On June 3, Bo Burnham released his new standup on Netflix, and it was heavy. Burnham has performed comedy for a little more than ten years, starting out on youtube with various CDs and comedy specials that followed. He also appeared in several different movies and tv shows like 'Funny People' and the 'Kroll Show'. He even had his own series on MTV called 'Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous' which lasted for one season. The point is, Burnham has a rich experience in entertainment and performing, and he knows how to do it well, and this new standup proves that even more.
Along with his typical jokes of sexuality, race, and religion, he layers the show with his own commentary of what performing is and what it really means. Towards the end of his show, after miming what it's like to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when high of marijuana and drunk or commenting on the complex relationship between fans and present-day performers, Burnham pauses and begins to discuss why he does what he does; and it's beautiful.
He leans to the edge of the stage and begins his speech, trying to describe what the whole show is about:
"It's about performing. I try to make my show about other things but it always ends up being about performing. I started performing very young, as a teenager, you know, professionally. And as a comedian, what you're supposed to do, you're supposed to talk about what you know. And what I knew always was performing. So to talk about traffic or laundry felt incredibly disingenuous.
But I worried that making a show about performing would be too meta. It wouldn't be relatable to people that aren't performers. But what I found is that I don't think anyone isn't....I was born in 1990 and I was sort of raised in America when it was cult of self-expression. And I was just taught, you know, express myself and have things to say and everyone will care about them. And I think everyone was taught that and I think most of us found out no one gives a shit what we think. So we flock to performers by the thousands 'cause we're the few that have found an audience. And then I'm supposed to get up here and say, "Follow your dreams," as if this is a meritocracy? It is not...
They say it's the me-generation. It's not...the arrogance is taught or it was cultivated. It's self-conscious. That's what it is...
Social media, it's just the market's answer to a generation that demanded to perform. So the market said, "Here, perform everything to each other all the time for no reason." It's prison, it's horrific. It is performer and audience melded together. What do we want more than to lie in our bed at the end of the day and just watch our life as a satisfied audience member?
I know very little about anything, but what I do know is that if you can live your life without an audience, you should do it.... "
I know you're thinking that that seems pretty heavy, and it is, but that's because it's honest and beautiful and delivered in such an amazing way. So, if you have a free hour this week or weekend, check out 'Make Happy' on Netflix, you won't regret it.
