A depressing film that encapsulates the sad world we are living in.
We’re All Going to the Worlds Fair is a film that perfectly captures the depressing world we live in today.
We’re All Going to the Worlds Fair (2021) follows Casey, a teenager who gets enticed into participating in an online horror game. A slow-burn light horror which follows her journey into the Worlds fair. A film which gives very little away thus allowing the audience to interpret what they are watching. This does allow the film to receive mixed reviews as although it's an incredible short film it feels longer due to a drawn-out pace and mostly nothing happening. I can’t defend the film on some of the issues mentioned but it's a film that explores so much and it's why I find this film fascinating.
Looking at the reasons why people notice that nothing happens could be due to the nature of long quietness. Shots, where you feel like something, will happen such as supernatural or a jumpscare turns into nothing. Videos take forever to load and are played out for an incredibly long time while for the most part, we are sitting still watching Casey. These overly long takes truly brings a great sense of eeriness, isolation and loneliness compared to if the scenes were rushed. Though on the flip side could be an aspect that audiences deemed boring.
Casey’s life throughout the movie is captured online. From moments of her journey in the game, random thoughts she is having or showcasing her dancing skills. It is all there willingly for everyone to watch. An article by Conscious Youth states that: “70% of young people feel more confident than ever sharing their views online” (Conscious Youth,2021.) We are living in this world now where people are not afraid to share their views with people online and Casey in the film represents a new way we share.
The film takes it further than this stat and shows that Casey does not talk to her parents. This is shown in a scene where Casey notices a car pulling up and without hesitating notices and rushes away. The idea that she does not seem to talk to her family but online is willing to share so much is truly something terrifying enough. Casey could be sharing as it is her only method of communication with people thus trying to fit in. A study found that “people who are lonely tend to post more personal information as opposed to work-related, witty or neutral comments on social networks” (Rasquinha, 2015.) Casey here somewhat falls into this category although we can't see things to the fullest extent she is sharing how she feels, about her daily life plus there is still some witty content like the dancing video. I am mentioning this as this is a huge element in the film throughout and brings the mood down. It’s the part where the criticism lies but to me, it's done with intention. You feel for Casey as you uncover more about the character and why she is behaving the way she is and partaking in the game.
There are no supernatural elements and highlights how escalated the internet can be when pushing trends and forming communities. This could be where the film finds again this dislike as going into it, I was expecting this supernatural/entity thing but it’s not and more of an online ‘coming of age tale.’ GameRant summarises these points perfectly stating that the film highlights that “technology often breeds another kind of unseen darkness more terrifying than the killers in horror itself: depression and loneliness” (Andujar,2023.) To conclude on this point; Casey is parking in this game and is sharing how she is feeling however the main element of potentially why is loneliness which itself is harrowing.
A major scene that stood out and sparked me to decide this would be what I wrote about was the scene where a distressed Casey is struggling to get to sleep and resorts to a video to calm her down. It does overstay its welcome but doesn’t lose its impact. As well as sharing being used to tackling her loneliness, Casey resorts to also watching videos. ClarkNow found that during the pandemic people resorted to videos to tackle how they are feeling with ASMR videos “foster[ing] a sense of social connection and even physical intimacy (Luttrell,2021.) This film connects with society, especially in this scene where she relies on these videos to find comfort.
Briefly, looking into the actual game, it's part of the creepypasta side of the online world. These are horror stories (some incredibly dark) or urban legends spread around the web scaring people. Although this could maybe not fall into creepypasta, the major influence I saw within this film was the Blue Whale Challenge. In summary, this ‘game’ targeted young people who felt isolated from society/depressed and over 50 days they would partake in challenges leading to their suicide. It's a long subject matter with many cases and debates (read all here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-46505722) but with subject boards of people discussing and changing, there is somewhat of a comparison. Casey plays a completely different online game (for other reasons) though my point here was to highlight this is not far-fetched and in reality, it can be a lot darker. There is dark stuff online (trends spreading) and communities online and it's chilling to think of the dangers isolation can do when browsing the internet.
