Reaction starts at 0:52

"remember whos on whos hand here" is such a chilling line
bo plays the villain AMAZINGLY and it scares me every time

A lot of reacters get visibly uncomfortable when he brings up stuff like the means of production. Which is pretty illustrative of that good ol' pedagogic classism.

It always strikes me when I rewatch this song that Bo's character and Socko presumably have a history of incidents like this. And even if Socko, an oppressed voice, were to happily do everything Bo wanted, he would still get taken off at the end of the day once he played his part. Put in that liminal space unable to act or have a platform while Bo goes about his day. Only to reappear when someone in a position of privilege needs a literal sock puppet through which to affirm their worldview to a wider audience so the have the support of this other group outside of themselves.

Even when Socko does get to say his piece Bo gives this sort of "aw isn't that cute" or "haha look at him go" wink and nod to the audience as he indulges Socko while ultimately having the power to silence him whenever Socko steps out of the acceptable range of discourse. Which he does when he attacks Bo directly rather than wide systemic issues which Bo, as sort of a semi-progressive or leftist(?) privileged person can verbally pay lip service to.

Bo is happy to bring up marxist ideas like everyone giving what they can and getting what they need, because it's beautiful and poetic when put to nature. But as soon as the ugliness rears its head he indulges and "supports" Socko in bringing up these complexities. Just like rich white progressives might happily smile and nod while inviting a minority person to use their platform to speak. But as soon as criticism is levied at him directly it is met with angry resentment, the thorough degredation of Socko, and then his ultimate silencing after he's "made amends" and finished the song for the sake of the audience.

I think this is the darkest song Bo has ever written by far. The more I watch it the more powerful it gets. And to back it with Sesame Street adjacent music makes it just plain terrifying. He’s a genius.

Yeah the way things end for socko is really upsetting, especially when it's so relatable. I've seen this sort of oppression in real life and Bo really captures the powerlessness through Socko. Great reaction as always! Welcome back!

I remember finding out that Eminem donates millions and is very involved in bettering Detroit, involved in a ton of charities. I've always been a fan and thought it was weird I never heard about it before. Turns out that one of his stipulations was for people to not talk about it and it took someone really diving in to find out all he did. That's the difference from someone who truly cares and someone just out for the recognition. It's fascinating looking at his approach and  the lengths he goes to keep it low key.

Socko is so based. A true icon

The “gives what they can and gets what they need” thing in the rosy half of the song is a rephrasing of “from each according to their ability, to each according to their need”, which was Marx’s characterization of communism.

“Not quite dead not quite alive, constant state of sleep paralysis”. Sounds about right.

that reaction looks like it was made in 2026

the socko voice over could be timing based, especially if you have seen bo burnham's "we think we know you" from his finale of "what" then you know his timing is really impressive. both acts would take big memorization and practice

i feel like the "not quite dead, not quite alive part" is about oppression. bo takes socko out when he needs socko to help him but shoves him aside once he is done using socko, putting socko back into the sleep paralysis state, or oppressing him again.

To touch on the political themes. Socko is blatantly a leftist in what he says. Yet, even when Bo is giving the overly simplistic and base level explanation of how the world works he includes that every animal “gives what they can and gets what they need” which is a fundamental Marxist idea of “from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs”. Very interesting that the character that is directly opposed to the leftist uses the same language and idea in the simpler explanation.

Maybe that’s showing that those ideas are a fundamental part of nature or maybe it’s just stealing the idea to use it against socko.

Great reaction, great song

Comrade burnham

Just wanted to add that the cool detachment Bo is exuding while listening to Socko and representing "rich white people" could be taken at face value as apathy towards the hardships of others which have no direct impact on their own lives (unfortunately true of most people I think) or, if you wait til the oppression of Socko at the end, as a total lack of concern that those not in a position of power (i.e. without wealth) can do little to nothing to affect any lasting change that would even apply pressure to their status quo.

This was a great reaction! You really caught everything. Just subscribed. The ending is such a gut punch. It used to be fun debating ‘issues’ when I was younger, but the shine of debating your own right to existence, respect and dignity wears off pretty quickly. I’m so tired. This song says it all.

I remember when I was sitting in history class in 5th grade thinking specifically that the UNITED STATES was and is always the good guys and that’s why we won all our wars etc. Good vs evil. Obviously growing up I learned the truth and the various gray areas.

pause as much as you need to, pal! hahaha there's a lot to unpack in these songs and scenes haha

may i also add that this man is the song writer (although stated as “composer” on google) for the upcoming Sesame Street movie — i think he jus got a lil carried away on this one…