REMINISCE: Bo Burnham’s poignant take on a young girl’s journey through her last week of eighth grade attracts the attention of many viewers.
By Crystal Hsueh, Staff Writer
Bo Burnham, known for his origin on YouTube and dark-humored comedy specials such as Make Happy and What., released “Eighth Grade,” a film that attracts the attention of both teenagers and adults who relate to the story of the protagonist of the film, Kayla Day. Kayla, played by 15 year-old Elsie Fisher, is an eighth grader in her final week of middle school who spends most of her time there attempting to socialize, while spending all of her time at home posting motivational advice videos on Youtube, ending the videos with her signature catchphrase, “Gucci!” Throughout the film, we see Kayla trying to acclimate to a high school environment, while also processing her realization that who she is now is not what her sixth grade self expected her to be.
In addition to capturing how “cringey” life as a teenager can be, Burnham also tackles the issue of social media’s influence on adolescent minds. With scenes such as Kayla constantly on her phone while eating dinner with her father or spending her free time scouring for the perfect Snapchat filter, Burnham portrays how anxiety-ridden and obsessed young adults are with being viewed online. As if middle school isn’t overwhelming enough, popularity is now based on the amount of likes and interactions accumulated on any form of social media.
Although the film recently premiered at the 2018 Sundance Festival and was only shown at select theaters across the nation, “Eighth Grade” received a lot of attention, not only for Burnham’s observations of teenagers in the 21st century, but also for his choice of cast. “I wanted it feel like a shy person playing confident, not a confident person pretending to be shy,” Burnham explains. Before landing the role of Kayla Day, Fisher was on a break from acting due to her assumption that directors do not typically cast a teenage girl with acne. In multiple interviews, Burnham mentions how difficult the casting process was in his search for a teenager that is actually a teenager, acne and all; Fisher was the perfect match. Consistently praised for his painfully beautiful depiction of awkward teenage spirit, Burnham receives accolades for being a male director successfully capturing the mind of an adolescent female. Although the film may hit a little too close to home, people of all ages were encouraged to watch Burnham’s brilliantly accurate portrayal of what eighth grade was to most, and what eighth grade can be to others.