Bo Burnham - Reaction - How The World Works 

Re: your point about "generalizations for whole groups," I think his point isn't that every politician and cop are *intentionally* or even *consciously* protecting those evil interests, but rather that all of them are currently entrenched and complicit in a larger system that automatically upholds those evil things - at least at the present moment. So it's more about unknowing participation and complicity than it is about individual morals or choices.

I think he was “generalizing” cops and politicians not as actual people and their characters, but as the job they work for. Cops and politicians aren’t all bad people or corrupt, but their ultimately working for a corrupt system, that benefits almost nobody. He wasn’t saying that every cop and politician are terrible people, just working for a bad system.

He’s not generalizing individual police or politicians. He’s saying that’s their role in society and the power systems we have. They exist to protect elite interests.

When he says "through the lens of your own myopic self actualization", he means that the rich won't engage in conversations about oppression topics or generally uncomfortable stuff unless it can be used to show people that they're "growing" or learning in a performative manner. If the privileged people don't want to, there is no reason they need insert themselves into the spaces of minorities struggling to get a word in edge wise, unless it's to performatively "understand". Or to be there to control the conversation.

I love reactions to this song because they all start with "wtf that sock is weird" and end with "omg poor socko he didn't deserve that!" Bo is amazing at world building. He makes it seem easy to make a song that causes the listener to empathize with a damn sock.

Suffi reacts to "How The World Works" -- my first thought was "oh boy, he's got his work cut out for him this time!" Great analysis on your first listen. There are a lot of different ways this can be interpreted but I think you nailed it -- Bo plays "the establishment" that pretends to listen and empathize with Socko's views at first, probably for good PR, until Socko gets a little too mouthy (biting the hand that feeds him?) and needs to be silenced. Your discomfort at the first part of the song is hilarious -- anyone even slightly familiar with Bo's work is just waiting for the other shoe to drop and for this song to turn dark. But honestly, on its own, that first verse is so lovely. Bo is booked to compose the music for the new Sesame Street movie and based on this, I think he'll crush it.

You’re literally the only other person who’s mentioned how off-putting it is that bo’s response to Socko’s suffering, is to just ignore it as though he didn’t say anything at all.

I took it as Socko is minorities, the working class, the social activists. And Bo is the big companies, politicians, wealthy people. It literally shows the whole power play they're doing and how they abuse their power

"He's making a children's song, and I don't like it... it's weird". Wait till you find out who is writing songs for the Seseme Street Movie

The sock isn’t necessarily minorities, but the proletariat or “working class”. The irony of the issue is the working class has to beg the ruling class for material change in the system they themselves created and benefit so much from. So once they get tired of people speaking up, they can simply oppress us further.

He isn't generalizing about the "hearts and minds" of individual politicians or cops, he's saying the nature of the system they operate under protects the interests of the elite, so their personals feelings are irrelevant to the larger role they play in society.

"Every politician, every cop on the beat..." Bears are dangerous. Not every bear is dangerous, but the pragmatic approach is to treat all bears as dangerous.

Also touching on his point about the “myopic lens of your own self actualization” I’m also not very well studied when it comes to the topic, but my general understanding is he’s commenting on how a lot of privileged people will use big social or political issues as ways to focus on themselves instead of doing something to actually help make a difference. Instead of focusing on the big picture they look at the issues through the lens of “how can I make this about me and how I’m improving myself.”

Neoliberalism more refers to the “centre left” that ends up basically being right wing by upholding the status quo that the right supports. It’s an ideology based on things like market based reforms, and trying to reform the capitalist system rather than dismantling it, despite it being fundamentally unsustainable. It’s relevant to the different between liberal and leftist.

I absolutely love the dark truth bo puts into this song. When he basically threatens the wock into submission and then cuts back to the camera and immediately hit it with a "that is how the world works" is so good

He's not really generalizing cops as individuals other than to say that they enforce laws which are in place to protect the interest of the corporate elite.

