Bo Burnham Profile

If you are familiar with Bo Burnham’s career, you may know about with his less-than-traditional journey to fame. If not, here’s a quick rundown: A rise to fame on YouTube for posting videos of himself singing quirky comedy songs at age 16, to opening for comedy tours before he turned 18, to becoming a writer for Comedy Central, to headlining his own comedy tour by age 24, and finally taking a seemingly 180-degree shift to writer and director. All before the age of 28. His less-than-typical rise to fame is in part thanks to his ingeniously creative mind and ability to examine the inner workings of American society and culture in a satirical yet critical way. He brings this insight and thoughtfulness to his film Eight Grade, a dramedy about a young girl named Kayla who is in her final week of eighth grade. Burnham explores the harsh realities of growing up in a world plagued by social media and the ever-present pressure to be perfect.

In his directorial debut, Bo Burnham aims to accurately portray what it’s like to be an eighth grader during the time where, as Burnham describes, “We are hyper-connected, and we're lonely. We're overstimulated, and we're numb. We're expressing our self, and we're objectifying ourselves.” Bo Burnham is able to portray the feelings of loneliness and anxiety Kayla experiences with such delicacy and accuracy that as a viewer, we cannot help ourselves but sympathize with her struggle. As a filmmaker, Bo Burnham conveys a sense of honesty other films can lack. Anyone who has been an eighth grader and can recall the feeling of isolation and embarrassment that comes with being in such a limbo between childhood and young adulthood can relate to this film. This is due, in part, to Burnham’s film style. Burnham takes seemingly ordinary experiences in everyday life and re-examines them from the eyes of self-conscious thirteen-year-old with social anxiety. Take for example the “pool party scene”.

For some, walking into a pool party may be exciting. Walking out in a swimsuit amongst their peers and jumping into the water may not require a second thought. But for anyone who has struggled with body issues knows this seemingly short walk feels like a daunting journey. Bo Burnham transforms an outwardly simple path from the house to the pool to feeling like the scariest journey of Kayla’s life thus far.  Burnham sets the scene as a kind of battlefield, where water guns replace real guns but the fear of entering a warzone is ever-present. Because for Kayla, this is a war zone. A battlefield where she must face social anxiety and fight the battles waging inside herself.

Burnham draws inspiration, in part, from his own experiences. He has been vocal about his own personal struggles with anxiety and panic attacks – some even happening whilst onstage during comedy sets. As Kayla experiences her own panic attack in the bathroom before heading back out to the party, the audience is able to empathize the pain and anxiety right along with her. Bo Burnham’s vulnerability and ability to draw on his own experiences creates a more authentic and beautiful film and in turn, elevates himself as filmmaker.