We re all going to the worlds fair meaning

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021) – A horrifying glimpse into teenage isolation in the internet era


Jane Schoenbrun is a striking, emerging presence in today’s cinema landscape. With only two feature films under their belt (with a debut as recent as 2018!) Schoenbrun has already been lauded by Martin Scorsese and received a positive reaction to their most recent film, 2024’s
I Saw the TV Glow
. That movie is a lurid, abstract, coming-of-age horror flick about loss, friendship, and the trans experience — complete with dazzling set pieces and an eerie atmosphere that captures the “uncanny valley” phenomenon perfectly.

But I’m not here to gush about
I Saw the TV Glow
. I’m here to talk about Schoenbrun’s first major film,
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair.
Watching these two movies back-to-back made me realize how much it served as the blueprint for all of the most unsettling, haunting aspects of
TV Glow
— which in part is why it works so well (coupled with a significantly larger budget, of course).


We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
is a slow burning film with a minimalist plot; as much as I love it, admittedly it’s not for everyone. But just because t


How People Missed The Point Of We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (And Why I Don’t Blame Them)


We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
(2021) is Jane Schoenbrun’s second directorial outing and first feature film, a dream-like half-found-footage, half-third-person dive into the life of teenager Casey (Anna Cobb) as she participates in the Worlds Fair Challenge, an internet-based experience that claims it will transform you and reminds one heavily of old-school creepypasta tales from before the time of Jeff the Killer. Most people assume after watching that it’s the story of Casey’s descent into a sort of madness as she seems to make plans to commit violence against others and herself, with a sort of alter-ego emerging in the footage Casey shares with the mysterious JLB (Michael J Rogers).

They think it is about a girl taken by the illusion and delusion of the Worlds Fair, its promise of transformation coming true in a fashion not dissimilar to
The Monkey’s Paw
with her being twisted into a worse version of herself, only being snapped out of it in the end by JLB, leaving her shaken to the point of disappearing, her fate left ambiguous despite JLBs claims to have met her in per



We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021) Movie Ending Explained & Themes Analysed
: “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair”, director Jane Schoenbrun’s feature debut, is an immediate retrospective for its viewers. Especially for viewers who spend a major chunk of their daily hours in front of a computer screen. The relatability quotient of this film would be quite high among the Internet-savvy generation. Schoenbrun’s film, which is billed as a coming-of-age horror, reflects the angst of many. The darkness of isolation and depression the film carries is bound to resonate with people from every spectrum. Schoenbrun tries to paint the horror of that darkness, where the only source of light is that dimming one coming from the digital screen.






The film is not particularly pretty to look at. Nor it was supposed to be. The look of the film is reflective of its budget. The found-footage style cinematography of the film also goes well with the unsettling horror feel the film intended.

Uneasiness is perpetual when the camera pans to Casey (Anna Cobb), the lead of the story. The film might not satisfy the conventional horror fans, but director Schoenbrun asks for a

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair review – exhilarating gaming-horror mashup


Strangeness is a quality valued and yearned for in so many sorts of movies, but rarely found – yet this really is strange, an experiment in horror form from the trans film-maker Jane Schoenbrun and executive-produced by David Lowery. It draws on a video-art aesthetic, a gamer aesthetic and a lockdown Zoom aesthetic, taking us to a world where liberation goes hand-in-hand with loneliness. It’s very unnerving and a little bit exhausting.

Newcomer Anna Cobb plays Casey, a teen who is about to take the World’s Fair Challenge; that is, to take part in an occult horror online game, immerse herself in the fantasy roleplay, and upload videos documenting the supposed changes in herself triggered by the game. This she duly does, along with other players, and it is these disjointed existences and worlds which provide the film’s drama of alienation.









The movie begins with a genuinely disturbing extended shot of Casey’s face bathed in an unearthly glow, as it were from the laptop’s POV, as she gazes into the screen, submitting to the game’s mesmeric and unwholesome rituals. She makes contact with a World