11 Bo Burnham on the Nature of Performance

Preface

It’s no surprise that Bo Burnham has been able to establish such a strong connection with the 30 – and – under audience. Equipped with the irony, sarcasm, and self-deprecation that younger crowds have always loved, and a razor-sharp wit to blend it all together, is emblematic of an individual raised by the internet. It’s all the more fascinating when viewed in context of Burnham’s 1990 birthdate; while the early ages of the internet certainly influenced his comedic style, it’s apparent that Burnham was one of the guiding forces that shaped the worldview of an entire generation. His early videos on YouTube, while at times crass or otherwise indefensible, were wildly popular and served as a notice to the public about the far-reaching capabilities of the video sharing platform. His foray into internet culture didn’t stop there as he also garnered a great deal of attention through Vine as his standup career continued to soar. Burnham’s wide and varied background along with his extensive catalogue despite his young age contribute to a profusion of moral tidbits to glean from his meta-observational flavor of performance.

Burnham and his audience

As a performer, Burnham understands his role. He knows what he has to offer, and what other people expect from him, and he derives a great deal of joy from fulfilling that role. He knows and acknowledges that time is the most important resource that we can access, making his proposition of spending yours watching him perform seem fairly selfish; that inherent challenge and risk of seeking to grab people’s attention seems to make it all the more satisfying and rewarding for Burnham when he’s performing in front of a sell-out crowd. At the same time, it’s a situation that lends itself to heightened anxiety due to the pressure one might place on oneself to succeed and give everyone all the things that he has promised just by the nature of his position as a performer. Making it your life’s work to bring joy to other people, even if just for a couple hours, is a noble effort but not one that comes without its tribulations.

A frequent theme throughout his performances is a constant questioning of his place and role in the world. To quote directly from “Comedy”, a song from his newest special Inside on Netflix, Burnham (2021) says, “And I wanna help to leave this world better than I found it, and I fear that comedy won’t help and the fear is not unfounded.” His intentions are pure in that he simply enjoys knowing that he made someone’s day better, but he constantly grapples with an internal debate over how he should really be spending his time. Despite his massive success and worldwide acclaim, Burnham still wonders if what he’s doing is for the right reasons. At the end of his 2016 Netflix special

Make Happy, Burnham wonders aloud in a Kanye West-style musical rant about his life. He explains to the audience, “The truth is, my biggest problem is you. I want to please you, but I want to stay true to myself. I want to give you the night out that you deserve, but I want to say what I think and not care what you think about it. Part of me loves you; part of me hates you. Part of me needs you; part of me fears you” (Burnham, 2016). Burnham is in a unique position where the feedback loop of create -> anxiety -> performance -> praise will likely remain the same for his entire career. He loves the acclaim and accolades, as who wouldn’t enjoy being celebrated, but feels a tremendous deal of guilt over the idea that he has “sold out”. While not a claim I’ve heard anyone make about Burnham from the outside, the performer himself seems concerned with the notion that he’s losing his sense of self due to the rapid and sweeping rise to fame he experienced at a young age.

At the end of the day, Bo Burnham’s willingness to come down and meet his audience on a more genuine level is one of the biggest reasons for his wide-reaching influence. He never shies away from the camera and often makes it a point to ensure that the camera is clearly visible. Throughout all of Inside, you can see various tech equipment strewn about the space including lights, cameras, microphones, and computers. As a result, it sets a more intimate and relatable stage which greatly complements Burnham’s genuine, self-reflective and introspective style of comedy, culminating in extremely vulnerable and hypnotizing performances.

Genuine or dishonest?

The recently released film Inside was, as written in the title’s description, “shot and performed by Bo Burnham, alone, over the course of a very unusual year.” Throughout the runtime, we see various hints as to the idea that Burnham was living in this enclosed space by himself, with nobody else in company, for an entire year while he put together the special. There are shots of him waking up, making meals, and going to sleep, all taking place in one room. It gives a feeling of claustrophobia that many of us are all too familiar with after the last year and change, as we see ourselves in Burnham while he goes through the motions of yet another day locked inside. I have no doubt that this was done intentionally, deployed as a means of appearing relatable and down to earth. However, this is one of the biggest potential issues with the way the special was presented: Burnham wasn’t remotely in the same situation as the rest of us.

The room used as his performance space is the guest house of his home in Los Angeles, California, as can be seen during the epilogue of Make Happy when he exits the very same room and walks towards his home and loved ones. Despite what may seem obvious upon first viewing, or without additional context, Burnham didn’t really spend the entirety of his time trapped in one room as he slaved away at his next comedic effort. He always had access to his full home, along with his partner and his pets. It would be rather easy to sit here and rail against this clear violation of trust; after all, we’ve essentially been lied to. There’s no arguing that Burnham’s intent was to create a scene that resonates emotionally with his viewers and I certainly don’t think I could blame anyone for feeling like they were misled or manipulated in some way. However, I don’t quite see it as binary as it can be made out to be.

