History Film / BoBurnhamInside

** In the outtakes, Bo creates a few of these and uses them as B-roll by pointing his camera at a monitor; the [=YouTube=]-labeled chapter of one instance is even titled "mise en abyme" (a formal technique in Western art of placing a copy of an image within itself). He creates a similar effect at the end of "This Isn't a Joke".

* LyricalDissonance: "That Funny Feeling" is a soft campfire song about the anxiety of impending societal collapse.

* {{Corpsing}}: Bo can't help but laugh a bit after the line about ''Harry Potter'' fanart in "Welcome to the Internet".

* DarkReprise: "Goodbye" ends with a reprise of "Welcome to the Internet," "Comedy," and and an almost nightmarish "Look Who's Inside Again". While none of those were exactly positive songs to begin with, they now focus entirely on Bo himself and the crossroads between his ambitions and his anxieties.

On May 30, 2022, the one-year anniversary of ''Inside'', Bo announced that he would be releasing a collection of material left on the editing room floor during the production of the special in an hour's time on his [=YouTube=] channel. The end result, an hour-long video titled ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XWEVoI40sE The Inside Outtakes]]'', contains original bits and songs that didn't make the final cut alongside alternate versions of songs from the special. With the upload of the video, a deluxe version of the ''Inside'' album was also announced for eventual release on June 3. It contains the cut songs which appeared in the outtakes as well as the instrumental tracks from the special and two tracks which were also written for the special but didn’t make the cut for either the special proper or the outtakes.

* TooDesperateToBePicky: "Biden" is Bo lamenting that he felt the best option for US President in the 2020 election was UsefulNotes/JoeBiden.

* ByNoIMeanYes: In one part of "The Future":

* TooDesperateToBePicky: "Biden" is Bo lamenting that the best option for US President at the time was UsefulNotes/JoeBiden.

''Bo Burnham: Inside'' (oftentimes referred to as just ''Inside'') is a 2021 musical special written, directed, filmed, edited and performed by comedian Creator/BoBurnham. The special was his first in five years following a hiatus from stage work that he took following 2016's ''Make Happy''.

* IJustWantToBeYou: "1985" is all about how Bo wants to be an oblivious white guy in UsefulNotes/TheEighties. Bo then admits that not every white guy had it easy in 1985, before admitting that who he really wants to be is his father, Scott Burnham, in 1985.

* MinorFlawMajorBreakup: Subverted and parodied in "Five Years", a song to a hypothetical girlfriend of five years about things Bo finds annoying about her, like eating his dumplings without asking, claiming to be a feminist but telling him to "be a man" and kill a spider, and needing to use the bathroom every time that he does.

* BrandX: The outtakes feature bits revolving around companies obviously evocative of Google, [=YouTube=] and Creator/MarvelStudios among others -- except the names of all of them are simply replaced with "Inside", still bearing their iconic text and coloring.

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* GenreBusting: Given its extensive coverage of controversial, serious subject matter and varying tones (ranging from genuinely funny to bleakly funny to sad to disturbing to nihilistic), it was evident that simply categorizing ''Inside'' as a "comedy special" wasn't going to cut it, and mass debate and analysis have brought no objective consensus. Various parts are dedicated to comedy, drama, music and stand-up, while the overarching presentation has been described as akin to a documentary or diary/essay film, and the special references its own existence and production in a thoroughly postmodern/metamodern manner. To top all of this off, at least one comment exists online where someone deems the special the funniest {{psychological horror}} they've seen.
* GoMadFromTheIsolation: The special was shot as Bo was social distancing in his house alone during the 2020 pandemic. [[DarkerAndEdgier Things get dark.]]

* NewSoundAlbum: Incorporates a number of genres mostly uncharted by the music in Bo's past specials, including new wave, alternative R&B, bedroom pop, and '80s-style synthpop.
* OneManSong: "Bezos I" and "Bezos II", both centered around Creator/{{Amazon}} founder Jeff Bezos.

* WrongfullyAttributed: InUniverse, one of the stock posting mishaps of basic white women in "White Women's Instagram" is "Some random quote from ''[[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Lord of the Rings]]'', incorrectly attributed to [[UsefulNotes/MartinLutherKingJr Martin Luther King]]".

