Bo Burnham and self-deprecation in comedy Self-deprecation is undoubtedly one of the most popular comedic styles these days. People like to humiliate themselves, to become the butt of jokes, because it's easier to make a joke before someone else does. Sigmund Freud talked about self-deprecation, along with other comedic devices, as a way to make us feel superior to others, and I think that's definitely a thing now too. The list of comedians who use self-deprecating humor goes on and on, but my favorite would be Bo Burnham, who has focused his entire career on poking fun at himself, while simultaneously criticizing society as a whole. His latest show "thing". is a shining example of this, since with almost everything he does, he constantly humiliates himself in the name of comedy. Burnham's latest show, and the other shows she's done, are always crafted through an onstage persona that is both incredibly selfish and self-deprecating. The character is sexually ambiguous, but often references homophobic slurs, usually from old classmates or his parents, although in real life Burnham's parents don't actually hate him and are very supportive of his career. He makes himself the butt of almost every joke he makes, whether through song or poetry. The entire first eight minutes of the show are a bunch of mime jokes, and one of the recorded jokes constantly makes jokes at his expense, like "He's got a giant head and little nipples" and "You're an asshole, Bo... you're going to die alone and you will deserve it." In particular, there's a part he does in his show called "The Left and Right Brain." This is a song sung by his left, a… middle of paper… of control. All of these moments elicit a lot of laughter in response, so they're definitely in line with what Freud was talking about. There are many other examples of Bo Burnham's comedic genius beyond those discussed here. His humor is raw and dirty, but also so insightful, and the way he blends them in this gigantic, theatrical, self-deprecating way makes him, in my opinion, one of the most talented comedians in the business today. Despite the character he plays, Burnham has moments of true self-expression, explicitly making it known that what he does is all an act, and that while his character may think he's better than others, Bo Burnham himself doesn't. He knows how far to push himself and how to get laughs, and I'm sure he would find it incredibly funny to have been linked to Sigmund Freud's theories in an English college paper..