Bo Burnham's Inside and "White Liberal Performative Art"

"We appreciate that buuuuuut...." every time. It seems like the more anyone goes out of their way to be considerate the more folks wanna take them down. Maybe a self-reflective deep dive on that would be interesting for everyone.

The dismissal of white people becoming class conscious just because “they didn’t see it sooner” just feels bad and slightly gatekeepy

then November 2024 happens....LOL

watching this after trump got relected 🫠🙃

I also think the majority of white people who find out about White Habitus, they also tend to be poor and lack positions of power to actually make changes. And in their powerlessness try to overcompensate. Whereas white people who are well off never look down at these infested roots because wealth or social inequality doesn't effect them, the only thing that does is it's "optics" so they do the bare minimum fake wokeness bs.

You're right that it's not individuals who will make these changes. The people who invest in understanding and disseminating the truth about White Habitus to their decendants etc now, will pave the future for it's inevitable end when increasing numbers of the elite class marry into a new white conciousness. The ONE thing white people can do is actually educate themselves by listening to channels like this. I feel like people constantly want to take action but have forgotten that knowledge IS power.

Thank you, I really appreciate this kind of video. I don’t see enough people talking about think kind of thing.

Watching this in April of 2025 has me all sorts of fucked up. The sitting president has done so much to straight up whitewash and use white supremacy as a tool to erase Black excellence because recognizing other achievements that aren’t done by white folks is all of a sudden, some DEI initiative. They’re using fancy words to justify their white supremacist views and it’s so fucking obvious. It’s only been 4 months and I can’t go a couple days without screaming into a void about how bad it’s getting and just how fast everything is happening. We have a literal nazi sympathizer running dodge and I hate it here. This is the political environment we created. But it’s not what we deserve, especially for everyone who’s fought to safeguard and give rights to disenfranchised groups.

What turned me from White Liberal to White Leftist was realizing that I did nothing but criticize BLM for disrupting society.

"I like you guys, just shut up and stop making me think about things I don't want to really consider."

I hope I can be free from my racism one day.

I'm not performing, just saying that some of us don't stop. I started actually contributing to the fight because of how you kept poking at my performative white liberalism.

I didn't want to acknowledge that I wasn't doing anything but reading books and watching videos which is not activism.

There's a cultural awakening occurring for us, finally. I hope we can have a White culture that is defined by humanity some day rather than violence, but that requires a radical restart because this culture cannot be fixed when the foundation is slavery and genocide.

Donald Glover is actually very spot on in terms of his style and what he’s going for. But I think an even better comparison that shows his growth is between him and Mac Miller, (I know Mac’s not a part of the community but still). They both came to a realization that they want to do more than what is work’s monetarily and embraced more of the roots of crafts.

the way you started the video with izuku—IZUKU MIDORIYA and the point you were making with him had me basically hooked and i'm glad i listened cause this is an interesting perspective on things i didn't know about until i asked a friend, your thoughts didn't start making sense until i asked her about some of these definitions, labels and americas situation in general and when i came back here with a broader perspective and more general knowledge; it's clicked and i really do recognise what you're saying, which ALSO contextualizes my thoughts on how not just white people but just. people in general interact with their world, i've always just been very disconnected to most kinds of socialisation so i just didn't get this aspect of it even if i did see and recognise it in other people
edit: i forgot to say, thank you for making this!

AVAA. I started following/watching you because of your AFUT analysis. And I’m so so excited for the new album to drop in 2 weeks!!

I would love to hear your thoughts on it’s always sunny in Philadelphia

The scene in Malcolm X comes to mind. A white college student asks Malcom X, “What can we do to help?” Malcolm X replies, “Nothing.”

hearing abt the trump presidency in the past tense is making me unreasonably depressed lmao

Bo's special was unwatchable to me. As a white person i only knew him and the rapey guy from Promising Young Woman.

I haven't made time to read a book lately but I'll check out your recommendation. I want to understand all the context to our collective existence.

