Board 8 > Bo Burnham: Inside is a work of genius

(+) Yeah! (+)

I strongly recommend watching if you haven't yet

There is also a wonderful Death Stranding reference in there

I was excited when I saw the announcement and surprised when I realized it was out. I'll probably try and force my wife to watch it with me this weekend. I loved Make Happy. Might be my favorite comedy special.

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Tag

I'll watch this tomorrow.

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u like it?

Im surprised you like it, its very political-left!

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It was good but I definitely enjoy the first half more than the 2nd.

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ChaosTonyV4 posted...

Im surprised you like it, its very political-left!

It's most certainly not. The "brands" song should clue you in on this. I actually like this kind of lib!

what is my favorite comedy special ever. Make Happy was pretty great too, but not quite the same level. Excited for this though! Didn't even know it was a thing until now, so thanks for making this topic.

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White girl Instagram was amazing

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He should bust out the guitar more that was a good tune
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I just watched it. It honestly just made me feel bad for him because the start is just him having to explain himself for doing what he wants to do, but beyond that...yeah it was fun. The internet song everyone has been posting was certainly the highlight so props to him for that. Overall I would say that it felt a little too on the nose? Like he was trying to play towards depressing too much, but maybe that is my insensitivity speaking as someone who didn't have to change their day-to-day much due to quarantine since I already spent all my time online. I could see it being more relevant to a more outgoing audience.

Anyway, I absolutely admire him trying to produce relevant content to us as opposed to...something like modern SNL, if that makes sense. I don't think it quite hit me, but I can see the value of what he put out there and I support it

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Reminds me of "who's line is it anyway" at the crest of its popularity, specifically when they realized "Wayne Brady singing" was their most popular segment

I'm glad he's making good money!

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I thought the end was depressing. Really great.

White womans Instagram still the best song

And it kind of turns me on which is weird as Im straight but whatever

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this was a masterpiece

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I feel like the part of him reacting to himself is a personal attack on me

so what I pay people to watch them react to always sunny it helps me create fun parasocial relationships =(

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Wait hold on Ive never watched always sunny. How do I get these Aecioo react dollars

I dont actually need the money

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masterplum posted...

Wait hold on Ive never watched always sunny. How do I get these Aecioo react dollars

I dont actually need the money

I suggest starting with reacting to the MCU like it's your first time and once I'm hooked start doing something like Always Sunny with your patreon being full reactions where I can rewatch episodes I love with you

rip my money

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I'm just gonna give this a bump because the farther I get away from it the more I think about it

this special has really crawled into my mind

Bo Burnham is my age and this special really captured exactly what I went through over the past year. It really hit me more than I thought and seeing him put my 2020 into 90 minutes kind of... hit me hard.

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Aecioo posted...

I'm just gonna give this a bump because the farther I get away from it the more I think about it

this special has really crawled into my mind

Bo Burnham is my age and this special really captured exactly what I went through over the past year. It really hit me more than I thought and seeing him put my 2020 into 90 minutes kind of... hit me hard.

What got me more than the pandemic bit was actually his songs where he self reflected on how he had previously joked about terrible things and he regretted it. I thought it was unusually candid introspection that also hit me hard because I too can think of things I said or did 10 years ago I wish I hadnt, and some of those things just never leave you. Even if you change they are still part of peoples memory of you forever.

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masterplum posted...

What got me more than the pandemic bit was actually his songs where he self reflected on how he had previously joked about terrible things and he regretted it. I thought it was unusually candid introspection that also hit me hard because I too can think of things I said or did 10 years ago I wish I hadnt, and some of those things just never leave you. Even if you change they are still part of peoples memory of you forever.

You know the idea of that song was to point out how absurd it is to worry about offending people in the future right?

I don't think it is. Given how he has talked about hating his original stuff for being offensive.

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Maniac64 posted...

I don't think it is. Given how he has talked about hating his original stuff for being offensive.

You don't think spiraling about wearing an Aladdin costume when he was 17 was more of a commentary on the ridiculousness of cancel culture than it was him having a mea culpa for telling offensive jokes?

What if

its both

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I would agree that it's both. Seph, look up some of his interviews where he talks about his thoughts on his first viral video "My Whole Family." You probably won't like his perspective.

Anyway, this was brilliant. White Girl Instagram was the most laugh-out-loud hilarious song, but That Funny Feeling and All Eyes on Me are my two favorites. That Funny Feeling in particular is something really special. As someone who had a schizophrenic episode that lasted about a year...where I basically thought my life was The Truman Show, it really nailed that experience. (True story by the way, but this was 10 years ago now). God that song is good and dissects a topic so few artists touch (random aside: I recommend Eyedea's "The Dive" parts one and two for my favorite songs about this topic). But yeah, one of the best songs he's ever made, I think.

