This fucking broke me haaarrdd

The fact that they laugh and cheered him on, even after he almost literally says what he means, says he is "saying it TO THEIR FACE because they won't notice", shit is heartbreaking.

then the ominous thud of the mic drop right after the lights went out was like the final nail in the coffin

@@niero4201 I always heard it a different way. When he goes into the lines about how he loves and hates us, needs and fears us, the collective silence of the crowd is them comprehending what he was talking about and coming to terms with it. When he gets to the "laugh while he attempts to give you what he cannot give himself" line, the crowd's hearts break, and when he goes into the chorus right after, the cheering isn't laughter, it's collective support from everyone, trying to show him that no matter what he does, whether it's really funny or very real, he will have the support he needs to keep going, even if he sometimes hates and fears it. The crowd cheering right there is a symbol of hope, understanding, and kindness, and is, I feel, the most impactful part of the song. Bo's problems are real, but so is everyone's wishes for his health and happiness.

@@niero4201 The thing that also threw people off is that the whole style and content fit Kanye so much no one thought it was also applying to Bo.

That's the thing about Bo, he's ALWAYS speaking. Almost all of his songs have so many meanings and his ability to creatively make a song about them that isn't only catchy but also relatable is nothing short of genius. I really wish more people could understand just how talented this man is.

Clearly he was bullshitting, he did 3 movies in that 5 year period. The second he finished, he started working on his next special.

@@nullakjg767 movies != stand up comedy, sit

@@CaelenSawyers His newest special wasnt stand up comedy... he did it from his bedroom. There was a pandemic for the last 2 years if you werent familiar.

@@nullakjg767 he never said it was stand up

@@nullakjg767 working on something and performing live it's different things.

I noticed that too. Shit hit me deep

Did you catch how the Pringles and chipotle skits are metaphors? When I think about this, I think about Robin Williams. We laugh and we appreciate Bo Burnham's art, but I really hope that one day we don't hear about his suicide. The casual audience who never got the deeper meanings, they'll say they never saw it coming. Really, he's been broadcasting the build-up for years and it makes me sad.

@@Crowelephant considering how obvious it was made he was considering suicide during Inside, I really hope since releasing it he will continue on just getting better. I saw a video of him in a crowd of people during a Pheobe Bridgers concert, where she sang her rendition of That Funny Feeling, and everyone was singing along. He was smiling. I hope he continues to smile. He's given so many people out there smiles and laughs, he deserves to have some himself.

I saw someone else call out that when he says 'you can tell them anything' he's silhouetted by the lights as if it could be anyone up there. You're just there to laugh, he's an image, an object.

@@ashabahn a smile is the biggest lie the depressed tell.

His movie Eighth Grade too. It changed my perspective on social media completely, and I'm in my 20s

Ziiiimpzz

Have you ever seen the choreography Megan Batoon did to Are You Happy? It’s amazing. I remember Bo commented on it and said he was speechless.

Everytime I see him get real like this I worry he wont make it :-(

I've never seen another reactor mention it but I don't think it is any coincidence he chose Kanye to mimic in this song. Kanye also has mental health issues that people like to poke fun at but it's real and both Bo and Kanye struggle in that way.

@@Mreffs101 Exactly. This is not a mockery but comes out of a place of understanding & appreciation. Bo is a Kanye fan, and I think he relates to him in some level.

yep, ive said this for ages and its something that often gets overlooked when people see this performance; stuff that in normal people would absolutely be considered a cry for help or a nervous breakdown instead gets shared a million times online and enabled when its a famous 'personality' like Kanye, and Bo definitely has some serious sympathy for him

That's what I was saying to my husband. Like he said he went to the show and Kanye is often targeted for things like this. But I can see Bo there and being like understanding of it and relating fully to it. And sure, because it's at a comedy show, it comes off as parody at first. But then it gets deep and it's full on homage and respect and he nails it and does it so well and leaves you with all the damn feels. 💖🙏

In case none of you guys know, he said he did this bit because he wanted to prove that anybody can do anything lol original doesn't mean good XD

I had the same fear when I watched this for the first time. Especially after “are you happy?” I was scared that I was going to see him trending on Twitter for all the wrong reasons.