When attending a performance, you are subjecting yourself to the idea that you will be taking part in an event that exists in a heightened plane of reality. It’s not the normal, typical outside world we’re accustomed to, as it comes equipped with its own set of norms and structure. As the performer, Burnham has an obligation to give you something that you were promised, which is entertainment. Inherently, entertainment functions to pull us out of our boots and put us somewhere else, even if it’s superficial and just for a little while, and I believe this is the crux of Burnham’s approach to Inside’s presentation. Does the value of what something means to you and the purpose you extracted from it solely depend on the intention of the artist? Can you enjoy and appreciate a performance at face value without it being perverted by the nature of what it truly means to perform? As human beings, we are obsessed with becoming things that we are not. At the risk of sounding cliché or preach-y, everyone is constantly looking outward for what they’re supposed to be and who they should become, when the real answers often lie somewhere within. If Burnham’s performance and his approach to that performance provide a framework for the majority of his audience to have some moments of self-reflection or introspection, does it matter that it comes from a place of exaggeration or dishonesty?

There’s also an issue of allegory and expressionism at play. One might find it compelling to believe that despite not being true in a literal sense, the presentation of Inside is meant to represent the inner turmoil and claustrophobia of the past year that we’ve likely all experienced in some way or another, and specifically represents Burnham’s struggles. Even though he wasn’t literally locked alone in a room for over a year, it can be viewed as emblematic of the lockdown environment and a general sense of unease and restraint. Despite not being based in 100% truth, I believe that the choice to put Burnham in the shoes of the average individual works more in favor of the final performance than it takes away from it.

It’s challenging to give definitive answers to such challenging questions, but at the end of the day, I can say that it doesn’t really make a difference to me personally. I can understand the contempt you might hold towards someone who seemingly lied to you in order to foster a connection, but beauty really is in the eye of the beholder. If the performance that Burnham put together was able to affect you in some way, be it emotionally, mentally, or just because you had a good time, he’s done his part and you got exactly what you signed up for. Criticisms based around questioning Burnham’s genuineness can truly be intriguing, but mostly fall flat when viewed in context of his entire career.

Blending social commentary with comedy

Tackling politics, religion, race, gender, and other societal issues through comedic performances is not particularly groundbreaking work. George Carlin, Lewis Black, and Chris Rock all mixed elements of social commentary into their acts, and Bo Burnham is just one of the latest examples of a comedian lamenting the state of our current world. As a matter of fact, Burnham takes it as far as satirizing himself and other comedians who try to affect change, as outlined in the lyrics of his song “Comedy”:

The more I look, the more I see nothing to joke about. Is comedy over? Should I leave you alone, ’cause, really, who’s gonna go for joking at a time like this? Should I be joking at a time like this? Should I stop trying to be funny? Should I give away my money, no! What do I do…The world needs direction from a white guy like me, who is healing the world with comedy. That’s it! The world is so [screwed] up. Systematic oppression, income inequality.. the other stuff… and there’s only one thing that I can do about it. While– while being paid and being the center of attention. (Burnham, 2021)

Another quote showcasing his willingness to make light of himself and his profession comes from his 2013 special what.’s “Sad” where he says, “That’s it, laughter, it’s the key to everything! It’s the way to solve all the sadness in the world. I mean, not for the people that are actually sad but for the people like us, that gotta deal with ’em all the time. Being a comedian isn’t being an insensitive prick, capitalizing on the most animalistic impulses of the public. It’s being a hero!” (Burnham, 2013). He has a clear understanding of the silliness of him preaching about social issues while he cracks jokes, but at the same time genuinely wants to help make the world a better place. One of the themes of Inside is Burnham’s grappling with the climate crisis and his lamentation over the fatalistic nature of our impending doom. His level of self-awareness and intimacy that he infuses into his performance, along with some careful hyperbole, contribute to building that relationship with the audience that keeps them coming back for more.

Works Cited

Schifino, Eleanor, and Kamilla Kocsis. “Review: Bo Burnham’s ‘Inside’ Vividly Explores an Existential Crisis.” The Dartmouth, 25 June 2021, www.thedartmouth.com/article/2021/06/review-bo-burnhams-inside-vividly-explores-an-existential-crisis.

Burnham, Bo, et al. Inside. Performance by Bo Burnham, Netflix, 2021, www.netflix.com/title/81289483.

Loofbourow, Lili. “The Problem With Bo Burnham’s Inside.” Slate Magazine, Slate, 23 June 2021, slate.com/culture/2021/06/problem-with-bo-burnham-inside.html.

Burnham, Bo. Make Happy. Performance by Bo Burnham, Netflix, 2016, www.netflix.com/title/80106124.

Mortell, Maddie. “All Eyes on Bo Burnham – The Boston Globe.” BostonGlobe.com, The Boston Globe, 22 July 2021, www.bostonglobe.com/2021/07/22/arts/all-eyes-bo-burnham/.

Burnham, Bo. What. Performance by Bo Burnham, Netflix, 2013, www.netflix.com/title/70295560.