* {{Parody}}: "Five Years" is a pastiche of the modern R&B sound popularized by artists like Music/{{Drake}}, and takes overt influence from several of his songs. Bo's voicemail at the start has been compared to the similar use of an opening voicemail in "Marvins Room", numerous vocal melodies and cadences are lifted straight from "Controlla", and the set lighting for most of the song is reminiscent of the video for "Hotline Bling".

[[caption-width-right:350:''"Well, well, look who's inside again..."'']]

* AspectRatioSwitch: Present throughout the special. For example, most of "White Woman's Instagram" is shot in square format to mimic an Instagram post. Once the woman [[HiddenDepths starts opening up about her emotions in a genuine manner]], the screen widens...then reverts back to square when she returns to cliche posting.
* BeardOfSorrow: ''Inside'' was Bo's first special since he stepped away from performing on stage in 2015, and, since the special mainly focuses on his anxiety and depression, both his hair and facial hair are very unkempt.

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Inside'' is darker than Bo's previous material. What happens if, mid-UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic, Bo spends months making a special inside his own house, without any audience or ''anyone'' else on camera but him? You get an uncomfortably close look at his own mental struggles that have only gotten worse as the pandemic has rolled on. Dealing with his anxiety and depression is a frequent theme of his work, but it becomes much more resonant without an audience to please.
* DarkReprise: "Goodbye" ends with a reprise of "Welcome to the Internet," "Comedy," and and an almost nightmarish "Look Who's Inside Again". While none of those were exactly positive songs to begin with, they now focus entirely on Bo himself and the crossroads between his ambitions and his anxieties.
* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title is repeated quite a bit, both in the sense of the physical inside (as the special is largely shot in one room) and the emotional inside (as it is deeply introspective on Bo's behalf).
* DrosteImage: Following "Unpaid Intern", we cut to Bo reacting to the song and commenting on it. [[spoiler:But after the song within the video ends, the video itself keeps going, this time playing Bo's reaction to his song, which he is understandably confused by. This continues with Bo commenting on and criticising his other reactions before he finally makes it stop after four or five loops.]]

* ClusterFBomb: "WTFIGO" eventually transitions to Bo repeating "what the fuck is going on?" over and over in the second half of the song. The other songs aren't averse to swearing, but "WTFIGO" contains a swear word on every line in the latter part.

* SayMyName: "Bezos III" and "Bezos IV" mostly consist of repeating Jeff Bezos' name over and over again.

* ClusterFBomb: "WTFIGO" eventually transitions to repeating "what the fuck is going on?" over and over in the second half of the song. The other songs aren't averse to swearing, but "WTFIGO" contains a swear word on every line in the latter part.

* LethalChef: "Microwave Popcorn" is all about Bo trying and failing to make microwave popcurn. He puts it in the microwave for too long, resulting in the popcorn coming out burnt.
* MinorFlawMajorBreakup: Subverted in "Five Years". Bo sings a song to a hypothetical girlfriend of five years about things he finds annoying about her, like eating his dumplings without asking, telling him to kill a spider, and needing to use the bathroom every time that he does.

* TooDesperateToBePicky: "Biden" is Bo lamenting that the best option for president at the time was UsefulNotes/JoeBiden, wondering how things came to be that Biden is "the best-case scenario".

* TheScottishTrope: Throughout the run of ''Inside'', Bo never actually refers to the pandemic by name, instead referring to "the funniest thing [happening]" that forced him to stay isolated just when he was getting out of his depressive funk and planning a return to comedy.

* WhamLine: "White Woman's Instagram" has ''two'' in a short period.
** First comes "It's been a decade since you've been gone...", after which the song takes a sincere and empathetic turn away from the mockery preceding it.
** The end of the same breakdown also has "Give a hug and kiss to Dad," [[spoiler:possibly insinuating that ''both'' of the titular white woman's parents are dead.]]

On May 30, 2022, the one-year anniversary of ''Inside'', Bo announced that he would be releasing a collection of material left on the editing room floor during the production of the special in an hour's time on his [=YouTube=] channel. The end result, an hour-long video titled ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XWEVoI40sE The Inside Outtakes]]'', contains original bits and songs that didn't make the final cut alongside alternate versions of songs from the special. With the upload of the video, a deluxe version of the ''Inside'' album was also announced, which released on June 3, containing the cut songs which appeared in the outtakes, as well as the instrumental tracks from the special and two tracks which were also written for the special but didn’t make the cut for either the special proper or the outtakes.

