In Bo Burnham's new Netflix special, Inside, he says that he took a five-year break from doing live shows to treat his mental health–did he really? The new, lockdown-centered comedy project (which was also directed and edited by Burnham) is a collection of content he created in isolation as the coronavirus pandemic took the world out of commission. Utilizing his usual blend of intelligent, quick-paced humor, the comedian (among various other titles) touches on a wide range of topics, from Amazon's Jeff Bezos, to the ethics of joking during times of crisis, to the tribulations of FaceTiming with your parents.

But, as usual, the humor isn't just about laughs. Much like Bo Burnham's last stand-up special, 2016's Make Happy, there's a great deal of societal commentary and introspection fused with jokes. He references the overall state of the world during the pandemic and last summer's social unrest in the United States. There's also a fair amount of material regarding living with mental health conditions, as well. Burnham has been vocal about dealing with anxiety in the past and seems to have really channeled some of his experiences through the main character of Kayla in his 2018 directorial debut (which he also wrote), Eighth Grade. Similarly, with Inside, he touches on depression, anxiety, insecurity, isolation, nihilism, and other related subjects.

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Toward the end of the project, during the song "Hands Up (Eyes On Me)," Burnham reveals that he took the last five years, prior to filming the Inside Netflix special, off from performing live shows. He says that this decision was prompted by the fact that he started having "severe panic attacks while on stage," which he also wittily notes "is not a great place to have them." And this is true; he hasn't done live comedy since he was promoting Make Happy. He dove into the world of film with his work on Eighth Grade and other projects, such as his supporting roles in 2017's The Big Sick and the recent film Promising Young Woman.

Regarding his work on Eighth Grade, Burnham told film.list.co.uk in 2019"I'd love to get back to live performing, but I'd have to figure out what I'd say next. I went into films because I was desperate to collaborate with people. I was tired of myself as a subject, I didn't like only looking to myself to express through myself about myself, so that's why I wanted to do a film." It's incredibly understandable that, after living with anxiety for years and having it manifest itself via panic attacks that directly impaired his ability to do his job, Bo Burnham took time off to pursue other creative avenues while trying to care for himself and get back to fighting form. Not only that, he was able to channel his own experiences into Eighth Grade, which made viewers all over the world feel less alone in their struggles.

Though a great deal of Inside and Burnham's revelation towards the end are incredibly sad, brutally honest, and commendably vulnerable, he does leave viewers with hope regarding his situation (and possibly theirs, as well). He says during "Hands Up (Eyes On Me)," "I didn't perform for five years. And I spent that time trying to improve myself mentally. And you know what? I did! I got better. I got so much better, in fact, that in January of 2020, I thought, 'You know what, I should start performing again. I've been hiding from the world and I need to reenter.'" Though the pandemic seems to have thrown a wrench in those initial plans, Bo Burnham has transmuted some of that turmoil into the lockdown-centered Inside special, which is as cathartic for viewers as it likely is for him. Hopefully, he will continue to reenter the world as it opens up back up.

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