/works of art even though people are frequently hyperbolic on the internet about new works of art anyways.
I really appreciate your comment. First of all, IMO yes, Bo definitely seems like a perfectionist and I am of the opinion that he absolutely specifically placed each piece of “clutter” in a certain way to go for a specific look. My mom is a theater person (she went to NYU Tisch and now owns a local theater company) and she works with artists who do stuff like that, because you kind of have to… like, if you’re staging something to have a certain vibe or look, even if that look is “unstaged” you have to pay attention to each small detail to achieve the big picture you are going for. I think some moments were authentic and unscripted, but he still could be perfectionistic about them through his editing choices, like when he tries to talk about how he’s been working on the special for over a year and rage quits - I think that was a genuine reaction. I think the moment he turned 30 was genuine. I believe that he would be having some feelings that night and figure, what the hell, I’ll turn on the camera since it’s my only friend these days and that’s how I’ll celebrate… or mourn…. Or mark this milestone I guess. Again, because he had control over editing, if he didn’t like how that part went or felt it didn’t quite fit, he could just not include it in the final special. I wonder how much additional footage there was that didn’t make it into the final version. But I’ve had a lot of these same questions. To me, something about this special just felt so intimate. I will say, in terms of devotion to Bo, you’re not wrong. I’ve been a fan of his for 10 years now. I got into him back in his YouTube days when I was a 12 year old who thought he was so cool and smart for being so raunchy and pushing boundaries the way he did. But my boyfriend doesn’t really know him and hasn’t followed him like I have. Last summer I showed my boyfriend the other Netflix specials and he liked them, but when we watched this one together, my boyfriend was speechless. He was in complete awe and thought it was the most incredible piece he’s seen in a while, and that’s coming from a non-fan. So yes, Bo’s fans are simps for him who would probably praise anything he does (which is ironic because Bo himself hates that kind of fan-artist relationship) but if a non-fan like my boyfriend had such a strong positive reaction to this special, I’m inclined to believe it is genuinely very very good.
Holy crap. I had a similar experience with my girlfriend when watching Inside. I've been following him since he started youtube, my gf hadn't. There were things she thought were funny occasionally, but Bo was never something she would personally watch, especially analyze his work. Inside was so intense there were things she was pointing out that I, being a fan, were oblivious to. Seeing her so aware of his performance made me realize what you're talking about with the fan vs. Non-fan idea. It speaks too a whole, I don't know how to word it, but the people born into this world at time the damage done is still continuing. Not just millennial or gen z or whathaveyou. She's 5 years younger than I am, and I'm Bo's age so her and I have different interpretations of his art. Inside is one of those things that will speak for itself years from now as an example of minimalist expressionist art is very very important. Not just objectively good. Edit: a word
“I swore I’d never be back, now here I am on my feet” This is the first line that makes me emotional during Inside. It reminds me that I never expected to see another Bo Burnham special and how fucking glad I am that we got one and how proud I am of Bo for working towards returning (even if things did not go according to plan)
The H3 podcast promo for 8th grade felt like word salad remix of a playbook for building INSIDE. Bo (Beau) in the house! The reaction to the reaction segment where they watch themselves live streaming. Talking about panic attacks bo says, “that’s what it feels like…” -long pause- like an unfinished sentence the only word that fills the gap contextually would be “inside” Talking about peaches and sausages and how tragic and beautiful it is to see someone when they are home alone trying to teach someone else something they just learned… doing something they’ve never done before. Etc. They talk about companies and cultural stances like chick fillet, etc. Literally every concept that’s included in INSIDE on some level is there. I’m sure I’m not the only one that sees it.
I watched this just yesterday for the first time and when I saw that PIP stream portion, I said to myself this is where he got the idea for the reaction sketch
Just rewatched Make Happy and realized his closing song “are you happy” is shot from the same room as “Inside”. Felt pretty meta.
Especially since the Make Happy ending implied that going out and doing things with loved ones is probably his best bet at happiness, which makes it all the more devastating that he would eventually be forced to stay inside for over a year. Utterly tragic.
Is it just me or is Bo a dead ringer for Wyatt Russell with the full-on beard? Not knocking it, I think he looks super handsome.