On May 30, 2022, the one-year anniversary of ''Inside'', Bo announced that he would be releasing a collection of material left on the editing room floor during the production of the special in an hour's time on his [=YouTube=] channel. The end result, an hour-long video titled ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XWEVoI40sE The Inside Outtakes]]'', contains original bits and songs that didn't make the final cut alongside alternate versions of songs from the special. With the upload of the video, a deluxe version of the ''Inside'' album (likely containing songs from the outtakes) was also announced for release on June 3.

The special was released on May 30, 2021 on Creator/{{Netflix}}, and had a limited US theatrical release in the summer of the same year[[note]]It was initially announced that showings would only be held on July 22 as a "one night only" event, but between the high demand that grew and the rapid rate of show sellouts, many theaters extended the run across the weekend, with some even adding additional showings afterwards.[[/note]], making it the first Netflix "comedy" special to ever receive theatrical distribution. The accompanying soundtrack, ''Inside (The Songs)'', was released on various platforms on June 10[[note]]A physical CD and vinyl release was later announced in September.[[/note]] by Republic Records, with label executive Tyler Arnold personally reaching out to Burnham, having been a fan of his for years and being a huge fan of the special [[note]]This marked the first instance of a simultaneous film/album release for a Burnham special since ''what.'' in 2013, following legal complications obstructing the process for ''Make Happy'' -- and potentially in part a result of heavy online fan campaigning for ''Inside'' to avoid a similar fate.[[/note]] Bo released a collection of cutting-room-floor material entitled ''The Inside Outtakes'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XWEVoI40sE on his [=YouTube=] channel]] exactly one year later on May 30, 2022.

The special was released on May 30, 2021 on Creator/{{Netflix}}, and had a limited US theatrical release in the summer of the same year[[note]]It was initially announced that showings would only be held on July 22 as a "one night only" event, but between the high demand that grew and the rapid rate of show sellouts, many theaters extended the run across the weekend, with some even adding additional showings afterwards.[[/note]], making it the first Netflix "comedy" special to ever receive theatrical distribution. The accompanying soundtrack, ''Inside (The Songs)'', was released on various platforms on June 10[[note]]A physical CD and vinyl release was later announced in September.[[/note]] by Republic Records, with label executive Tyler Arnold personally reaching out to Burnham, having been a fan of his for years and being a huge fan of the special. This marked the first instance of a simultaneous film/album release for a Burnham special since ''what.'' in 2013, following legal complications obstructing the process for ''Make Happy'' -- and potentially in part a result of heavy online fan campaigning for ''Inside'' to avoid a similar fate.

''Bo Burnham: Inside'' (sometimes referred to as just ''Inside'') is a 2021 musical special written, directed, filmed, edited and performed by comedian Creator/BoBurnham. The special was his first in five years following a hiatus from stage work that he took following 2016's ''Make Happy''.

* AmbiguousEnding: The ending has Bo [[spoiler:step outside for the time in months but trying to get back inside the house once the audience starts laughing and the spotlight is on him. It then cuts to Bo sitting in a blue-lit room watching himself on a projector and smiling. The use of blue in the special reflect his existential crisis and mental health, indicating that this part of the ending is all in his head.]]
** [[spoiler: An optimist would say this ending is about Bo expecting to be scared when he can finally start performing on stage again but the smile is ultimately saying that he's going to be alright once that part is done.]]
** [[spoiler: A pessimist would say this is Bo becoming too adjusted to being home alone and him returning to the stage would be so overwhelming that it's only a matter of time until his mental health deteriorates again.]]

* BeardOfSorrow: ''Inside'' was Burnham's first special since he stepped away from performing on stage in 2015, and, since the special mainly focuses on his anxiety and depression, both his hair and facial hair are very unkempt.

** "Welcome to the Internet"s primary humor dwells on the rapid switch between seemingly benign and absolutely horrid things you can find on the Internet.

* {{Corpsing}}: Burnham laughs a bit after the line about ''Harry Potter'' fanart in "Welcome to the Internet".
* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Inside'' is darker than Burnham's previous material. What happens if, mid-UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic, Bo spends months making a special inside his own house, without any audience or ''anyone'' else on camera but him? You get an uncomfortably close look at his own mental struggles that have only gotten worse as the pandemic has rolled on. Dealing with his anxiety and depression is a frequent theme of his work, but it becomes much more resonant without an audience to please.

