Background

Bo Burnham pink to fame after posting videos on YouTube . He signed to Comedy Central Records and released His debut EP, ” Bo Fo Sho “, in 2008. In 2009 he released His debut album, Bo Burnham , a collection de son MOST popular songs on YouTube. ” Words Words Words ” was released in 2010 at the House of Blues in Boston, to critical acclaim. Following this, Burnham wrote a book of poetry Egghead , which became a New York Times Bestseller, and wrote and starred in his own mockumentary , Zach Stone’s Gonna Be Famous on MTV . Following this, In 2013 he toured with the stand-up show what. , Which was released on YouTube and Netflix for free on December 17, 2013. ^[1] While touring for what. Burnham Began to-have panic attacks before shows, qui May-have Influenced the writing and performance of Make Happy , His next live show. ^[2]Burnham Began touring for Make Happy in February 2015, at the age of 24. ^[3] Make Happy Was Recorded for Netflix at the Capitol Theater in New York, and released on June 3, 2016, at a time When Netflix Was Releasing several original content stand-up comedy specials per month. ^[4] Following the release of Make Happy on Netflix, Burnham stated that it may be the last stand-up show he performs in the future foreseeable, as he plans to focus more on writing. ^[2]

Synopsis

This synopsis describes the Netflix recording, which may differ in parts to the stand-up performance tour.

In the introduction, Burnham is a clown in the room. They voice explains how to make the audience forget about their problems. In the next shot, we see a man sitting on the stage in a hoodie (reminiscent of the opening of what. ). The man warns the audience that entertainers are not to be trusted. However, his warning is overlooked as Bo comes on the stage and shoos him away. (Hell, yeah!) “Hell, yeah!” The show begins with a song based around call and response , where Burnham requests various groups in the audience (for example, virgins) to shout out. (Intro). As the song progresses, Bo mocks the audience for their herd mentality as they randomly shout out “Hell, yeah!” To anything he says. In the middle of the song, Burnham segues into a more introspective and meta verse where he expresses his fears of his show ultimately meaning nothing and leaving no impact on the audience.

After the song, a heckler shouts out that she loves Bo. When Bo rejects her proclamation of love, she shouts out “I love the idea of ​​you!” (A reference to the CD recording of what he calls a parasocial attraction to him). Burnham moves to his keyboard and performs an ironic song about the problems of being a straight white male (Straight White Male). Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter. He then plays a call and response game with the audience where he tricks them into saying the N word. He follows this by turning the camera on the audience, saying how they will be immortalized as bigots.

(Hey Bo, Guess What?). He is a singer, songwriter and songwriter. He is a singer, songwriter and songwriter. Burnham is a bestselling author of a book on the subject of hip hop . He delivers a hip-hop version of ” I’m a Little Teapot ” to illustrate his point (I’m a Little Tea Pot). Following a series of subversive jokes based around misdirection, Burnham claims he will improvise a song about a member of the audience, and asks an audience member for his name-Rob. A pre-recorded track plays about “Rob” in the gaps in the track (Improv Song).

Burnham then starts talking about country music and criticizing the modern-day industry, singing a meta-country song about rich male stadium- country singers pandering to their audiences with “rural nouns and simple adjectives” (Country Song). After the song, Bo starts criticizing the lip-syncing segment of the Tonight Show , describing it as the end of culture. In a discreet bit, Burnham performs a mime about seeing a penis in a restroom and how it was overcome by its beauty. In a song about love, Lower Your Expectations (Lower Your Expectations).

He makes some quick-fire jokes to point out how “original does not mean good.” He then performs a mime about making sandwiches while high on marijuana, and intoxicated. During his intoxicated pantomime, he is interrupted by a voice-over of his girlfriend who berates him for his drunken behavior and forces him to end the bit. Flaming Hot Cheetos , the most popular songs of all time, are the songs, the songs, the songs, the songs, the songs and the songs. Their lyrics too seriously (Kill Yourself).