This video is incredible. Been on a bit of a content binge with your stuff and honestly you are so well spoken, leaving this comment here for the algo

I think saying white people have no culture, in currentish year, comes off as pretty ignorant. It's obviously a melting pot of various influences and is heavily tied to region and background. The culture of cash croppers in kansas is going to be very different from ranchers in Montana, or a trailer park in rural California, or in new york, etc. And of course socioeconomic influences will playa part as well. You could say the same about black culture. Sure, there are similarities and things that many share across the board, but there are so many distinct cultural differences. And you can't really say where it comes from either, not just because American institutions destroyed the history and heritage of people who had been racialized, but because, as a population is dislocated, it subsumes other cultures, and changes their own to a new environment. "Whiteness" is a distinction that is only relevant in the American/colonial racial paradigm. White people aren't all the same, and to say that white people have a distinct culture seperate from black people is kind of ludicrous. A white kid and a black kid going to the same highschool in Toronto are probably way more similar, in almost every metric, than an elderly Mennonite in Pennsylvania and a young day trader in san francisco. My point is, whiteness is a social construct meant to uphold a class distinction in a colonialist capitalist society, it isn't a culture beyond the natural tendencies that such a system would produce. Similarly for black culture. Neither are a monolith, and they exist only to the extent that environmental pressures have produced them. There are many more factors at play that have produced much more significant differences within these socially constructed distinctions.

Was talking to a coworker about some dumb work mandate that was coming off as white liberal performative nonsense and she replied:

"A lot of liberals find it easier to to approach this stuff with cultural humility and not cultural *competancy*"

Stuck w me

My god the way you have laid out this concept reminds me a lot of the paradigms of identity formation. Two forms, though a third which is most often used to describe the modern day paradigm called “profilicity” (which was discussed on the Deprogram with Sisyphus55), that are important are the sincere and authentic paradigm. This self referential approach seems to a fusion of these paradigms (which isn’t really evoked by profilicity, but can be referred to as sincere authenticity) in which someone refers to the cultural and social background in a sincere way, but within a cultural setting of the authentic modality. So it is like a meta-sincere modality, in which it refers to another modality through which they understand their liberal identity, in which they discover their authentic identity that isn’t ascribed to them. Perhaps the interesting way this fusion works is the way it kind of goes both ways, because certainly it seems like the alternate authentic sincerity, which in practice looks kind of like profilicity, (and yes I see why it may be confused how marginally different it may seem or even like this is splitting hairs) in which people have this reflex to incorporate this self awareness into their authentic realization of self, only because it seems insincere, and thus it stabilizes not just themselves but what is the profile of themselves. This all is so abstract but god have I loved this topic and playing with the ideas. Perhaps the alterations say something about the perceived fundamentality of people’s egos. Anyway sorry I have been watching you non-stop today thank you for the content

Your discussion of “racism is evil” brings to mind “being called racist is the worst thing in the world.” I kept hearing people accused of racism/racist acts using that phrase and it gives me such a weird feeling. Perhaps because I’ve done some work on myself (thanks to those around me), it’s not the accusation which “is the worst thing in the world.” It’s a necessary step. Not taking the time to look at your own actions is the misstep.

bo burnham was in key&peele! ;)

this is the best video i’ve seen in awhile, i love your content

Have you seen Zach Stone is Gonna Be Famous FD?

Coming back and watching this video while dems are currently silently holding up sticky notes and doing tiktok dances as trump destroys the federal government, gives me a clearer understanding

Dunno if this is a fair comparison as a white trans person, but that guy in the interview with Samuel was giving me that “cis person having the tf too much performative guilt because they misgendered you one time” energy.

Like other people have expecting you to have this over the top reaction to this faux pas, to the point where they inadvertently make themselves the centre of this whole thing.

I understand Bo’s special, because I never really understand what to do, and I feel he is in that spot. That’s my problem. I grew up poor. I am still poor. I am aware of my privilege and I have tried to educate myself without burdening black people with my questions.

But I don’t have much to give up and I don’t know what do I do next and I never find the answer and I never feel comfortable asking POC because well…if it’s just Tuesday and they don’t want to answer, that’s their right but it still means that I don’t know. I read but never feel an answer comes and I don’t know why.

And I don’t expect them to praise me. I don’t want to feel bad for myself. I want to help. I do vote knowing it kinda means nothing in our current society. I do protest, but I know it can come across as ridiculous to some. I am willing to give up everything because I have before (growing up poor and at one point homeless and still now in poverty probably helps with this). I know I am. I genuinely mean that but I won’t condemn someone for not believing that.

So, I don’t know what I can do if I am willing to do what I can. Is that performative? I am not looking to be a “good white person”. I am looking to help. I genuinely believe this.

But…what do I do?

I know to listen and not take the lead. That’s what I have so far…

It’s just confusing. I don’t have the talent to do art, but I also know that might be inappropriate as it is.