Oh, it hurts. Okay. There are two and a half perspectives on display, with none of them likely Bo’s. Bo is playing two roles - he is simultaneously playing the role of a rich, white guy who sees his role as a white savior and sees his attempt to learn as somehow valuable. That’s his starting persona. Socko is playing a completely different role as the passionate, informed and angry guy. Neoliberalism is a long-standing concept dating back two centuries, but its more modern reference deals with controlling the free market more tightly, and as time has gone on, it’s become a political club to beat the center-left over the head with. The right decries the left (which, by the way, in any other country is barely even the center) for its desire for social reform, such as making sure there isn’t lead in the water or the water coming from your faucet doesn’t catch fire. At the same time, there is a threat to the Democratic Party in America that moving from Reaganism to its juxtaposed opposite is going to kill the party itself. Because basic funding of education is some crazy shit. Near the end of the song, Bo takes on the persona of “under the veneer” white people, who we have been when we have been nice and polite and then been admonished. Bo starts off being amiable and polite, and espouses a desire to learn. Socko basically says “don’t ask me to tell you how things have been, go read about it and form an opinion. But at the very least, don’t feel good about yourself by learning about something terrible that you should already know about.” Bo drops the nice persona and picks up the “I have the power here, you respect me or I’ll choke you to death-I can be nice or I can kill you and no one can stop it. I have the money and I have the power.” Bo is America in that moment. Bo is the 17th century UK, where they would meet a new people, then, fairly shortly, turn around and own them. Bo is only so kind, around a 3, until he’s offended and then he turns it up to about a 14.

he’s not generalising cops etc, he’s saying the police department and politicians will always protect the wealthy and the corporate elites making them the most money, individuals maybe not but as their position in society how much corruption and how many dodgy corporate elites are actually held accountable or even investigated over things normal people would be?

When he discusses neoliberalism he's talking about reactionary democrats That share a lot of things with the alt right. This is different than leftists that progress through social and collectivist actions. As for policing, historically the police force is used to protect capital which is why the police are considered class traitors. They have been called in to protect business from workers who are being exploited and what not. There's a lot of political theory crammed into a little bit.

The generalization of “cops” and “politicians” was as a job or institution. Not necessarily the people. There are good cops and politicians however the system in which they work is designed that way so they are part of it whether they intend to be or not.

First of all, I absolutely love your reactions however the part about cops is definitely about the organisation as a whole. A cop can be a 'good' person but they'd still be upholding, supporting and enforcing the fundamental problems within the entire system. And seeing as the entire justice system is rooted in racism, at the end of the day they are enforcing this. And as someone else in the comments said, they aren't held as accountable and the things they do are more likely to be swept under the rug.

He's not saying a group of people inherently thing a certain way. He's saying that the positions they play within society inherently protects the corporate elite.

I think you are right when you point out the “virtue signalling” aspect of Bo’s behaviour. He sings along and says “gee, Socko, I didn’t know things were that bad” and acts like an ally, but as soon as Socko criticizes his behaviour specifically (not just criticizing privileged people but criticizing him specifically). Bo reacts violently and tries to put Socko “in his place.” It is very much the same behaviour that we see from privileged classes of people in conversations about race, sexuality, or any other form of systematic oppression. It’s easy to say that you are against these things and support minority groups, but very often, people will immediately become defensive when the conversation shifts from general principles (e.g. racism: bad) to specific examples (here’s how you, as an individual, continue to benefit from systemic racism , or here’s how your actions specifically harm people of colour). Bo is exemplifying the reaction that the “privileged elite” very often have to these sorts of discussions.

Friendly reminder that Bo will also be composing the music for the new Sesame Street move.

"the answer lies in the middle" Coming from northern Europe, looking at your "middle" is right to me. And your right is "far" right to me. Your "far" left is just left to me. Yes, the answer typically lies in the middle, but FYI, your country's middle of pretty far right to the world I know.

"in a frightening liminal state between beings, not quite dead, not quite alive!" is SUPER relatable.

I agree with the line about police and politicians protecting the interests of the corporate elite because it is the police system itself that protects the corporate elite. So whether or not any individual cop knows or understands that that’s what he’s doing, he still is. Every single cop may not be racist, but the police system itself is racist. So every single cop is upholding racism by being a part of that system. That’s what the line meant to me.

i dont think he is trying to generalise, its more like the job description of a cop while not explicit serves to help those corporate elite, not that the individuals are all evil and support it.

I really appreciate the fact that you admit when you're not totally sure what something means. A lot of people would just brush over that. You legitimately put out the best reactions.

