Comedy, Music  •  2013  •  60 min

Bo Burnham: What. (2013)

Bo Burnham: What. poster

Bo Burnham: What. (2013)


Rating & Dimensions

Bias Rating
Analyzing...
Leans Traditional
Political: Center
Diversity: Low
Family Values: Mixed
Christianity: Negative

Viewer Rating
8.0

Overview

Bo Burnham: What. is a 2013 one-hour stand-up special in which a then-teenage Burnham works through musical comedy, meta-theatrical bits, and observational humor about pop culture and modern anxiety. The Leans Traditional label is mild and mostly structural. There are no LGBTQ narratives, no gender or race reimagining, no political advocacy, and no family-values content in either direction. What tips the needle slightly is the absence of progressive identity framing common in contemporary comedy specials, combined with a solo white male performer doing old-fashioned showmanship without critique of traditional social categories. The special is primarily about performance itself, so the label reflects the shape of what is not there as much as what is.


Starring Cast

Bo Burnham


Where to watch

Detailed Bias Analysis

Analyzing...
Leans Traditional

Primary

Political: Center
Confidence: High

The special explores themes of mental health, anxiety, and the pressures of performance and modern life through a comedic and introspective lens. It critiques broad societal phenomena and personal struggles without explicitly promoting a specific political ideology or offering partisan solutions.

Diversity: Low
Confidence: High

The stand-up special features a traditional casting, focusing solely on a white male performer. The narrative does not critique traditional identities or center on explicit DEI themes.

Secondary

Family Values: Mixed
Confidence: High

The stand-up special does not feature any narrative or thematic content related to family units, marriage, or parenting. Its focus remains entirely on the individual performer and his comedic observations, offering no portrayal of family-life norms.

Christianity: Negative
Confidence: High

The special satirizes the commercialization and superficiality often associated with religious expression in popular culture. It critiques the perceived hypocrisy and lack of genuine depth in certain public displays of faith.

LGBTQ: N/A
Confidence: High

The comedy special 'Bo Burnham: What.' does not feature identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or explore related themes. The performance focuses on observational humor, musical comedy, and commentary on performance art and societal anxieties, without incorporating LGBTQ+ narratives or representation.

Trans: N/A
Confidence: High

Bo Burnham: What. does not include any identifiable transsexual characters or themes. The stand-up special focuses on musical comedy and observational humor, with no narrative elements or character portrayals related to transsexual identity. The film's content does not engage with these themes in any capacity.

Female Combat: N/R

The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.

Gender Swap: No
Confidence: High

Bo Burnham: What. is a stand-up comedy special featuring original material and characters created by Bo Burnham. There are no instances of established characters from prior source material, history, or earlier adaptations being portrayed with a different gender.

Race Swap: No
Confidence: High

This stand-up comedy special features Bo Burnham portraying himself. There are no other named characters with a pre-established race from source material or historical figures whose race has been altered. Therefore, no race swap is present.


Viewer Rating Breakdown

8.0

Viewer Rating

Combines user and critic ratings from four sources

User Ratings

IMDB logo
8.2
The Movie Database logo
7.8

Critic Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes logo
N/A
Metacritic logo
N/A

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