He has a lot to do with his pants. He then performs a song about a breakup (and the man’s emotional immaturity), singing the dialogue for both of the partners. Throughout the song the woman tries to make the break up as painless as possible, however the man constantly interrupts her by telling her to “eat a dick!” When she calls him out on his immature behavior, he admits that he is “emotionally inarticulate” and that he uses anger as a defense mechanism to hide his true sadness. Upon seeing the man open up, the woman realizes that the man truly does love and maybe they can avoid breaking up. However, this turns out to be a trick as the woman tells the man to “lick my clit” (Break Up Song).

He then begins to analyze the show’s meaning, the culture of performance promoted by social media and the concept of the Me generation . He admits that he is still in the business, he is still unhappy with his life has turned out. He argues that social media is not the answer to the problem, but rather the response to a generation that demanded to perform. Now in a world where people can perform for each other all the time, the line between performer and audience member is virtually nonexistent. Bo ends the segment by bringing the houselights so he and the audience can be equal. He encourages them to live their lives without the need for an audience.

In the show ‘s final segment, Burnham describes how Kanye West ‘ s Yeezus Tour performed with an autotune rant and then spends several minutes to deliver a mixture of a rant and a song inspired by this (Kanye Rant). Throughout the rant, he laments about basic first world problems as it is not able to fit his hand in Pringles can and getting an overstuffed burrito from Chipotle. Halfway through the song, Bo has a moment of introspection where he admits that he feels overwhelmed by the pressure he puts on himself to please his audience and how many years of performing has taken on his emotional and mental health. As the song progresses, he tries to get the song back on track but he reverts to a state of despair (Can not Handle This). As the song ends,

Bo then leaves the stage and leads the viewer into the green room where he sings one final song. In the song, he addresses the rhetorical question “Are you happy?” In which he asks the audience if they feel better about themselves after having watched his show (Are You Happy?). However, it becomes apparent that he is also asking himself if he is happy. He’s got to get the realization that would not give him the satisfaction in life and that he could be happy to be unhappy. In the final verses of the song, he admits that his career has turned him into everything he hates and that “making it” did not bring him the happiness he thought it would. As the song ends, he leaves his idea book on the piano and exits the theater to join his girlfriend and dog in a quiet suburban home.

Analysis

Thematically, as Burnham himself in the special, Make Happy can be said to be “about performing”. ^[5] [6] Throughout the show, Burnham maintains a “prickly persona” with the audience, “alternating between making them laugh and baiting them, even insulting them.” ^[2] The show is “meticulously choreographed” ^[7] and makes extensive use of pre-recorded music, theater lighting, sound effects and his audience; ^{[4] [5] [8]} Make Happyhas been described as a tonal continuation of what. , ^[9] and intersperses comedy, music, theatrics and poetry. ^[8] The show has ”

Critical reception

Make Happy was very well received by critics. Hugar of the AV Club gives the show an A- rating, calling it “one of the best stand up specials of the year”. Hugar noted that the show “gets more avant-garde and considerably darker” than Burnham’s previous material and summarized, “Burnham is a skilled comic and his combination of rapid-fire songwriting and meaty observations about modern life are captivating.” ^[10] Newman of Forbes Gives Happy an Overwhelmingly Positive Review, describing it as “easily the best comedy special [Netflix] has ever produced”, praising Burnham’s “whipsaw swaps between fun and thoughtfulness” and “honed and self-deprecating” stage presence.

Caballero of Impact gives the Netflix a very positive review, saying that Burnham “showcases the satirical, arrogant yet self-deprecating humor that characterizes him”, creating a work that is “deeply personal”, and ends the show with “a question so (The Burnham explores in the show’s final song). ^[8]

Williams in TheVine gives a positive review of the special; Williams says that Burnham “deconstructs himself in a hysterical, brilliantly self-conscious, sometimes unsettling routine.” ^[7] Czajkowski: ” The Burnham Burnham,” “The Burnham Burnham,” “The Burnham, Critiquing some of his “raunchier material” and describing the show as a little stuck. ^[9]

Bennett of Chortle calls Burnham “intensively creative”, with an ability to “surprise with a crafty turn of phrase”, and believes the show to be an hour of happiness. ^[5] McCarthy of Decider says that Burnham displays a “shrewd knowledge of those funnymen and women who have hit the stages before him, as well as a propensity for deconstructing the very nature of entertainment, and the relationship between performer and audience, between star And fans “. ^[6]

References