Nah, just gonna let you know socko isn’t taking the centrist point on this one. Neoliberal, includes both the republican and Democrat parties of the modern United States, and their both. Right wing.

This song is a task to react to honestly and I think you nailed it. You weren't afraid to express when you disagreed with what you perceived from the song and really tried to capture the meaning of all it's aspects. well done! Also, I totally understand reacting to the songs from "Inside" individually to get your first impression of them, but I highly recommend that you do watch the special at some point. How all of these songs flow together within the confines of the special is a very evocative experience. No pressure, but after watching a few of your reaction videos, it really seems like you would really grasp the depth in your own way and have a unique experience with it. Anyway, I'm sure you've heard that like 1000 times... Thanks for the content!

Sorry for this being a somewhat long comment. Also I really dig ur reactions/analysis, so this comment isn't supposed to be antagonistic, just tryna slightly inform... Neoliberals are actually less "extreme" than actual leftists. Also, as far as the cop/politician comment goes, it's not about how they think or how they act outside of their job. It's what their role legitimately is in the grand scheme of things...even if they think their role is different. You can't compare generalizing race/ethnicity to being a profession/job. One is not chosen by the individual and serves no specific role, the other is chosen by the individual and does serve a specific role with consequences regardless of how knowledgeable the worker is about their own job. Socko is based.

I don't think hes saying all cops are bad but the job itself has a purpose, and in the end history has shown 'I was just following orders' is an excuse used by 'good' men

11:18 "If you're the one that needs to fix something, you should be doing the work to figure out how to fix it." He's exactly pointing that out, but not just on a corporate level but a personal one as well. When 'Socko' says the line "just don't burden me with the responsibility of educating you, it's incredibly exhausting" it reminded me a lot of people I know who are of color or various ethnic groups or part of the LGBTQ+. I'm personally white but I am LGBTQ+, I've heard from coworkers and friends who are of color and experienced myself from the LGBTQ+ side of things, that one of the most frustrating things is when their white or cis/het friends or people they even just kind of know approach them and ask them 'what can I do to help you/help your cause/etc.?' Or 'what did I do wrong in this instance/how can I do better in the future?" And they say it's exhausting (like 'Socko' pointed out) because they are constantly having to educate people who don't understand and on some level may never understand what they are going through or feeling and it's like "you're the one who made me feel this way and now you're asking me to educate you? why is this *my* job?" Like if you do something to offend someone, of course they should tell you *what* you did to offend them, but it shouldn't be their job to explain it. You should either know or you should educate yourself, instead of putting it on them. I can't tell the number of times I've heard people say "well you never told me so how was I supposed to know I shouldn't have said that or done that?" Like "it hasn't come up until now, I'm telling you now that you shouldn't have said or done that, so now it's on you to figure out *why* ." Because, honestly, no one is ever going to actually do better if they don't understand why something is wrong, but it isn't up to the offended party to make the offender understand, it's on them to learn and understand.

I think when people say every cop is corrupt or every politician is corrupt it's not a commentary on the people but a commentary/observation on the system, there are cops that are good people who really believe in protecting the people and such but when the whole system is built on racism and such then no matter how good a cop, they'll never beat that system unless there is a total reformation, same in politics, now more than ever the people have the power to create change and change is sorely needed and one of the easiest ways to bring light to things is these sorts of slogans such as acab, it's to create a shortened way of showing your belief in the need for change in the system and bring people together in that sort of way, so I agree with what bo is saying, he doesn't mean every cop is a corrupt person purposely serving corrupt politicians, more so that every cop is a part of this larger system that is, at its core, completely corrupt and in need of mass change, and these corrupt systems allow for the protection of the corrupt politicians that do exist, so he's not condemning every single individual rather than the entire system, i hope that makes sense? I rarely ever talk about this stuff especially on RU-vid so I don't know if I explained my thoughts properly but yeah, I do agree with you, not every single individual in these cases is a horrible person, but the systems in which they serve certainly are in need of very very large changes, there's plenty of evidence both historical and recent that prove this, so I think the message he's getting across is rather important and rings very true, anyways not interested in arguing w/ anyone abt politics and stuff just wanted to give my interpretation, if you disagree that's fine but please don't try and start an argument it's not productive at all 🥲

He’s writing for the next Sesamie Street movie... I have a feeling that influenced this song. Lol. I can totally see Big Bird singing the first half.

