So 2020 happened … stuck inside for a year. Many grew and became aware of the person they were. Becoming friends with themselves while others did the quite opposite becoming distanced and acquainted with themselves.
In Bo Burnham’s “Inside” we reaped the fruits of his mind where we find the bare bones of what it means to be a person and how it is ever-changing. Burnham manages to make even the seemingly meaningless topics delve into something bigger. He sings about facetime-ing with your mom, a white woman’s Instagram, and even the internet as a whole from a carnival barker tone.
This connects to technology, and how being indoors connects you to the outside world but makes you lonelier than ever. There’s also overstimulation’s lessening of the human experience.
Using music, humor, and intelligence as the forefront but behind all of the knee-slapping content, you are left vulnerable. There’s almost an inability to write about such a raw experience.
Not only were we blessed with “Inside” but also got a taste of the creative process with clips of setting up the camera and adjusting the lighting only getting more and more impressive. It was visually gorgeous.
Netflix describes “Inside” as a comedy special that does it a disservice; the only funny thing about it was the irony of how one could convey such an accurate message in a total un #deep manner that Bo has joked so much about.
Bo’s previous specials “make happy” and “what.” culminated in a final number diving deep into the introspection and mental instability that he seems to have perfected for longer, clearer, and less fearful exploitation for much of the second half of “Inside.”
“Inside” provides a place of comfort while simultaneously giving you a panic attack whilst watching. The meticulous details such as choosing the correct genre of song that goes with the lyrics.
Emotionally devastating … what a privilege it was. It is frightening that a piece of art like this would go unnoticed especially with the lack of featuring and pushing by Netflix. W
hat is remarkable about Bo Burnham’s work in “Inside” is that it presents as a greatest hits album of an artist of 20 years all while feeling current and progressive in the same breath. To make the audience feel comfortable and familiar while challenging in new forms and modalities is worth taking note of; and highly commendable.
So 2020 happened … and because of it, we got to see Bo Burnham live up to his potential and create a deranged masterpiece that every artist could’ve hoped to create in a time like this.