I totally had the same. Especially since at the time on his official website had a day of death to him. And when you first went to the page you were put on a page that asked "Are you happy?" and if you answered no it directed you to an album of pics of his dog. It has since changed but I was very worried and still kinda am after Inside, but I hope him all the best ever.

This song always makes me tear up because you can feel his pain in the performance. the ha's he makes at the end are latterly the panic attack bleeding though in the performance and they all sound anguished to me . the burrito could be a metaphor for no one telling him everything that comes with being famous and going on tour and what not. "you're the burrito expert you should have warned me" love this song and I love his work, but more than anything I just want him to be ok

​@@ira__s omg I did not know that 😢 I think he was really planning on doing it but thankfully changed his mind

Art is a lie. Nothing is real.

Bo specializes in carefully manufactured spontaneity. One of the big themes of Inside was turning the editing process of a performance into a performance itself. Instead of trying to refine a given thought into a crafted statement, he puts his criticisms and adjustments into the piece itself. He shows us the tools he uses to make his art, because they're all he has on hand to talk about.

If there is one thing I've learned about comedy and comedians over the years it's that every single sentence is carefully crafted and timed. When they start out they'll get like 5-10-15 minute "sets". They time every joke. They know exactly how much time they need to perform routines they want to do and they're usually timed down to the second. There are a few comedians who go off script though, but that usually doesn't happen until they are famous. Bo Burnham might be one of those comedians. The only one I know from personal experience that extends his show is Gabriel Iglesias. He kept going for well over an hour after the 2-hour show was supposed to be over. I wouldn't be surprised if Bo does the same thing.

then the full on discarded mic hitting the floor, no care given, like he cant wait to leave

By his facial expressions, and his last ad lib scream, I'm pretty sure he was having one while he was still performing

@@theradiantdehd3997 he was. He stated in an interview that he was having a panic attack in the end of the song. He just knows his act so well that he can power through. As soon as he dropped the mic, he went backstage and cried for 2 hours.

@@chrisgoss728 It makes sense. This is probably the most open he expressed his feelings/mental state on stage, and openly sharing something like that is extremely stressful. Sharing it to so many people at once only makes it harder.

I think all his old songs are hilarious and so "bar heavy". Im Bo Yo, Words Words Words, Oh Bo, Rant, Eff, 3.14 apple pie, high school song etc

The song is amazing but I’m not sure I’d describe it as hilarious. It’s really dark and beautiful.

@@lanej.lubell7291 yeah I'm not sure if hilarious is the right word. It just gives ya a funny feeling, ya know

I’ve been singing that a lot over the past few days, I think it’s one of the most chillingly beautiful songs ever written. Godddd he’s too talented

He’s back

It turns out the real burrito was the emotional baggage we made along the way.

He says he did intend it this way but that's the thing about the subconscious and art - it's working even when you aren't.

Then came back and broke us all again

I actually saw that coming. I watched this and the song after it, "Happy" I think it's called, and something told. e he was going on hiatus and I honestly thought we would read about him killing himself not long after. I still worry about that and Inside hasn't made me feel much better about it. I honestly hope he's doing better

He did say that it wasn’t his intention but art is very subjective after all and I like that theory too.

He did say it wasn’t his intention, however, within the song there seems to be an emphasis that on “half of it” throughout the performance. I like this theory too.

The subconscious mind is a funny thing. Even if it wasn't intentional it wouldn't surprise me if it worked it way out without his even realizing it.

Yea. And I felt the Pringle bit was kind of a metaphor for him either biting off more than he could chew with his career or maybe saying he was so focused of the fame and attention he craved that he wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of pain and torment it would bring him. Like he’s trying to force himself into a space he shouldn’t be in, doesn’t deserve to be in, and he’s feeling the repercussions. He’s a true tortured artist.

