Multi-hyphenate Bo Burnham recently released Inside, a Netflix comedy special/performance art piece that could go down as the best work of art to come out of the pandemic.
Filmed entirely in his attic room during 2020, the special covers internet culture from a plethora of angles, and sprinkles in a fair amount of the existential dread Burnham felt while making it.
My exposure to Burnham has come exclusively through his film work, which includes the great 2018 movie Eighth Grade, which he wrote and directed, and his appearance in last year’s Promising Young Woman (in many ways the highlight of that film).
For a decade before that, though, he was a comedian with musical chops who found a large audience as a young YouTuber.
That experience makes him the perfect vessel to dissect and satirize the country’s social media obsession, and on Inside he does so in ways both hilarious and poignant.
Today’s SOTD is a perfect example of both. It’s a brutal, spot-on dissection of a “white woman’s Instagram” account that takes a detour in its bridge into a beautifully sad and humanizing moment.
Inside has plenty of funny, thought-provoking moments like this. I highly recommend it.
An open window
A novel, a couple holding hands
An avocado
A poem written in the sand
Fresh-fallen snow on the ground
A golden retriever in a flower crown
Is this Heaven?
Or is it just a
[Chorus]
White woman
A white woman’s Instagram
White woman
A white woman’s Instagram (Instagram)
White woman (White woman)
A white woman’s Instagram
White woman
A white woman’s Instagram
[Verse 2]
Latte foam art, tiny pumpkins
Fuzzy, comfy socks
A coffee table made out of driftwood
A bobblehead of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
A needlepoint of a fox
Some random quote from Lord of the Rings
Incorrectly attributed to Martin Luther King
Is this Heaven?
Or am I looking at a
[Chorus]
White woman
A white woman’s Instagram
White woman
A white woman’s Instagram (Instagram)
White woman (White woman)
A white woman’s Instagram
White woman
A white woman’s Instagram
[Bridge]
Her favorite photo of her mom
The caption says:
“I can’t believe it
It’s been a decade since you’ve been gone
Momma, I miss you
I miss sitting with you in the front yard
Still figuring out how to keep living without you
It’s got a little better, but it’s still hard
Momma, I got a job I love and my own apartment
Momma, I got a boyfriend, and I’m crazy about him
Your little girl didn’t do too bad
Momma, I love you. Give a hug and kiss to Dad”
[Verse 3]
A goat-cheese salad (Goat-cheese salad)
A backlit hammock (Backlit hammock)
A simple glass of wine
Incredibly derivative political street art
A dreamcatcher bought from Urban Outfitters
A vintage neon sign
Three little words, a couple of doves
And a ring on her finger from the person that she loves
Is this Heaven?
Or is it just a
[Chorus]
White woman
A white woman’s Instagram
White woman (White woman)
A white woman’s Instagram (Instagram)
White woman (White woman)
A white woman’s Instagram
White woman
A white woman’s Instagram
Meet Me In Montauk 
We will definitely need to check out his new special.
Wow. I don’t use IG but this song brings the IG user experience to life quite vividly…
The only thing I could think while watching and listening to this smug jerk was of this moment in Annie Hall:
Unlike you, I don’t view the bridge as a detour. At least in the video, he appears to be mocking the young woman even then, for having the audacity to write a public letter to her deceased mother. I had some interest in the show, but I find this video/song utterly mean-spirited. He’s decidedly not the person to do this… leave that satire to any of the funny white women who would do it with more sensitivity and more humor.
Case in point
https://www.boredpanda.com/celebrity-instagram-parody-celeste-barber/
I love this special and I think it’s well worth the watch to see everything within context. Bo calls himself out consistently for not being in the demographic who needs to be making art or talking right now, but it would be a boring life for him to stay completely quiet. But I don’t see him as overly snarky in this song, the target is far more the way people craft an image on social media than a tear down of white women as a group. I don’t see the writer and director of Eight Grade not having the ability to see the complexity in a person. He’s critical of social media and the internet’s role. Anyway, I’ll continue enjoying the songs from this special 😂
In other things I’ve seen, yes. Here, nope.
I never put a flower crown on Molly
🙂