Moving on there is an element of why Casey is partaking in this game. A reason could be that she is not comfortable with who she is. Father Son and the Holy Gore states that the film shows “Casey’s experience of gender dysphoria via the World’s Fair Challenge” (Newell,2022.) She is constantly feeling this change as once partaking states in the film that feeling of herself “leaving her body.”` In the early signs of partaking in the game, she notices that compared to others who have undertaken drastic changes Casey’s is more nuanced. ID states Casey is “using the challenge” in a way “which she can try and come to terms with whoever it is she’s becoming”(Moore,2022.) It's that disappointment that maybe received negative reviews as audiences also were expecting something bigger but instead got something more grounded in reality which as stated throughout this article can be even scarier.
Throughout the film, Casey unconsciously ruins her childhood toy, spots her dad's gun and more. The film brings forth a consistent exploration that leaves the audience wondering who’s Casey. Even in the final act, Casey says to JLB that “That's not even my real name.” Casey retreats in showing JLB her true self due to fears that he is wanting the thrill aspects than helping to discover Casey’s true identity from this game. To me, the film is this exploration of gender dysphoria with Casey discovering herself and the game is a way for Casey to transform into this different person that has always been there. It's not a film that gives the audience a satisfactory answer to this question but instead leaves the audience to make their interpretation and views on Casey and JLB.
Lastly, online identity is present within the film. Not only from Casey's angle (how she presents herself in the video or the self-discovery angle) but also from JLB's character. We are left unsure of JLB's intentions as throughout there is this creepy vibe from him. Tejaswi Shubham Vedprakash Bundhun’s article can be brought into this film as she highlights: that people’s online identity can have negative effects as they find it difficult to keep up with two different personas but also people could use their online identity to escape their reality (Vedprakash,2020.) The film ends with you left wondering who are these people and in reality, you can never be sure who someone is online or what their intentions are.
To conclude this film will not be for everyone and I also have issues with the film but I can’t shake off how chilling this film is when displaying the reality we are finding ourselves in. It's far from a perfect film but if you notice what the film is showcasing it will certainly change you.
References
Aviva Luttrell. (2021). Can the remedy for loneliness be found on YouTube?. Available from: https://clarknow.clarku.edu/2021/11/18/can-the-remedy-for-loneliness-be-found-on-youtube/. [Accessed: 24/1/2023].
C.H. Newell. (2022). An Unsettling Internet Odyssey of Identity & Creepy Old Men in WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR. Available from: https://fathersonholygore.com/2022/11/06/an-unsettling-internet-odyssey-of-identity-creepy-old-men-in-were-all-going-to-the-worlds-fair/. [Accessed: 24/1/2023].
Conscious Youth. (2021). young people feel more confident than ever in sharing their views online. Available from: https://consciousyouth.co.uk/over-70-of-young-people-feel-more-confident-than-ever-sharing-their-views-online/. [Accessed: 23/1/2023].
Samantha Andujar. (2023). We’re All Going To The Worlds Fair: A New Take On Coming of Age Horror. Available from: https://gamerant.com/were-all-going-to-the-worlds-fair-coming-of-age-horror/. [Accessed: 30/1/2023].
Sam Moore. (2022). The critically-acclaimed new horror contemplating gender dysphoria. Available from: https://i-d.vice.com/en/article/dypbdx/were-all-going-to-the-worlds-fair. [Accessed: 30/1/2023].
Tejaswi Shubham Vedprakash Bundhun. (2020). Social Media Platforms Affecting People and their Own Identity. Available from: https://networkconference.netstudies.org/2020Curtin/2020/05/10/social-media-platforms-affecting-people-and-their-own-identity/. [Accessed: 31/1/2023].
We’re All Going to the Wolds Fair (2021). USA: Utopia.