A year after the incredible film that was Bo Burnham’s Inside hit screens on Netflix he released the outtakes on YouTube, another hour of incredibly brilliant and insightful moments that in some ways didn’t make the cut, but also show how much time and effort he really put into making this special so incredible.

In the outtakes we get to see songs that didn’t make the final cut as well as other creative aspects that were changed or altered within the final film. Bo Burnham to me has always been a creative genius, from his early stand-up to his more recent work, he really understands how important what you’re looking at is and how incredible the whole piece can be. It’s not always about what you’re saying but how you’re presenting it too, and seeing the painstaking work he goes through to make those choices in this video is really fascinating.

As this hour-long outtake special was uploaded to YouTube I also liked how it was not full of adverts that were promoted by YouTube but instead Bo Burnham made his own adverts within the special to parody the ones we often see online. In these outtakes we also get to see him parody podcasts, which was a huge thing that rose to the mainstream in the pandemic, as well as many other online platforms that have completely changed how we absorb media and create it.

My favourite thing from these outtakes were some of the songs that didn’t fit the narrative of the original film, but still had a lot of meaning and humour. Some of the songs, especially the chicken song at the end, were really powerful but still had that comedic element to it that didn’t make it too serious or dark. Of course you can pull symbolism and different ideas from them but at the end of the day they are still a very funny moment in time that you as the audience member can connect to, even if there is deeper subtext within it as well.

If you enjoyed Bo Burnham’s Inside then I really think you need to watch this because not only does it show you the bits that didn’t make it, but also so much more content that is great on its own and deserves its place in this world. I understand if it did not make sense in terms of the narrative of the special and hitting time restraints that it had to be cut, but to still be able to watch it and enjoy it is a real pleasure and privilege that we don’t often get to do. Usually these sorts of things end up unseen unless they make the outtake section of a DVD.

Bo Burnham is an absolutely incredible artist, what he does in the his specials is so clever and his constant critique and analysis of the world we live in today is spot-on and very relatable to any audience member watching. I feel with him being of a generation that grew up with social media and YouTube and the world being so accessible to us at all times, he really helps my generation explain what they’re going through and how crazy this new world that we’re living in really is.

What do you think of Bo Burnham?

Until next time.

Published by shonaharding

Media graduate with a passion for reviewing film and TV. View all posts by shonaharding