I always come back to this video because i think its amazing and can’t help but feel like i fall into the same philosophy bo burnham was highlighting in inside.

I feel the same way pretty often - knowing how privileged i am and knowing my mistakes in the past of how i was viewing race and not realizing how in grained racism is into our economic and social system. And then also feeling crossed between whether i should be doing more to help from the position of inherent privilege i have being a cis white male - or do i just stay quiet and sit back and let others do the work cause i will never be able to truly understand the depth of what it is like to be black and be oppressed your entire life for just that.

I’m not commenting for reassurance or for a pat on the back (not that i deserve one) or even to ask what i can do or read to be more informed - i realize like socko says - why should i burden any poc with the responsibility of educating me.

I am curious though - do you think that samuel L jackson’s interaction with leo is somewhat inevitable. Like i’m imaging being in Leo’s shoes and having to do that same thing - if I was doing it knowing what the reaction would be - i don’t think i’ll be able to change it by just trying to avoid any uncomfortable or guilty feelings and just come out and say the line - because i wouldn’t be able to help getting anxious that now those peers like Sam and Jaimie and anyone else might come to the thought “wow, that seemed pretty easy for him to say - he’s a professional but that seemed almost too easy and too comfortable.”

I guess what im trying to say is that - was this interaction between Leo, Samuel and Jaime inevitable - that it is something Leo has to feel. Or the same with the interview with Samuel. Obviously in context - the interviewer is right and even if he did say it - they couldn’t air the question. So it kind of seems like the way it played out is inevitable and needs to happen that way despite how uncomfortable i feel by proxy of the interviewer being in that situation. (obviously the discomfort was a point to prove how dumb the question was in the first place and provides a kind of answer to it anyway and also the discomfort is nothing compared to what black people or POC may have to experience on a day to day basis. But i guess im just wondering if this is part of the process to a better future for everyone. Obviously discomfort to the reality of these topics for well wishing white people (liberals mostly) is supposed to be experienced.

You know what I think i answered my own question by just writing this out. Sorry to anyone who read all of this rambling. I hope I didn’t misinterpret anything just tying to understand things better.

I have a blink-182 tee on right now smh

what pisses me off ab the safety pin thing is that it was originally a punk thing!!

I'm a white Gen Xer deprogramming from religion, capitalism and other isms. But in the end I'm employed by a company run by super rich white dudes engaged in doing giant corp things. It's a good living. How far do we go to live up to our principles and live within an unjust system? How much cowardice can we swallow? It scares me in some ways to consider how far some folks went and if I can go there too. 😮

i still have no idea who bo burnham is

if i had a nickel for every time a video essay about bo burnham’s inside out changed my worldview, i would have two nickels. which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice

My kitchen is green too

As a very mixed person who is never racially profiled where I live I both relate to the cultural alienation of whiteness (I'm everything and nothing and my family didn't really pass down their cultural heritage beyond food) but also dealt with this type of thing as a teenager as it's common here (Argentina), since we learn about colonialism as a horrible thing that our ancestors both caused and were the victims of. Nonetheless I feel like I understand and empathize with how white people there might feel without all the cynicism that I grew up with. Thank you for your insight, nuance and honesty. Bless you.

The whole George Floyd incident was specifically special because there was a long video to go with it as well as the citizens telling the cops to check his pulse and all that, sad situation

That question: What is white culture? Is incredibly powerful. I wonder now if the fact that white people like myself cannot identify a specifically white culture if we then feel insecure about that fact leading to a defensive stance that is inherently if not intentionally racist. It's not an excuse, just a theory. Insecurity is at the heart of so much hatred in the world. Anger, a strong component of hate, is a way of trying to deny feelings of insecurity. It's a way of trying to assert control where you have no control. Perhaps, if more people would examine their feelings of insecurity they might not be so quick to be defensive or angry when a provocative question is posed.

Okay, I'm a little mixed on this video. I agreed with some points but others, mostly nit-picks, I can't completely get behind.

The phrase “the n word” is so fucking gross. Like, let’s just take this video. You don’t mind saying Samuel Jackson is “a real nigga,” so why in other parts of the video do you resort to saying “the n word?” We know what the word is, we know what you’re saying, we know you don’t have a problem saying it….so why are you cosplaying that you are somehow afraid to utter it like the guy interviewing SLJ was?