All Eyes on Me, I'm still trying to decipher. I'm not sure if it's about depression/nihilism or another reflection on the nature of his role as a public figure/comedian like Make Happy focused on - or something entirely different or a mixture of the two. That said, I felt like a lot of the tail end of Inside was a meta commentary on his finales having huge expectations after what's "We Think We Know You" and Make Happy's "Can't Handle This." And you know, that is pretty funny. I definitely had those expectations firmly in place and was waiting patiently to have my mind blown by his grand finale. Reflecting on the real ending song with that realization, it's kind of perfect. Bo is a clever man.

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I've been enjoying this a lot, but man I just got through "Everything" or whatever it's called and oh man it's topped itself again. Jeeze I'm loving this.

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ChainLTTP posted...

It's most certainly not. The "brands" song should clue you in on this. I actually like this kind of lib!

Did you miss the Socko song?

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Well I've basically watched this through twice now. Since this is Board 8 here's my top 5:

1. That Funny Feeling
2. All Eyes on Me
3. Everything All of the Time
4. White Woman's Instagram
5. Sexting

you sent me a snowman, crisis averted

E: Oh, Everything All of the Time is actually just called Welcome to the Internet.

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am i the only one who doesn't like i'm problematic? i think holding people accountable for having acted like a total asshole in the past is a GOOD thing (gee, i wonder why sephy takes such issue with this). given that burnham apparently regrets the offensive jokes he's made in his past, i'm not sure why he's making fun of cancel culture in this song.

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I enjoyed the special because it wasnt completely black and white. I think you can both regret offensive things you have done and agree that some of the cultural appropriation attacks are absurd (Like I think there was an uproar when someone wore a kimono to prom one time?)

Like i dressed as princess Daisy for Halloween a few years ago and it wouldnt surprise me if that was deemed inappropriate at some point in my life and Im going to have to defend those photos

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masterplum posted...

I think you can both regret offensive things you have done and agree that some of the cultural appropriation attacks are absurd (Like I think there was an uproar when someone wore a kimono to prom one time?)

Like i dressed as princess Daisy for Halloween a few years ago and it wouldnt surprise me if that was deemed inappropriate at some point in my life and Im going to have to defend those photos

that's fair but i don't think this aspect of cancel culture is such a big deal that it warrants an entire song.

this reminds me of how when metoo became a thing, certain people immediately went "WAHHH THIS IS SO TERRIBLE." like, is metoo unproblematic? absolutely not. is it awful that some people got canceled because of false rape accusations? certainly. but i would still say the movement has done far more good than harm to society, so...

i dunno, it always rubs me the wrong way when something that's overall positive happens, someone blows the negative aspects of it (that ARE there - no argument there) out of proportion.

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Ok lasa

glad you agree

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That song is hilarious and thats all I need to know.

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Problematic feels more like it's making fun of some of the over-the-top responses celebrities have had when they're caught doing something shitty. Instead of really owning up to them, they have to martyrize themselves, which they're in a position to easily do successfully with a loyal enough fanbase.

"I've done a lot of self-reflecting since I started singing this song
I was totally wrong when I said it"

Mr Lasastryke posted...

i dunno, it always rubs me the wrong way when something that's overall positive happens, someone blows the negative aspects of it (that ARE there - no argument there) out of proportion.

Bo has made this exact point many times:
https://youtu.be/D52TF1OtgSE

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StartTheMachine posted...

Problematic feels more like it's making fun of some of the over-the-top responses celebrities have had when they're caught doing something shitty. Instead of really owning up to them, they have to martyrize themselves, which they're in a position to easily do successfully with a loyal enough fanbase.

"I've done a lot of self-reflecting since I started singing this song
I was totally wrong when I said it"

yeah, that part seems to refer to stuff like david dobrik saying "ok my previous apology video sucked but THIS TIME I MEAN IT GUYS *cries dramatically*" so he's definitely making fun of that too. but the fact that he's getting canceled over something ridiculous (wearing a halloween costume as a kid) makes it seem to me like he's also making fun of cancel culture itself.

(also, i agree that the song is funny, for the record.)

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What and Make Happy are two of my favorite specials ever, but I don't particularly love this one. It kind of felt like Make Happy 2.0: Pandemic edition in that it felt like he retread a lot of the same ground. I might have to watch it again to cement my opinion, but I'm not particularly excited to return to it.

I enjoyed the special a lot, but the lack of cohesive transitions or resets was a tad off-putting. It also felt like he utilized music a tad more than normal as well, but that could just be me misremembering his other specials. The bit where he reacts to his reactions was my favorite part. It felt like it captured the kind of anxiety I feel where I start getting really meta about why I do things the way I do and why I react the way I do. Welcome to the Internet is also a fantastic ear worm.

Seeing Bo's struggles was hard to watch as well. Hearing him tell the story about considering to go on tour again right before the pandemic hit was crushing. Bo is really relatable to me as a comedian because he's the same age bracket as I am and struggles with anxiety as I do resulting in a cynical, borderline nihilistic view on life. I could see myself going through the same issues he does if I had his talents and occupation. That makes the outward display of his internal struggle that much harder to watch.

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