摘要
This research endeavor undertakes a rigorous forensic analysis of Bo Burnham's 2021 Netflix special,Inside,situating it as a significant socio-cultural artifact reflecting contemporary anxieties,particularly those amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic.Operating within the evolving landscape of postdigitality,Inside distinguishes itself from traditional stand-up.By confining its performance to a domestic setting and integrating diverse media,the special grapples with pandemicinduced trauma,critiques the pervasive influence of Internet culture,and offers a"sincere"portrayal of Burnham's own internal struggles.Employing a mixedmethods approach integrating qualitative thematic/linguistic analysis with Natural Language Processing(NLP)tasks,the present study investigates Burnham's deployment of postirony and explores how he recalibrates irony's critical potential within this contemporary context.Crucially,this recalibration is intertwined with the emergence of New Sincerity,a cultural sensibility that responds to the perceived failures of postmodern cynicism by seeking genuine emotional expression and connection.Through a quantitative analysis grounded in sentiment,sarcasm,and irony detection,coupled with a qualitative analysis informed by incongruity and relief theories of humor,the paper elucidates how Burnham utilizes humor both as a personal coping mechanism and as a critical instrument for interrogating societal issues.Synthesizing findings from this dual analysis,the present study provides a novel,transdisciplinary analysis of Burnham's multimodal performance,positioning Inside as a crucial text for reconsidering the role of humor in addressing questions of individual identity and collective disillusionment during a period of profound societal upheaval.