Cherrytree Breeze He may have said that but I believe the burrito analogy is intentional. “You can tell them anything if you make it funny, make it rhyme”. He’s telling us he has too much to handle in his life through the funny story of the burrito, and whilst making it rhyme

I agree

The real kicker is that it's not possible to appreciate his work without contributing to the problems that make him cry for help. Being here, watching the video, and talking about it is exactly the kind of thing that got him in that position to begin with. And I'm doing it right now with this post. People appreciating his talents is the root cause of his mental health problems. Whether you laugh or cry the result is the same. And that fact is just another layer to the art he makes.

not only did they not get it, he gave them a second chance to understand him when he said "you can tell them anything as long as it rhymes and if THEY DONT GET IT run it one more time" then goes back to "i dont think i can handle this". Felt so bad for him

The cheers were support for him, not laughing at him. Then again, based on all of the comments I see about this, I feel I'm the only one who sees it this way.

This is just a tragic paradox of being genuine about pain with your audience. Especially in live shows. The audience can't all stand up in unison and say "we appreciate you." The best we can do to show our support for what he says is to cheer for him. But at the same time, cheering is also how we applaud a regular comedy act. If the audience cheers, is it because we care? Or because we're blindly lapping up his pain for our amusement, like a circus animal? if the audience doesn't cheer, is it because we understand his message? Or is it because we didn't like what he said, and think he wasted our time? After all, Bo said himself in this song - and even in the name of the special - that he wants to make us happy. He wants to put on a memorable show that we'll think of fondly, even if part of that appreciation is of how honest he is about a dark topic, not just simple laughs. He just finished pouring his heart out to us. It wouldn't be right to just sit in silence. Judging by the "look at them, they're just staring at me" line, he doesn't want that. And this sort of alienating distance between artist and audience goes both ways. A lot of the anxiety and self-doubt he expresses in Inside comes from the nagging sense of dishonesty he feels for using mental illness as part of his act. Bo had real panic attacks on stage, and expressed that in his art through this song, but he probably wasn't actively in the middle of a panic attack every time he sang it. I'm sure there were nights he had to stand up in front of a crowd and sing "Can't Handle This" - a song that's powerful BECAUSE it comes from such a dark place - even on one of his better days. I can't imagine how that might eat away at someone. He already doubts whether his audience even cares about his feelings, and now there's room to convince himself he's lying about his feelings for comedy act. It's common for people with anxiety or depression to feel guilty and beat themselves up, telling themselves that they're not really sick, they're just hamming it up for attention. For a professional comedian like Bo, those thoughts must be even worse. Anxiety is damn good at convincing you that you're the bad guy.

Actually the pringles and chipotle was just it….just about pringles and chipotle. It was to take pressure off the audience and then hit them with the seriousness which is what he usually does. If you want to take it as a metaphor then do it, but don’t be saying that it was specially meant to be a metaphors and “bo meant ……”

Oh my god we think we know you is life changing

I cant even believe that performance exists it's too good to be true

While it's still a controversial issue, when the US was founded, the Founding Fathers asked themselves a similar question, and after an insane amount of discussion and thought they decided that even if a hundred guilty people got away with a crime if they didn't also punish one innocent person, they would let them all walk free. It's the trolley problem all over again, if you pull the lever you chose to kill one person, but if you don't five die but you didn't choose to kill them. Knowing what it's like to deal with depression and anxiety, I wouldn't wish it on even the most cruel person to exist. Mental health problems are so overlooked, but they have the potential to destroy and kill people by the millions, and dying of suicide because you're tormented by your own brain, is about as horrific of a death as you get. No. No matter how many people benefit from the work, it's not worth an artist, musician, or comic's life. That's just my opinion though.

I'm still working through all your reactions to him, so I'm sure you're learning just how deep it gets lol

He left comedy for 5 years after this tour. He released a special in September 2021 after the hiatus called “Inside”. If this song alarmed you about him and perceive this to be a cry for help, I don’t know if you should watch Inside.

Thank you for watching with me 🙏