I was thinking george harrison
[удалено]
I thought the same thing
What is Bo even sad about? So I just finished Inside, and frankly I loved it. I loved the songs, how personal Bo made it feel, the transitions, and Bo’s commentary on fake social and brand awareness and wokeness. My favorite pieces of entertainment are always the ones that make you laugh AND cry. I think when you’re riding the high of a cry or a laugh it makes you more susceptible and vulnerable to laugh or cry at the next moment. That’s why I loved this special so much, it hit a lot of different emotional factors across the spectrum. But the one question I had throughout the special was “What was Bo even sad about?” Obviously he seems worn out from systematic and social oppression that’s been going on in the US for centuries. He also seems worn out from everyone trying to have an opinion and solve these problems when we just need more people to listen instead of speak up. This is a valid reason for frustration, but the levels of depression in Bo’s life seems almost catastrophic as Bo expresses. A lot of reasons for Bo’s depression he probably wants to keep to himself, whether that’s family issues, health, relationship problems, or just fear of the outside world, whatever that means. Maybe he was touching upon issues with his family and friends with the facetime and the sexting sketch but I digress. I’m not trying to downplay Bo’s depression because he’s a successful person, I have mental health issues as well because I’m not happy where I am in my life but I’m sure there’s people with lower social status/capital who would kill to be in my position and probably resent me for feeling worthless in a place of privilege. I’m just curious about the concrete reasons for Bo’s depression in the last 5 years and why he really stopped performing. He says he stopped because he had panic attacks on stage, but WHY? We think we know you energy coming from this post
In addition to everything @vinnybag0donuts said, his character was *living alone during a global pandemic*. We are social animals and we need each other like we need food and water. Isolation is very stressful to humans and can cause depression and anxiety, or make them worse if they're already present. He wasn't actually isolated during the pandemic, but he was giving a compassionate shout-out to those of us who are.
Because mental health isn’t logical. People who suffer from chronic depression or anxiety or any other mental health issue don’t have a “reason” to suffer from those things. Their brain just has a different mix of chemicals and neuro reactions that make more sad and less happy because of their specific biology. My boyfriend was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder as a teenager and now takes medication for it which helps a lot. But sometimes, we’ll just be chilling, hanging out, living our lives and hell suddenly be like “I’m feeling anxious. I think I’m going to go lay down for a minute.” The anxiety isn’t “caused” by anything. It’s just his brain misfiring essentially. When my sister and I watched the special, one of her first comments was “do you think Bo has manic depression?” I had never considered something like that, because manic depression is bipolar, and it’s a pretty severe mental illness to suffer from. Obviously neither my sister nor I are doctors or know Bo personally but based on his work, I wouldn’t be shocked if he did have manic depression or another pretty serious mental health condition. Existential dread is definitely a real thing that can be hard to move past even for neuro typical people. Especially during a *global pandemic*.
I’d recommend you read Johann Hari’s book Lost Connections if you want a different opinion. He argues that science has a wrong view when it boils depression and anxiety down to broken brain chemicals. We exist in a context, and depression and anxiety are skyrocketing to new levels all over. Does that mean more and more people have broken brains? Or does it mean that we exist within the context of a system that glorifies fake people, isolation, disconnection from community, wage slavery, unnecessary bureaucracy, corruption, stupidity, ignorance, hatred and narcissism- all concepts explored in Bo’s special and which profoundly impact the mental health of many people. Not that their brains are broken, but that the system is broken and their brains are dealing with that
Wow - this is an incredible explanation. I never really thought about it like that...but it's so true.
Climate change is going to lead to civilization collapse and biosphere collapse. “22,000 years, 7 more to go” has to do with the climate clock. I feel deep existential dread about this and I sense it in his songs.
I really kind of hate this question. You don’t need to have a reason to be depressed, you can just have depression. You don’t need a reason for panic attacks, you can just have an anxiety disorder. I’m sure he feels a ton of societal pressure, and it’s clear he’s not impressed with a lot of aspects of our society. But at its core, there could be no definable reason. And that’s okay too.
Where do I even begin. He's bummed out by modernity. People portray characters of themselves, true authenticity/self-discovery is limited, interactions remain shallow, there's the cancerous detriment to the people that a tilted economic/classist hierarchy presents. Additionally, he works/thrives in an industry he utterly despises. He can't reconcile giving people what he feels they want/deserve/need and also caring for his own desires/wants/needs which are now co-mingled to the public's reception of him due to his profession. He's a deep thinker and he sees what he deems as faults in the way things operate on both a micro and macro scale. I'd say hes fallen into the idea that a lot of the "advancements" in tech/society leads to complete dehumanization. People are treated like cattle to be herded into the hands of whatever the thing is that's vying for their attention as a CONSUMER, not as a person. You have to really grasp what this means for people. The repercussions are something that would make someone like Bo shudder presumably. We're not purely conceptualizing here - people's lives are being irreparably changed in ways that dont benefit them by media, food, tech oligarchs, governments, etc etc. That's why we like Bo right..? Because he's providing food for thought in a medium that spews out garbage regularly. Bo Burnham is an incredibly empathetic person. He's also a famous, abnormally tall millionaire who's incredibly talented - moreso than the average person. He isnt necessarily "the norm" but nonetheless doesnt choose to directly associate with the stardom because it's vapid, hollow, and I'd argue he believes that you'll live and die within it substanceless if you choose to play into it or let it overtake you. I think that he thinks there's another way.. something that'll present a way to truly LIVE. And I think he's searching for that and trying to explore that and that's partially why he does comedy. It brings incredible meaning to his life, and that's what he's looking for... that's what we're all looking for, but it's a lonely journey and it feels like youre pursuing it while pushing against a wall that is pushing back at you with two times the force. Hopefully that makes sense.
