Bo Burnham’s “Inside”: A Somber Source of Inspiration
Among many other things, Bo Burnham’s “Inside” is one of the most inspiring pieces of art that I’ve seen recently. Certainly Bo is boosted by funding from Netflix and his numerous technical and creative gifts, yet, somehow, this special, despite its deep and depressing themes, seemed to motivate me to make art more than anything else. To me, there are two pretty clear paths of discussion about this special: the emotional resonance/satirical brilliance of the special, and the creative and technological feat that the special achieved. While I hope to discuss this special in terms of the story its telling and its’ honesty about Bo’s struggles with his mental health, I feel it important to first address the technical and aesthetic brilliance of a special that was largely written, performed, edited in one room by one person. While I don’t aim to yet go in depth explaining why exactly it’s so intoxicating (go watch it yourself), I want to recognize the difficulty of achieving such a feat largely on one’s own (with a very small production team), and the commitment to his craft that Bo showed in pursuing such a creative endeavor.
In particular, this special is inspirational because it shows the extent to which people can be creative in spaces that others would often assume to be devoid of creative inspiration. While many people create works of art at their own homes, it is not very often that a film is filmed entirely in one location or at home. Many authors write books at home, and screenwriters write screenplays, but it is rare for the entire process to be done in basically one place. This is inspiring to me and hopefully to many others who have aspirations to tell stories in the future, because it shows that you can create art like that largely on your own. This is not to suggest that art creation should be an entirely individualistic process or that movie-making should be done in this way more often, but it encourages those without filmmaking means like myself that if I have an idea that I feel like is worth pursuing, I can pursue it and reap the accomplishments.
Watching “Inside” not only inspired me to write this quick account of how it’s affected me, it also spurred me on to pursue my artistic interests in other ways. I’ve sparked up talks about continuing a podcast with one of my best friends, and have started to look into how we can make it more professional and more diverse in terms of the content it produces. While I haven’t started to make a film, I’ve certainly become interested in coming up with more ideas for creative projects in the future, and I thank a lot of that interest to Bo creating something so impactful largely on his own.
Emotionally, this film was of great inspiration to me as well. It’s not extremely often that we see someone portray their depression and social anxiety so vulnerably on screen. Whether Bo’s struggles depicted in the film are controlled to give off the illusion of someone at their rock bottom or not (as the special makes you question), Bo was so keenly able to articulate the feelings that so many people have had over quarantine, and those issues that they still deal with today.
My favorite song from his special is “That Funny Feeling”, despite some other fantastic songs also being included. In particular, what attracts me to “That Funny Feeling” is how Bo articulates a lived experience that I (and I would think a lot others) relate to, one in which it is difficult to ever enjoy anything without the aforementioned “funny feeling” coming in and making you realize that the world is fucked and the very structures that you enjoy are also oppressive. In a sense, it is about a hyper-awareness of the influx of problems that we have to deal with and a sad realization that despite how paradoxically fictional this world seems, it’s real, and it’s on the edge of collapsing.
Maybe not everybody gets this feeling, or the words “that funny feeling” mean something different to them, but for me, it helps illustrate why I struggle to find complete enjoyment out of many of the things that I do. I could be labeled as a cynic or an over-thinker by some, but “That Funny Feeling” makes me feel as though I’m not the only one who experiences these frustrations, and that I’m not wrong for feeling the way I do.
More than anything else, Bo’s ability to create content that feels niched in for a person like myself makes me want to create that kind of content for others. Bo has talked about how he admires some YouTubers, especially small creators, for their ability to share their life experiences with other people and try to let other people know (whether consciously or not) that they aren’t alone. In a sense, that is the beautiful part of social media apps like YouTube, despite the numerous negative aspects that have become all the more apparent since their inception. Despite some of my problems with YouTube, it’s an extremely accessible way to create content and it presents the opportunity for me to help or inspire others in ways that I couldn’t without social media. So, here’s to creating more content, possibly on YouTube?
Regardless of that, creating more Medium content is another goal for me, as it’s another way of expressing ideas that people can relate to. Certainly, if NOTHING else, Bo’s special made me want to make the most of my life in a world that feels like its ending. It made me want to create meaningful work that can help people in some way, just like “Inside” helped me.
Thanks for that, Bo.
