Most people can agree that 2020 was not the best year of their life. Between the global pandemic and the political instability, many people felt incredibly overwhelmed and struggled with their mental health. One of the most creative depictions of this was Bo Burnham's Netflix special entitled "Inside." His comedic musical numbers and creative production design showed Burnham struggling with isolation and staying inside while trying to be creative. He is a comedian who has been working for many years, but comedy relies on the reactions of an audience. A look into Burnham's creative process and his analysis of his mental health during the creation of "Inside" reveals the importance of creativity during people's lowest moments.
One of the most impressive parts of Burnham's performance in "Inside" is how real it felt. He was sporting a Covid beard and sat in the same room for the entire show. His props were nothing fancy, but his use of lighting and projection helped to flesh out his story. The entire performance was a response to the limitations of quarantine and isolation during the pandemic. Inside" the Mind of Bo Burnham However, Burnham utilized the limited resources to enhance his creativity. His performance is an example of responding to the limitation of domains. In this case, the domain of comedic performance relies on the comedian's ability to read audiences and make them laugh. Burnham did not have an audience or even a crew behind his camera to make laugh. He had to think beyond what had previously been created by comedians and evolve to develop something new.
Through Burnham's performance, he opens up about his mental health struggles, both before the pandemic and during the lockdown. The way Burnham discusses his own mental health experience fits well with the discussion of mental health and creativity that we had in class. As Burnham explains, his anxiety and panic attacks did cause him to quit performing for five years. This is an essential part of the mental health discussion to consider. Although there are plenty of creatives who have created despite their mental health struggles, sometimes these struggles can prevent further creation. Perhaps if Leonardo DaVinci had access to modern medicine and mental health resources, then he would not have created the way he did, but what if proper treatment allowed him to create more?
Burnham's performance in "Inside" clearly shows that mental health treatment does not prevent the ability to create. In fact, taking time away from creating and learning to care for himself allowed Burnham to create something new. His openness about his struggles made his performance even more popular because it was relatable. The Covid lockdown was a shared experience, yet everyone experienced it differently. Burnham created music and a performance that connected people during an isolating time. He was only able to succeed because of his personal experience disrupting the domain of comedic performances and sharing his own experiences of mental health struggles.
Bo Burnham has been on my playlists for a few years, although I had no idea he created a movie on Netflix about his process. His music is incredibly relatable and can be uplifting while devastatingly relatable at the same time. It's fascinating to me that Covid allowed him to tap into his musical side and connect with his audience despite the isolation.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved this special! I really enjoyed how a lot of the songs were so relatable because everyone was going through the universal experience of lockdown simultaneously. It is really interesting that in the years leading up to Covid he had taken a break to focus on his mental health and then when many people’s mental health was at its worst, Burnham decided to make his comeback. Safe to say it was unexpected, but something that a lot of people needed, I believe. Comedy is a driving force that can bring many people together when it focuses on shared experiences to try and find the bright/comical side of things. I hope that Burnham continues to create new material because he is a unique comedian in his delivery style of musical comedy, and I feel could be considered a voice of our generation.
ReplyDeleteI've enjoyed Burnham's music for a while, but I never knew anything about him as a person so this was really interesting to read! It's interesting how he was able to be creative with his special with the few things he had to work with instead of letting that hinder his ability to create. I have found that I am also most creative when I have limited resources, as it forces me to think outside the box and maximize each tool I do have.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this special twice now and I always have mixed emotions, watching him be honest about his mental health struggles and the common experience the pandemic had on everyone but also cracking jokes at the same time creates a weird feeling. I wonder if he hadn't gotten help or treatment if his creativity would be hindered for good, I'm glad he is able to still create and use song writing and producing as a creative outlet!
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen this special, but I have heard a few of Burnham's songs and they were always interesting. I like how you discuss how mental health and treatment does not mean someone is more or less able to create. This post was super interesting and informative.
ReplyDeleteEvelyn, I'm so glad you chose Bo Burnham because he is such a creative artist! I've watched a lot of his work including his TV show "Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous" and I distinctly remember my family and I watching "Inside" during COVID. We loved it, but I also remember his vulnerability when speaking about his mental health struggles. I know his experience was that of so many during quarantine, being solely in one room, experiencing the mental side effects of isolation. I thought his candor and ability to display the true effects of the pandemic was invaluable. Throughout the show his works were wide-ranging, from songs like "White Woman's Instagram" to "Welcome to the Internet" which details the effects of having the entire internet at our fingertips were truly both comedic and thought provoking and I think he always does such an amazing job of walking that tightrope.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting post. In this case, Burnham had to find novel solutions out of necessity rather out of a desire to break the mold. It speaks to the strangeness of the time that he could so fundamentally alter the domain and still find great success.
ReplyDeleteI think Bo Burnham is simply…one of the most fascinating people to watch. Maybe not a comedian – I personally prefer the cadence of John Mulany a bit better, but it was Inside that made me look at Bo Burnham as more than a passing joke. My sister was interested in Bo Burnham’s comedy before Inside, a lot of time we spent together was watching ‘what.’ and ‘Make Happy’ (Make Happy’s likely my favorite of the two). There was always been this underlying sadness and pain in his work; the last song of Make Happy, “Are You Happy” has always stood out to me; “On a scale from 1 to 0, are you happy?... You’re everything you hated, are you happy? Hey look, ma, I made it; are you happy?” The same thing with “Art is dead”; “Entertainers like to seem complicated but we’re not complicated, / Have you ever been to a birthday part for children / and one of the children / won’t stop screaming / cause he’s just a little attention attractor / when he grows up to be a comic or actor, / he’ll be awarded for never maturing, never understanding or learning / that everyday can’t be about him, / there’s other people, you selfish asshole-” His work is so laden with self-deprecation that Bo Burnham’s comedy is more of a tragedy, his core of his work seems to be this internal struggle of how rewarded he’s become with how much he hates himself. When Inside was more recent, a comment I remember reading was that someone’s parent felt like ‘they were watching a man about to kill myself’ – and that’s exactly it. Bo Burnham is a burning house, and people can’t help but keep watching him, and I feel like Burnham knows that, and hates himself just enough to have this very real special of relentless comedic suffering and publish it. He might be the modern embodiment of catharsis.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, yeah, Bo Burnham is pretty neat. Hope he’s doing alright. No news is good news, probably.