Bo Burnham - Inside (2021, Netflix) • Page 4

This was beyond brilliant and god damn I related to it way too much.

 

I didn’t really love this the first time I watched it, but I just rewatched it this weekend and now I’m completely obsessed with it

 

"My stupid friends are having stupid children" has been my earworm this week.

 

Bo Burnham: Inside Songs Ranked from Worst to Best - Den of Geek

 

All Eyes on Me and That Funny Feeling are too low and 30 is too high

 

the whole thing is so solid though, songs like Sexting, FaceTime With My Mom, Problematic, White Woman’s Instagram are practically interchangeable

 

All Eyes On Me is #1. Maybe #2 behind That Funny Feeling.

 

5. facetime with my mom
4. look who's inside again
3. all eyes on me
2. that funny feeling
1. welcome to the internet

white woman's instagram kinda rubs me the wrong way

 

That Funny Feeling
Welcome To The Internet
All Eyes On Me
FaceTime With My Mom
Problematic

Look Who’s Inside Again close runner up

 

White Woman’s IG has arguably the most impressive execution/visuals of the entire feature, but yeah it runs longer than the joke is funny. It’s not particularly mean or anything but at some point it feels a little needlessly antagonizing

 

Just finished watching it for the 3rd time. Movie, show, whatever you want, I have a hard time seeing anything beat this on my EOTY list.

 

This is obviously a small sample size, but I’ve seen nothing but love for White Woman’s Instagram from white women on Instagram and especially tik tok.

Still see a couple videos a week where they show off the photos from their camera roll that match with his visuals.

 

I don't really find White Woman's Instagram to be antagonizing (of course, I am a white man without an Instagram, so there's that). I mean, maybe if it was just a song on its own, but when paired with the visuals it's a pretty nuanced critique of the performative nature of Instagram (or just social media in general). Nothing can be a simple photo or emotion. It all has to be staged to give the illusion of perfection. Even in the bridge where it starts as a genuine message of grief turns has to morph into a sort of a facade of "but look at me now, I'm doing great!" To express that emotion on its own would be too real and people (particularly women) aren't supposed to be real when presenting themselves to others.

 

If I had to rank I'd probably go with:

That Funny Feeling = All Eyes On Me = Welcome to the Internet
Bezos I
30
Shit
Bezos II

I edited this list at least 3 times after posting.

 

I turned 30 this year and have a few friends who have had or are expecting kids. Definitely the most instantly relatable one for me.

 

tbh in some respects WWI feels almost idk… celebratory, to me.

edit: I don’t really think that’s the right word but it’s the closest I can think of. not to say it was his intent or anything but I can’t help but feel lifted after the mom part when he starts listing images again and the music kinda gets bigger and he adds more vocal layers and stuff, it feels super euphoric imo. also feels like he put a tooooon of effort into the images for that one, like it all looks super stunning (and he looks good af throughout too tbh lol)

 

For sure. Maybe antagonizing was the wrong word? I kinda hear where Pat came from with his comment though and am mostly just trying to put my finger on it

Fwiw my (white) girlfriend that works directly with artists and interior design influencer types loved it lol. I should ask her what she thinks of it now or if she goes back to it at all

 

the lines about posting about a mom's death seemed unnecessarily "mean" to me

 

1. All Eyes On Me
2. Sexting (not seeing this one talked about much, but for me it has some of the cleverest lyrics he’s ever written and the harmonies enter/drop in really cool places)
3. Look Who’s Inside Again
4. Don’t Wanna Know
5. Bezos II

but honestly I love all of them at this point

 

I feel like those lines about the death can go either way. They’re either REALLY mean or they’re opening the door to empathizing with WHY people cultivate this outward image of happiness. The rest of the special is compassionate enough to make me think the more charitable second option is the one I’ll believe.

 

Bo Burnham: Inside’s Moment of Breathtaking Empathy - Den of Geek


Midway through the song, however, the content takes a hard left turn to the stunningly real and heartbreakingly empathetic. The lens of Burnham’s camera, which had been arranged into a narrow frame to resemble that of a cell phone, widen back out into a real world format then Burnham sings in all sincerity:

“A photo of her mom. The caption says ‘I can’t believe it. It’s been a decade since you’ve been gone. Momma I miss you. I miss sitting with you in the front yard. Still figuring out how to keep living without you. It’s gotten a little better but it’s still hard. Momma, I got a job I love and my own apartment. Momma, I’ve got a boyfriend and I’m crazy about him. Your little girl didn’t do too bad. Momma, I love you. Give a hug and kiss to dad.’”

Then the frame closes back to the Instagram format and the song moves right along to the next bit of white woman nonsense (a goat cheese salad).



Pretty much how I’ve always seen this moment

 

I think that's definitely fair. My first reaction to that part was similar, it felt mean-spirited. But it ended up sticking with me. The harshness of it creates a contrast with what is a pretty silly song up to that point and gives it a little more gravity.

 

Yep. And I do think Bo's work on 8th grade helped guide me to this interpretation of the song as well. He has a much more empathetic view of how the internet has changed the world (and particularly for young people) than most. I mean usually every critique of every corner of internet culture is "this is just ruining society".

 

i could definitely see it being compassionate but it's not like harsh/biting critiques are out of his wheelhouse. usually they're fairly spot on i.e. the critiques regarding people making the state of the world a cause for self-actualization. however, idk perhaps it's bc my own experience, but in a song about how vapid people can be on IG ... throwing in the line about posting about a lost parent felt pretty odd

 

My fiancée lost her Dad at a young age and makes heartfelt posts ever year, so I squirmed a little watching it the first time. But the more I thought about it, the more it seemed tied into the central theme of how we’re all trying to work through private feelings in isolation by pretending this digital space is a real connection.

I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking it and it was just an overly sharp joke