Bo Burnham’s “what.” is less a traditional comedy special and more a meticulously constructed piece of multimedia art that interrogates the very nature of performance, privacy, and the digital self. Released in 2013, the hour-long film arrived at a pivotal moment, just as the lines between the performer and the audience, the stage and the screen, began to dissolve in the age of social media. Unlike his earlier, more frenetic musical comedy work, this project marked a shift toward a deeply personal and formally daring exploration of anxiety, fame, and the surreal experience of creating content for an unseen audience.
The Genesis of a Digital Native’s Monologue
To understand “what.” is to understand the context of its creation, which is intrinsically linked to Burnham’s rapid ascent from a teenager posting songs on YouTube to a full-time comedian navigating the pressures of online fame. The special is a direct response to the isolating and obsessive nature of internet culture, where the line between public persona and private self becomes dangerously blurred. Burnham wrote, directed, edited, and starred in the entire production, giving him complete control over a narrative that felt increasingly fragmented by the demands of constant content creation. This level of autonomy is palpable, as the special functions as both a confessional and a critique of the very platform that launched his career.
Deconstructing the Fourth Wall and Narrative Structure
“what.” is renowned for its radical departure from the standard stand-up format. Instead of a linear set of jokes, Burnham presents a series of vignettes, songs, and awkward conversations with his laptop, camera, and fictionalized versions of himself. He frequently breaks the fourth wall, directly addressing the person recording the special, which immediately pulls the viewer into a complicit role. The narrative is circular and non-linear, mirroring the obsessive thought patterns of anxiety and the inescapable loop of refreshing one’s online metrics. This structure is not a gimmick but a deliberate choice to replicate the disorienting flow of modern digital consciousness, where time feels distorted and reality is mediated through a screen.
Musicality as Narrative Device
While not his first musical special, Burnham’s integration of song in “what.” is fundamental to its storytelling. The music shifts from catchy, pop-punk hooks to haunting, minimalist piano ballads, serving as the emotional barometer of his internal struggle. Lyrics evolve throughout the hour, with recurring themes of loneliness, the fear of failure, and the desperate need for validation becoming more pronounced as the special progresses. The songs are not just entertainment; they are the raw, unfiltered thoughts he is unable to articulate in prose, making the abstract concrete and amplifying the intimate vulnerability that defines the project.
