Can I interest you in everything all of the time?
Bo Burnham’s new special dropped this week and it is a beautiful piece of quarantine art. The new special Inside was shot, edited, and performed by Burnham completely alone in a single room over the course of the pandemic.
Calling this Netflix original a comedy special wouldn’t be telling the full story or giving Bo full credit. It’s part diary, a part music video compilation, and part deep dive into Burnham’s mind and soul. It’s obvious that he poured his heart into making Inside and finally finishing it took a piece of him away.
The camera work that Bo accomplishes by himself is incredible. His use of lights and projectors eliminates the need for complicated greenscreen editing while immersing the lone figure in unique backgrounds. The cinematography alone is incredible, lending to some beautifully framed shots. The entire special is shot in one location but doesn’t always feel confined to a small space.
The songs are also spectacular, taking jabs at modern internet culture and society as a whole. Burnham draws from many different genres of music like 80’s pop, electronic ballads, and rag-time. Each song comes with a music video or skit to pair with it. Bo is a children's show host in one skit and sings a song with his sock-puppet assistant, Socko, about how the world works.
Like many of his songs, they start innocent and quickly devolve into dark and sometimes sinister introspective. After Bo sings about the balance and cooperation of nature’s organisms, Socko sings about the false narratives taught in history classes and how that’s used to hide centuries of genocide and exploitation. The song also criticizes celebrities who attempt to solve socio-political conflicts by posting on social media.
“Why do you rich fucking white people insist on seeing every socio-political conflict through the myopic lens of your own self-actualization? This isn't about you! So either get with it or get out of the fucking way!” said Socko.
How the World Works is only one of the 20 songs in this groundbreaking visual album that addresses internet culture and radicalization and brings mental illness to the forefront in his comedy. He talks about the need to ‘perform’ for social media and the expectation to compare your life with others online. Bo also critiques the increased use of social media by dismissing the real world as a “theatrical space in which one stage and records content for the much more real, much more vital digital space.”
Verdict:
This one hit me hard, and I think it’s a super topical and creative special that would resonate with a lot of people over this pandemic. To me, this special is Burnham’s Apocalypse Now! That is, it took all of his strength to finish the special and by pouring his heart and soul into Inside, a piece of Bo is on our television screens waiting to be judged.
10/10
Comments