Maybe it’s time we stopped being afraid of words and started being more concerned with the intent of the person speaking them. Let’s all rewatch that George Carlin bit about bad words.

I like what you got to say, ima check more out. I recently just found Bo which is why I think I’m finding you but at the same time it’s good to learn these things. I’m as white as they come and my wife is black and for whatever reason these topics about race have been coming up a lot lately, maybe cause the president stuff that just came and went but the shift is just so strange. When I first met her in ‘16 she supported him and I hated him, and then by 2020 we both supported him and then in 2024 it shifted and now we are on opposite sides of the spectrum from where we began but I just don’t get it. I’ve always thought of myself as what it termed today as “anti racist” I never shyed away from shaming racism from people and I still don’t but at the same time she suddenly is against everything I am and has even spoken ill of our children like she regrets not making them with a black man. It’s disappointing and very saddening

Im a white person in the midst of a community that is a sea of old white liberalism. I am trying to hold them accountable for some of the racist things they are doing and not open to understanding. They are too personally offended they may have done problematic shit to be able to hear about it or grow or change from it. Im failing to make change and it seems really hopeless and hard to do. I stay in the fight because white people need to do better when they know better and hold other white people accountable because who elses job is it? I remind myself every day its just my job to speak up, im not special im not a martyr im not half as brave or affected as the POC our community has harmed. I speak up with input from those people. I try to just do the bare minimum to do whats right and man, its so depressing how few other people are willing to examine their privelage. Anyway thanks for continuing to educate me and help me educate others. It means a lot.

i havent watched this show but i understand exactly what youre talking about and, three years in the future, i really think its time for them to do some of that awakening. im ok w/ losing everything ik rn if it means building it back better. i have so little and everyday i feel less and less sure of what i do have so why not? what is holding us back at this point? i really dont get it

You should make a 3 hour long video about how evil isn’t real.

I don’t believe you, but it would be interesting to try and understand your POV. Do you believe in a purely physical worldview? There is no spiritual or psychic reality to you?

Or are you acting like the Universe and are totally impartial to anything that happens in this realm? If we took a totally objective(which is impossible) perspective, you would claim that reality doesn’t care about anything, especially the all to human concepts of “good and evil”? The universe is impersonal kinda thing?

I’m “white” American. German, Swedish, French background.

It’s always been a little funny to me that people talk about ancient Greeks as if they were “white” people in the sense we all think of “white” people today.

Makes me think that the concept of “whiteness” must be relatively modern and a total farce or at least started off that way. Now people really believe in it but “white” people never existed until more recently in human history. My thoughts anyways

Thank you for this

Okay, I love your points and scripts, but I really don't like the word, or I guess use of the word, "Wokeness." It's not really real.
Wokeness is just what people who don't like the LGTBQ communities call the overall ideologies of people in that community. It's a way to discredit those ideologies as "stuff the dumb youth just made up" when it's really reality. These people exist, they aren't some fad that was just made up by kids on the internet. These people have always been around, books having documented events dating back to medieval periods. They've been around and have been shunned and diagnosed as insane for YEARS. And only in recent years have they been acknowledged as people who shouldn't be shunned for these traits. But you probably already knew that.
But I know that wasn't the topic of this video, it's just that word that put me off.
This video was fun, though, and I loved how it was presented. Thanks for maybe reading my ramblings. Hope you have a great day! (I'm very tired :) )

I’ve been told all my life that the world is ending, and it has felt like people around me have all been running around in a panic nonstop, and as a straight, white, male, I’ve been told that I’m part of the problem constantly.

And frankly I’ve just been living my life as best as I know how, I’ve never been asked “can you not that particular thing” and then said no, outright.


There have been a few seemingly sensible plans put to me to help with some of the problems people keep shouting at me about, and I have done my best to follow the advice given, and largely I think I have successfully done so.

There are soo many people shouting these days that it’s nearly impossible to sensibly navigate this modern world, frankly whilst I listen to people who break down problems in a sensible way, I’m also waiting for the and ‘here is what you can do’ part and left wanting most of the time, and when I do get presented answers it’s usually some crackpot conspiracy/cult shit, because they have the simple answers.

And generic broad advice/direction is pretty much useless as everyone has there own versions of what exactly that means or should be implemented.

(Not that I think this particular video is actually aimed at me as I don’t live in the US, and I feel like the US is late to the game with the whole existential dread part)

I don’t think it’s just meant to be anti-black, I think it also applies to indigenousness and any other group we want to otherize.