NPR Interview Analysis

Bo Burnham found his fame at the age of 16, when his satirical music became a viral hit on the then burgeoning Youtube scene.

His film, “Eighth Grade,” chronicles a young girl’s own struggle through awkward youth and her own career as a small-time Youtuber released in theaters last year.

In her interview with Bo Burnham, “Fresh Air” host Terry Gross of NPR explored Burnham’s character through the lens of the film ”Eighth Grade,” which Burnham wrote and directed.

The interview opened with Gross asking Burnham why he, as a 27-year-old male would make a film about a 13-year-old female.

To which he replied:

“...I was never a 13 year-old girl, or a 13 year-old now.”

He clarified that he wanted to write from a perspective other than his own, not wanting to run the risk of writing something autobiographical.

Still, Burnham’s personality bleeds through to the movie, Gross notes, and she followed that thread throughout most of the interview.

She notes that a majority of film is essentially about an anxious Youtuber and that Burnham made his career off Youtube and often jokes about his own problems with anxiety.

Burnham admits, though, that he relates strongly to the hardships of being semi-famous and he shared stories of talking to young female Youtubers who told him they understood his struggle.

Burnham points out however, that he didn’t experience anxiety at the the age the film portrays and that he didn’t suffer the kind of anxiety the main character does until he reached adulthood.

Gross also examined Burnham’s humor, specifically about how well it has aged.

He says that while he doesn’t regret his work, he also acknowledges that it’s harsher in hindsight, especially because President Trump uses a similar kind of comedy to win or derail arguments.

Burnham

Gross had to slow down the interview and asked him to explain further, which Burnham did, pointing out that he uses similar tactics to those used against him in his own Comedy Central Roast, only in a non-comedic way and setting and that his own humor seems less funny when someone in power uses similar techniques to make real and possibly harmful change in the world.

Gross also touched upon other facets of Burnham’s career, from his early Youtube fame to his comedy specials to directing Chris Rock’s comedy special.

“Did people you know think you were gay at the time? ...How did you know people thought you were gay and what was your reaction to it,” Gross asked, referring to his song “My Whole Family (Thinks I’m Gay)”

To which he responded that at the time, he wasn’t sure that he wasn’t and that people in his life were “pretty cool about it”