* GainaxEnding: The special [[spoiler:ends with Bo finally leaving his room, only to be confronted by a spotlight and the sound of a cheering audience. Horrified, he tries to get back in but is locked out, and the audience laughs endlessly as they watch him struggle...and all of this is being watched by Bo himself on a screen, still inside the room, who gives a small smile.]]

* InternetSafetyAesop: The entire special involves criticising the use of the internet in the 21st century, ranging from irresponsible parents using it as a babysitting tool, users using social media to compensate for self-esteem issues and feelings of inadequacy, and how addictive it is.

* TheScottishTrope: Throughout the run of ''Inside'', Burnham never actually refers to the pandemic by name, instead referring to "the funniest thing [happening]" that forced him to stay isolated just when he was getting out of his depressive funk.

* TakeThat: "Bezos I" and "Bezos II" are sarcastic praises of Jeff Bezos, CEO of Creator/{{Amazon}} and one of the richest men in the world, who only became wealthier during the pandemic. In the former, Burnham calls out Bezos's SelfMadeMan narrative[[note]]he was from a relatively well-off family who invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into Amazon when it was starting out[[/note]], while in the latter Burnham snidely offers empty congratulations.

''Inside'' consists of a variety of satirical songs and sketches. Burnham filmed it without a crew or audience in the guest house of his Los Angeles home during the first year of the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic. While the pandemic is never explicitly referenced, feelings that became universal in its wake are central to the special -- namely those of isolation, depression, nihilism and increasing frustration with the state of the world, all juxtaposed with topics of modern culture such as social activism and online personas. The indefinite seclusion also leads to Burnham reflecting on his career up to this point; as a result, further explored themes include performativity, a creator's relationship with the Internet and their audience, and generation gaps (spurred by Burnham turning 30 while making the special).

* NewSoundAlbum: Incorporates a number of genres mostly uncharted by Bo's past albums, including new wave, alternative R&B, bedroom pop, and '80s-style synthpop.

* BreadEggsMilkSquick: "Welcome to the Internet" says that the internet has "movies, and doctors, and fantasy sports, and a bunch of colored pencil drawings of all the different characters in ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fucking each other". The faster part of the song also jumps around between light-hearted things people would search for and Internet conspiracy theories.
* {{Corpsing}}: Burnham laughs a bit after the line about ''Harry Potter'' fanart in "Welcome to the Internet".
* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title is repeated quite a bit, both in the sense of the physical inside (as the special is largely shot in one room) and the emotional inside (as it is deeply introspective on Bo's behalf).

* BreadEggsMilkSquick: "Welcome to the Internet" says that the internet has "movies, and doctors, and fantasy sports, and a bunch of colored pencil drawings of all the different characters in ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' fucking each other". The faster part of the song also jumps around between light-hearted things people would search for to Internet conspiracy theories, like "Here's a healthy breakfast option! You should kill your mom!"

* DoubleMeaningTitle: The title is repeated quite a bit, both in the sense of the literal inside (as the special is largely shot in one room) and the emotional inside (as it is deeply introspective on Bo's behalf).

* BreakTheHaughty: Downplayed. Bo deliberately writes himself as arrogant and having a savior complex with his comedy at the beginning of ''Inside'', yet by the end of the special the isolation has grinded him down.
* CerebusSyndrome: ''Inside'' starts off relatively lighthearted. The beginning consists of mostly jokes and hopefulness. But as the special rolls on, Bo gets more unhinged as [[GoMadFromTheIsolation his isolation gets to him]] and he ruminates on how doomed the world really seems to be. By the end of the special he seems to be hanging on by a thread.

* SanitySlippage: If ''Inside'' has a narrative, it's this, being about and created in the throes of the COVID-19 quarantine. Most of the songs are about the feeling of isolation and depression, and growing anxieties over the world's problems, with increasingly bizarre and discordant sound and visual effects.
* TheScottishTrope: Throughout the run of ''Inside'', Burnham never actually refers to the coronavirus by name, instead referring to "the funniest thing [happening]" that forced him to stay isolated just when he was getting out of his depressive funk.

''Bo Burnham: Inside'' (sometimes referred to as just ''Inside'') is a 2021 musical special written, directed, filmed, edited and performed by comedian Creator/BoBurnham. The special was his first in five years following a hiatus from stage work that he took following 2016's ''Make Happy'' due to struggling with performance-related anxiety during the special's tour that culminated in him having panic attacks while performing onstage.