THE ARTS
Bo Burnham
Healing the World with Comedy FRED C OOK
The pandemic gave birth to a new form of creativity — restricted by quarantine, born of loneliness, and inspired by fear. We saw it in ourselves, our friends and our artists. No one captured the zeitgeist of our yearlong isolation better than Bo Burnham with his Netflix special, “Inside.” For a millennial who has been open about his mental health problems, the pandemic provided the perfect opportunity to pour his analytical humor, catchy songwriting and innovative video skills into a production that will be remembered for as long as COVID-19. Before he quit performing five years ago due to repeated panic attacks on stage, Burnham had garnered a devoted fanbase of Gen-Z and college-aged viewers. But I didn’t hear about him until he turned 30 in the small guest house where he wrote, produced and directed a one-man comedy medley about the social and mental health issues we all experienced this past year. The first time I watched “Inside”, I was reminded of the 1976 HBO special from the Troubadour, which introduced a new 46
RELEVANCE REPORT 2021-22
comedian named Steve Martin. With a banjo, a few balloon animals and an arrow stuck through his head, Martin redefined comedy for my generation. With a piano, a laptop and a disco ball illuminated by a light strapped to his head, Burnham did the same for his. It’s hard to describe what makes Bo Burnham’s special so special. Critics call the show brilliant. Fans call him a genius. Both are probably right. He was nominated for six Emmys and won three. But in life and in art, timing is everything. Something special happens when an individual delivers the right message, with the right tone, at exactly the right time. Whether their medium is print, paint or jokes, their work captures the moment in a way that even they couldn’t anticipate. For 90 minutes (spanning many months), as his hair lengthens and his mental condition declines, Burnham verbally deconstructs everyday pandemic activities such as sexting with his girlfriend, Face Timing with his Mom, and white women on Instagram. Observational comedy isn’t new, but his
