Blurred Lines and Suicide Hotlines: An Analysis on How Bo Burnham Remains Humorous
Burnham’s “Kill Yourself” is a masterpiece of manipulation, comedy, rhythm, and irony. But does his portrayal of suicide glamorization the subject?
The stage is set: the flashing lights, a rambunctious crowd, a lively host, a glimmering keyboard, and a fantastic rhythm. Bo Burnham walks into the Capitol Theatre in New York City like he owns the place. Very often, Burnham continues this predation through his persistent eye contact with his audience. This eye contact is scarily present in his song “Kill Yourself,” where Burnham wrestles with his audience on whether they should commit suicide.
In today’s society, the concept of suicide is glamorized to the extreme. All over social media platforms, millennials are rampantly scattering suicide jokes to get the most retweets. But how do we know if someone be hiding behind the facade of humor and phone screens? We are living in the age of the 13 Reasons Why epidemic, the hit Netflix show criticized for glamorizing suicide (for many reasons, including showing a graphic scene of the main character killing herself), and teenage suicide rates are on the rise. Hormones are imbalanced, and therefore teenagers are subject to the rapid fluctuation of their emotions. Since Burnham is a popular comedian among teenagers (most likely because of his popularity on Vine), should he begin to censor himself, as his comedy is an open mic to the rest of the world?
Obviously, Burnham does not want his audience to commit suicide. He hints at this in many ways: some subtle and some not. But, the most obvious portrayal of his beliefs is present during the second verse, in which he states:
“I sound un-empathetic
I sound mean and rude
Suicide is an epidemic,
And I don’t want to be misconstrued
Signs of depression go overlooked
So if you’re depressed,
Then you need to book
A therapy session,
Talk about your depression
And let a professional hear it”
However, at the end of the verse, Burnham tells his audience that “if they search for moral wisdom in Katy Perry’s lyrics, then kill yourself.” Burnham is referencing to her inspirational song “Firework,” which many people claim to believe is about staying strong and not committing suicide even when times are rough. He compares such a meager song to such a serious decision, and if one were to compare the two ideas on a scale, the decision to commit suicide would heavily outweigh Katy Perry’s lyrics to the extent that the former would likely break the scale. This uneven juxtaposition is humorous, as can be understood by the audible laughter from the audience. Also, Burnham conveys the idea that if one relies on Perry’s music to deal with sorrowful thoughts, they may be too young to actually comprehend the true consequences regarding suicide. (Conversely, a year after Burnham’s Netflix special was released, Perry revealed this song to be about her battles with suicidal thoughts and depression, and used this song to cope, according to Digital Spy).
Furthermore, Burnham lists off many odd methods of committing suicide, including, but not limited to, being gay in Iran, marrying Courtney Love, and letting Oprah sit on one’s face. These examples are so anomalous that it would be very rare to find oneself in this situation. As a result, audiences find humor in this sort of peculiarity, even though the subject matter is not considered to be a “laughable” subject. Burnham also utilizes elementary-style jokes, like fat jokes and gay jokes, in order to additionally underscore his lack of sincerity.
However, most of the humor is not only a product of his lyrics, but a product of the musical accompaniment. Much irony is inferred from the clash of the lyrical tone and the musical tone. So, in laymen’s terms, this means that Burnham sings sad lyrics to happy music. For example, at the beginning of the song, the music is upbeat. Burnham doesn’t really make use of the sustain pedal, which makes the piano notes less drawn out and instead more poppy. To further emphasize the happy tone, his voice sounds childlike — he uses his upper range, causing his voice to feel lighter and not as ‘breathy’. But, the subject matter is surprisingly melancholy. The lyrics are:
“Have you ever felt sad or lonely?
Have you ever felt two feet tall?
Have you ever thought “Man, if only I was anybody else at all.”
They like to kick you when times get rough
And you give your all but it’s not enough”
This contrast is apparent throughout the entire song, with one notable exception: the only time the lyrical and musical tones are consistent is when he pleads with the audience to contact a therapist if they are feeling depressed. In that example, he uses very solemn music, as noted by the extreme use of the sustain pedal, drawing out the piano notes. His voice is very sincere, and there exists an overpowering use of minor (often thought of as sad) chords. But, for the most part, Burnham relies on this tonal contrast to convey his true thoughts regarding suicide. This irony can be thought of in terms of the incongruity theory of comedy, which the Department of Philosophy at Stanford University states is “something that violates our mental patterns and expectations.” Where one would expect desolate music to complement the sorrowful subject matter, one finds joyful and upbeat accompaniment, as heard in many pop songs on the radio today. Furthermore, the incongruity theory can be applied to the song’s title as well. One does not go into a comedy show expecting to be told to commit suicide; therefore, it contradicts the audience’s expectations from their reality.
“Come and watch the skinny kid with a steadily declining mental health and laugh as he attempts to give you what he cannot give himself”
Burnham’s own experiences with mental illness give the song a unique twist. In his Kanye West rant Can’t Handle This, Burnham sings: “Come and watch the skinny kid with a steadily declining mental health and laugh as he attempts to give you what he cannot give himself.” His remarks are self-deprecating and honest. They also reveal that his comedy has a purpose: Make (Other People) Happy. Even though Burnham cannot derive pleasure from his comedy, he can help other people deal with their problems in the process, which is the reason he continues to perform. Although his mental illnesses are not named, his role now as the vulnerable host allows his audience to feel sympathy towards him. This song really is the epitome of a 180-turn that Burnham has taken throughout his Make Happy special. At the start, he complains of the minute problems that straight white men face in his song Straight White Male, such as there being zero khakis in his particular size or that his iPhone case does not fit. Then, in the middle of the show, Burnham performs Kill Yourself, a song that if listened to in isolation might be taken seriously. However, Burnham is a genius to put his Kanye rant towards the end of the special because it reveals his true feelings and sympathies towards those with mental illnesses. As stated in Can’t Handle This, Burnham hopes to be the light in the darkness of someone else’s life:
“I have problems in my life, so I wrote a song about the problems in my life, and hopefully some of you can relate to it.”
So, is “Kill Yourself” an example of humor, or is it a proclamation for suicide? Obviously, his manipulation of the incongruity theory, his outrageous juxtapositions, as well as his plea to the audience to ask for help justifies the idea that he does not agree suicide is the answer and is only using this subject to spark laughter. Furthermore, his experiences with mental illness is an indication that Burnham is using the song as a way to make light of the subject because using humor as a way to understand life’s hardships is a great way to cope (as described in the Release Theory of Comedy). Nonetheless, it does draw the question: where do we draw the line between comedy and scandal? Outright, Burnham performs this piece at a comedy show so it should not be taken seriously, but even the most politically correct might dispute that claim. Instead, Burnham hides behind the façade that is musical performance. His lyrical and musical clashes are the main source of his audience’s amusement. Therefore, Kill Yourself should not be construed as a positive argument for committing suicide, but instead, a comedic explanation on why no one should ever kill themselves.