Never been this early before! And yes rant is one of my favorites, I can’t wait to see your reaction!

Really appreciate that you're honest about the gaps in your knowledge/that you didn't pick up everything. Keep up the great work!

"generalizations for whole groups", cops enforce laws, the current laws help the elites, thus the cops help the elites. I think you can generally say, cops generally enforce the laws handed to them by the government.

A good example could be pride month. All these companies change their logo to include a rainbow to be like "yeah, we agree!" They use it as a prop then July 1st comes around and it's gone with nothing actually changing.

tbf i think the whole thing about 'every politician and every cop on the street' was meant to be about those organisations and processes rather than individuals, it just worked better as a lyric

Great breakdown as always. Thank you for doing these.

by neoliberal he is referring to politicians who you would typically see as a 'centrist democrat' who basically represent the same interests as the right-wing at large, but they just cloak those interests in political correctness so that they appear as members of the 'left' when they really are more of a trojan horse for the interests of the right

He's not saying "every cop individually protects pedophilic elites" I think he's saying that the whole system is fundamentally flawed because it gives pedophilic elites a free pass and anyone who becomes a cop is supporting the system

You give the best reactions to bo’s stuff, can’t wait for more

I like how socko draws out his last sentence as long as he can cuz he already knows what's gonna happen when the song is over.

Very insightful Suffi, always love your reaction

Love the video,love the reaction and appreciate your first raw thoughts about the song, whether I think you take the lyrics too seriously is one thing, but the way you try to dig down and understand the song is a whole other level.. I enjoy your engagement so much!

About the cops and politicians line, I think Bo intentionally worded it in a way that feels slightly generalizing. He most likely is referring to the problems with the system as most of the comments explain, but he is also showing the flaws in how most people communicate online. Like the explanations in this comment section are better delivery of the same idea, yet it is phrasing similar to the lyrics that is more commonly seen on social media.

It's so satisfying to see you get the main point, or the essence of the message, even if you loose details or even if I don't agree with you at points 😄

Suffi for President! Great analysis, man. Loving these reactions.

You do a good job breaking things down and it's appreciated that you admit things you don't understand instead of blustering

I appreciate that he brought out 'socko' as what I interpreted as a shout out to his favorite comedian!

“Alright wasahhh dude” automatically earned you a new subscription

Making a separate comment bc my last was so long but I really like the way you actually listened and gave your thoughts and tried to break it down, I haven't seen any other reactions to this but with the way some reactors make their vids ,, whew let's just say I really appreciate that you're the one person I've seen react to it lol, super looking forward to your reaction to rant !! :]

Im so glad you finally did this one :D

Nice take... I like hearing your opinion on it, and what's interesting is what you said about how companies insert themselves in political/social standings cause it was the exact topic of the bit after this song

Ah yes, I haven't seen a lot of people react to this song. It is easier to digest songs like "Welcome to the internet", "All eyes on me" and "Kanye rant" because they kind of come pre-packaged with a set of ideas that is easier to grasp. This song however is, roughly as you said, a case the establishment and the elites vs. the workers and the salt of the earth. Now, I think both positions in this video is presented in a more pointed/extreme way. As you say, most folks living today just want to live their life. Those people are often left, left-centre, centrists (like myself), right-centre and right. Extreme left and right the ones that most people have issues with, and somewhat ironically a lot of people on the left looks at the extreme right and says "everybody is like that" in the same manner as the people on the right look at the folks at the extreme left. In this case, Socko is spouting some grade A anarcho-marxism stuff, such as "Private property is inherently theft" which itself is a variation on a phrase coined by French anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, which is condensed into something like this "Property is theft", though Proudhon spoke about the sovereign right of property, the right of the proprietor to do with his property as he pleases, "to use and abuse". Marx himself was in the beginning sympathetic to Proudhon, but had some criticism on what Proudhon spoke about. He said that "the expression "property is theft" as self-refuting and unnecessarily confusing, writing that "'theft' as a forcible violation of property presupposes the existence of property" and started condemning Proudhon for entangling himself in "all sorts of fantasies, obscure even to himself, about true bourgeois property". Anyways, Socko also seems more self-defeating when he goes after Bo when the latter asks "What can I do", and kind of gets reduced to some kind of whiny know-nothing entity that have no real power and can say what he wants to do, because he finds himself at the mercy of the whims of Bo and whatever Bo decides to do. In this case Bo has the literal power over life and death in regards to poor socko.

one of my favorite songs from Inside. How the World Works is stuck in my head at least once a day. Great reaction to it!

