*I’ll give a content warning up here that we’ll be talking about mental health and suicide here*
Bo Burnham: Does everyone have to have an opinion on everything all of the time?
Me: I agree. Also I’m going to write my opinion on you and your special.
In the short two weeks that Bo Burnham’s Netflix special, titled Inside, has been out I feel as if I’ve watched every TikTok and read every article analyzing and critiquing it. It seems as if every lyric and cinematographic choice has been inspected from top to bottom by audiences.
What could I possibly say that hasn’t already been said?
Nine times out of ten, I try to avoid any type of media that will make me feel things I don’t want to feel and send me into a spiral of existential dread. I first feared, like I do with almost any work of art, that Inside would take me down a dark path of emotions. Instead it left me feeling oddly and strangely comforted. As someone who deals with depression and anxiety (Wellbutrin and Lexapro gang, rise up) and has turned to interviews with Bo talking about his anxiety, I was once again touched by his vulnerability and genuineness.
If you’re not familiar with Bo Burnham, we’ll back up. Many of us were first introduced to him in the early days of YouTube; he first entered my atmosphere in high school in my friend Matt’s basement. I remember crowding around his family’s computer while watching Bo’s channel where he posted his musical comedy. Even at a young age, his clever style of comedy aimed to make you feel uncomfortable and taken off guard, but by the end, feeling sentimental and self-aware.
After experiencing debilitating anxiety and severe panic attacks while performing live, he took time off to work on his mental health (this is important context for Inside). During that time, he acted in TV and film, and directed, including the movie Eighth Grade. He stated in Inside in the song Hands Up (oh yes, we will get to that song), that he decided in January 2020 he was ready to perform live again. But then the funniest thing happened… a global pandemic.
Thus, without a stage to perform on or a live audience to interact with, we have Inside, which he wrote, filmed, directed and edited entirely. I don’t normally give a white, privileged man this much credit. But I can appreciate that he acknowledges it.
In an attempt to be self-aware, I am mindful of the irony that I, a person who has access to a computer and an opinion to share, is writing a piece on Inside. In the special, Bo states, “Is it necessary that every single person on this planet expresses every single opinion that they have on every single thing that occurs all at the same time. Is that necessary?”. No it is not, yet here I am.
Inside touches on a multitude of topics - Internet culture, social media, isolation, mental health, aging, suicide, capitalism, to name a few. It’s takes place entirely in one room, and with the use of lighting and props, each segment feels uniquely its own. The way he’s able to simulate a Forbes interview with a CEO (the interlude before White Woman’s Instagram) and as YouTuber talking to their subscribers (after Sexting. Hello David Dobrik) is scarily accurate.
There are 20 songs - some shorter, some longer - and in between songs, there are interludes of Bo editing the song we just watched him perform, experiencing breakdowns or sharing his thoughts. The soundtrack will be on Spotify tomorrow - I originally had declared that Olivia Rodrigo’s Good 4 U would be my top song on my Spotify wrapped, but it’s now looking like Hands Up may be taking that place.
There is so much to dissect in this special, and it seems like something that everyone who watches will take different pieces away from it.
I’ll share some moments in the special that had me hit the rewind:
When he refers to himself by his full name - Robert - in Opening.
When he says “Honey, it already did” in Hands Up, in reference to the world ending.
In White Woman’s Instagram, after singing about the superficial things we post online, he then describes a woman’s caption for her mother who passed away. It’s a moment of true vulnerability in between photos of pumpkins, wine and fuzzy socks.
One of my favorite, quiet parts of Inside is when Bo sits down with his guitar. “I can’t really play the guitar very well, or sing,” he says “So you know, apologies,” and then whips out the bittersweet and beautiful song Funny Feeling. How dare you Bo, how dare you.
“I think I’m done,” Bo says towards the end of the film, which seems as a declaration that he’s done creating Inside. But we could go deeper - maybe he’s done with something else. Done with the pandemic, done with life…
Bo films himself two minutes before the clock strikes midnight as he turns 30, alone, before going into song. At the end of the song, he says "It’s 2020 and I’m 30, I’ll do another ten. 2030 I’ll be 40 and kill myself then.” Immediately after, he goes into a speech about not killing oneself, followed by another shot of him watching that speech, almost as if he needs a reminder not to do so. We then are ushered into intermission.
So let’s talk about the one song that everyone can’t seem to shake - Hands Up (Eyes On Me), a slow, sexy beat where he commands that we keep our eyes on him and get our hands up. He voice is modulated to a lower, more sinister key as he sings the lyrics:
You say the ocean's rising
Like I give a shit
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 inside
I can’t get these lines out of my head. It’s a reminder that we can’t change what’s already been done, and we’re welcomed to slip back into ourselves, our depression. For having such a dark tone, it’s soothing.
So what is Inside? A comedy special? A documentary depicting the emotional mania that was quarantine during a pandemic? Or a documentary about making a comedy special? A musical? An incredibly self-aware work of art? The special introduced me poioumenon, “a specific type of metafiction in which the story is about the process of creation (sometimes the creation of the story itself)”, so it’s certainly that. Well whatever it is, I know it’s one of the best things I’ve watched in a while, and will stick with me for a very long time.
And to be completely honest, I’m not even sure what this post is - a mish-mosh of a review, my opinion... I just knew I wanted to write about it.
Oh, and if you haven’t watch Bo’s other specials - Make Happy, what or Words Words Words - I implore you to. You’ll probably view those specials differently after watching Inside, with the knowledge of what he was actually experiencing behind the scenes.
I don’t know what else to say or how to tie this up in a nice, neat bow. I probably didn’t touch on something that you loved about Inside, and for that I’m sorry.
Inside made me feel safe and exposed at the same time. I loved it, and I hope you do, too.
Did you watch Inside? What are your thoughts?