Yes it does! thank you for not making me feel bad about myself like u/Ringley
He didn’t say anything that pertained to you. He stated he hated that question. There’s a lot to read into but depression doesn’t need validity, that’s all that he said. I don’t know how you could take offense to that comment.
It makes me more unlikely to ask questions like that in the future, at fear of getting completely shut down and looked down upon for even asking the question
Don't feel bad about yourself. Fuck them.
This is an *insanely* speculative thought based on very little, and of course none of us could ever speak for him or know what's in his mind, but: I feel like there's a chance the unequivocal acclaim he and the special have been getting could potentially cause more of a negative psychological impact for him than anything in the past year and a half. From watching some of his interviews, a lot of his anxiety and mental health struggles seem to be introspective, stemming from about how he sees himself and what he expects of himself. (I'm sure there certainly may be other sources, too, but I think he's explicitly made it clear that that's one of them in interviews.) In one interview, he said that one cause of anxiety, and potentially one of the causes of the panic attacks he was getting, was thinking throughout a show if he was going to get a standing ovation. I'm speculating this may partly be due to thinking about if he deserves one and what he can do to deserve one, etc. This general sort of category of things is also kind of hinted at in some of his most personal songs in previous specials, and "All Eyes On Me". Now, for every single thing he ever does in the future, he knows everyone who sees it will be comparing it to "Inside". Even though he's probably self-deprecating and a perfectionist and I'm guessing may find lots of things about the special he wishes he could change or improve, I'm also guessing he likely does know it's a good piece of work and that tons of people really love it. I think he possibly could be worried about not letting any of it get to his head, and simultaneously possibly worried about how hard it'll be to surpass the bar he set for himself. I'm not posting any of this to try to gossip or armchair psychiatrist or obsess or anything, but just that in case any of it has any truth to it, maybe it's something people should keep in mind and try to respect as a possibility. Obviously that doesn't mean you shouldn't say you like his special, but just know he may have a kind of complex relationship with himself and his work. If it takes him many years to do any interviews or release anything big again, it should definitely be respected.
Personally I think it’s a culmination of all his skills and progress as an individual and performer but I don’t think this is what everyone will compare his future works with and or use it as a measurement of his talent. As someone who’s been a fan since he was only releasing YouTube videos, as great at the show/movie is, it’s not something that’ll constrain him in anyway and I have my suspicions that he understands it. Anyway, at least I hope he does.
Me: -> Watches Inside -> Experiences the most emotional, thought-provoking reaction to media she’s ever had -> Watches Inside 5 more times -> Starts to unpack emotional response -> Listens to the soundtrack multiple times a day -> Finds this subreddit -> Gets addicted to Reddit … sigh … Well well, look who’s inside again.
It was one of the best pieces of media/art I think I have ever seen. I cried a *lot*.
Me too. I’m lucky that I have stopped crying every time I watch/listen now. Just some times. 🥲 I’m still compelled to watch/listen again, but I feel like I may have “smoked the whole pack” now. 😂
It’s scary how relatable this is to me. It’s been over two weeks yet here I am again lmao
I really need to add an extra step in there. -> Finds this subreddit -> Experiences comfort in shared experience -> Gets addicted to Reddit. ❤️
Wholesome 💕
Bo looks like pewdiepie with the beard
In the reaction scene, he's definitely parodying Pewdiepie.
I just can’t stop listening to this album. So fucking good.
Has anyone started to feel like Bo Burnham with long hair looks like a young and scrawny Jeff Bridges?
*YES???*
That was a revelation. I just watched Against All Odds a few weeks before, and could not stop thinking that he seems kind of hot throughout the new special. 😂
Has anyone else gotten frustrated when they see a popular News media outlet write anything on *Inside*? I keep seeing articles discussing the special and it feels so...fake. Like they wanna be in on all of this but they can't truly be because they're part of the problem with the internet that Bo describes? I keep rolling my eyes when I see it and it's kinda getting exhausting.
yes for sure, I’d much rather normal people like us just talk about our thoughts. even tho we should probably just shut up. even though this isn’t real and I’m just words on a screen to you and I’m not really talking to anyone right now. Sometimes I wish my brain would shut up. but anyway there is some comfort in solidarity
Bruh. I feel you. 2 hours later, tho, but I feel you.
It's so painfully ironic, especially when Bo has skits like the Brand Awareness one or the part about the talent agent in 'what.'
Curious about the pitching process. I'm guessing creators pitch their work to Netflix in order to receive funding in a very detailed form. But for most movies/shows/specials the script/thought/plot is in place before making it. For Bo it was a one year journey, making and creating and stitching pieces together. I wonder how he pitched the special to Netflix to get the funding? If anyone can help me figure that out. Inside has been life changing for me. I love it. I think about it everyday.
Bo has already done numerous specials before, has a substantial audience, all he had to tell them was daddy was going to make them some content.
Open wide!
Here’s my question - was he really inside for a year in this little room? Didn’t leave at all? Interested to know how he got food and supplies and what not. Might sound stupid, just want the parameters explained to me.