My favorite analysis. Great job! I love Bo because his skits have so much to unpack and ponder. They trigger introspection and provide a framework for conversation. For example, I had to read about the FBI and MLK line. I didn’t know MLK’s family didn’t believe James Earl Ray was the killer and fought to get him a retrial. Well done!

myopic: short-sighted.

You do the best review man ! Great job 👌👍

That third one is definitely the most accurate depiction of how the world works😂

i've listened to this song like 50 times on spotify and you're makin me realize so much more hahaha

I feel a lot of Bo’s songs, especially from What & Make Happy along with Inside, you definitely unpack a bit more with each listen. It’s one of the reasons he is my favorite comedian/artist, he uses his intelligence & makes you think as well as laugh at the same time. Great reaction once again, sir... can’t wait for Rant & Repeat Stuff. ☺️

The fact this is not the first time I've witnessed native speakers being confused by more or less ordinary words in this song that for me, with a superficial school level knowledge of English (which is not my first language), were never perceived as hard to get or uncommon, really surprises me. I'm actually curious about the causes of this gap

Yet another great review

I love how you actually know the point of the songs unlike literally everyone else.

I've heard this song, like, a dozen times and you did a great job of grappling with the meaning - Thanks and keep up the good work! [myopic = near-sighted]

Hey, I found your channel from Bo's videos and I love your reactions and takes. You definitely showed me stuff that I missed or didnt understand the meaning behind it and it's fantastic. I would love to see your reactions to Bob Dylan songs if you havent listened his songs before. I am a huge Dylan fan and would be great to watch your reactions on him. All love from Turkey!

Just subbed yesterday, wow this was fast

Man you're GOOD at analyzing 🤩

17:12 Yup, my reaction was almost equal. And 19 mins still feel not enough for a song like this haha. Awesome react!

Love the reaction. It was insightful and honest. Myopic, both literally and metaphorically, means short-sighted. Self-actualisation refers to realising one’s potential. So Socko is saying that privileged white people trying to (lazily) learn about problems marginalised people are facing, purely for their own betterment (but only in society’s eyes), is both futile and belittling.

Dude you got it all right. Most people just want the best and we’re being fucked with and we can’t work together so we get so worked up and angry we won’t even see our own flaws and agree every person and every side have things we need to work on

Lmao - coming from watching the Tim Minchin reaction to you feeling ‘uncomfortable & weird’ about the children’s style song made laugh so much!!! Bo definitely doesn’t pull his punches does he? I get the ironic comedy but sometimes feel guilty laughing at these because they are just way to real but that’s what we need to get the thought process going

This Socko bit was probably a homage to one of Bo Burnham's favorite Dutch comedians that he looks up to named Hans Teeuwen. Look up "Hans Teeuwen Little Ronnie" to see what I mean. Also another song that just screams Bo Burnham type of comedy.. Same comedian, but look up baseball bat. He also sits behind a piano and plays music. Also this song when Bo Burnham sings his side reminds me of a Sesame Street type of format talking to a puppet and all that. That being said, Burnham has been tapped to write songs for the upcoming live-action “Sesame Street” movie, expected in theaters in early 2021. It got delayed because of Covid

Myopic lens = narrow view

"Rant" and "Repeat Stuff" are definitely great. I always forget what you've already commented on but "Nerds" and "oh bo" are great, too! I'll watch whatever when it's reviewed by you, though. The video was amazing as always

Bo is the composer for the new Sesame Street movie! This is likely something that he came up with while getting in the mindset for writing it

When he talks about all politicians and cops protecting those interests, he means by being in that work space, you are supporting and protecting those interests, not necessarily consciously or purposefully, but just by being a politician or a cop

17:23 Wow. Fast forward to 2023 Bud Light. I’m loving your unique, open-minded approach to your content. It’s eye-opening and refreshing to hear such a new perspective on this music. Thank you.

