[NIGHSTREAM Review] We’re All Going To The World’s Fair.
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair directed and written by Jane Schoenbrun is a horror coming-of-age story. It tells the story of Casey as she engages with the online world documenting the changes in her life after taking the World’s Fair Challenge. Slowly we witness Casey lose grip on her reality as the lines between the real world and the role-playing game she is immersed in blur.
We meet Casey, a young person, sitting in front of their computer repeating the lines “I want to go to the world’s fair”. They are taking part in what they have said is the world’s fair challenge. We see Casey watching a video, from the perspective of the computer webcam, as it flashes colours while it plays through before their eyes. When the video finishes, Casey says that they will update everyone if they notice any changes. Now reflecting on the film, the changes are potentially a metaphor for the changes that Casey is experiencing in her life.
The film focuses on the lonely life of a teenager, Casey (played by Anna Cobb in her feature film debut), who appears to be isolated from friends and family, living in a world that is closely tied to the internet. Casey lives in a run-down town in an unnamed state that appears to be taking on the impact of an economic downturn (there are closed down stores and run-down buildings throughout the film). We realise through getting to know Casey that she has no friends and spends most of her time alone. We experience many candid moments with Casey; singing a song about Winter love and feeling like a melting marshmallow. Casey is an isolated and introverted teenager who lives with her father; who appears to have very little to do with her life. It leads to Casey engaging in the “World’s Fair” challenge and befriending an older man named JBL on the Internet, a “concerned” viewer.
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair felt like watching Brendan Cronenberg’s Possessor, how we are voyeuristically thrown deep into the life of Casey through her videos and vlogging. The film reflects the digital revolution of millennials as they slowly navigate the online universe: of what is acceptable and what is safe. Casey shows the thin veil between those two distinct elements and how young adults are exposed to terrifying situations they have no control over. Casey slowly loses touch with reality as she finds her way through the anxiety of online life. Is it the challenge that is destroying her or is it the illusion of someone always watching?
The creepypasta formatting of the additional videos alongside Casey’s desktop diaries is ambiguous and reminiscent of the days I would spend hours on Snopes.com. Whilst enjoyable, they don’t provide any additional exposition to the already ambiguous nature of the film. The juxtaposition between the cinematic production, the POV of webcams, and personal recording are used thematically and is aesthetically pleasing. Throughout the entire film, there is a wonderful and swelling soundtrack that accompanies Casey. I enjoyed the score for this film; it reminded me of Pilot Priests work on Come True, which is one of my favourite film soundtracks.
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair isn’t for everyone. It explores the navigation of middle ground between adolescence and young adulthood, losing yourself and finding solid ground again. Releasing throughout a COVID lockdown here in Australia, I felt the isolation and loneliness that permeated through both Casey and JBL. Schoenbrun shows the interesting stitching together of cinema production and desktop footage in a creepy and ambiguous bundle that is certainly enjoyable for the found footage fiend.