You get it. You, Suffi, are invited to the cookout.

This one went over A LOT of people's heads. If you listen to what both Bo's character here, and Socko actually are saying here, they are both aweful in their own unique way. While Bo is being extremely unconscious to reality, thinking of the world working in a simplistic way, Socko is far too conscious of things to the point of conspiracy. (The FBI killed MLK, the Pedo-Corps, and such.). When Bo's character asks how he can help to the person preaching to him, there is an immediate attack. This song is brilliant. I've seen people taking both sides oddly enough.

Neoliberalism is contemporarily used to refer to market-oriented reform policies such as "eliminating price controls, deregulating capital markets, lowering trade barriers" and reducing, especially through privatization and austerity, state influence in the economy.

When this guy reacts the world just works

Im subbing just for the " wasssaaa duuuu"

Lol you definitely should see the next clip right after this, Bo becoming a brand consultant 😆.

Every politician and every cop,as being part of a system that protects the corporate elite

Yes, This legit made my day.

You always has a great analysis, even at something you don't know. 😍 I am staying for whole ride🙂

he isn't necessarily saying that every single politician and cop is corrupt, he's saying that because the system as a whole is corrupt every individual is inherently complicit in that corruption because they choose to engage with and participate in those systems and not speak out about it.

This is definitely a wierd one because Socko is mixing things Bo genuinely believes with things I'd be shocked if he actually believes. I think it is meant to symbolize a very vocal activist on Bo's side, but he is criticizing the activist too. Socko is clearly pretty extreme, he is basically spewing Marxist talking points, Bo is left but I don't think that far. Particularly Socko's second verse seems to be Bo firing shots at the vocal far left, how he finally gets someone on the verge of changing their mind and tells them to do their own research and starts using fancy language to diss their race/class. When people doing their own research is how we get flat earthers and anti-vaxxers, telling someone ready to listen to you to do their own research is the worst thing you can do. Along with that the aggressive language about race/class back when "SJWs" were in full swing played a part in the polarization that gave us Trump and the current political climate. One thing I'll dig into is what "Neoliberal Facists" probably means here. Neoliberals are the part of the left that is hyperfocused on Coorporations and the Economy and Globalization. The ones who think if the GDP goes up everybodies lives get better. These are generally the Clintons or Obamas or Pelosi's of the world. Not going to waste characters defining fascism but will just link this image of the 14 points that define it voxpopulisphere.files.wordpress.com/2017/08/fascism-50-728.jpg . The modern democratic party (not the voters, the party & politicians) probably fit like 10-11 of those points very well (Where someone like Trump hits all 14 right on the head). Along with that these are generally the things that they are willing to cooperate with republicans and be "bipartisan" on so they are a lot more likely to get done than the good things they might believe in.

It doesn't matter if every cop or politician thinks that way, they work in a system that is built to do those things. Regardless of how an individual may feel

I really want to see him react to "That Funny Feeing". I feel like that would be really interesting.

It’s not about whether all cops and politicians think this way. Cops are there to enforce the laws. If you believe that the laws are unjust, cops with the best intention still enforce the status quo.

Loved your reaction. I know a lot of commenters already mentioned this but I think there are two things to consider about “socko”. First that he is a character and might not even fully represent Bo’s beliefs but is really a stand-in for the group of people who believe these things about the world. And a lot of his statements are purposefully inflammatory. In terms of the saying “every cop and politician” I think the point is to shift focus from individual people to the systems they are part of. The issue in discourse about this stuff is one group usually argues from the perspective of individuals (e.g. my brother is a cop and he is a good person) while the other side is arguing from the perspective of systems (e.g. the ways rules are written and enforced in terms of police are designed to benefit the richest people in our country and everyone else’s freedoms are an afterthought; therefore all cops whether corrupt or not are participating in that system). I think biblically it is a lot like Babylon. Daniel and his friends were good Babylonian citizens while also not betraying their moral and religious beliefs. But it leads to a system where Daniel is a good advisor in spite of the system that is designed around serving the Babylonian empire.

Socko is the embodiment of any idea/person that gets in the way of the status quo, whether or not the idea/person is right or wrong.

fun fact, he’s working on stuff for sesame street! his kids songs will not stop here lol

I love your interpretations