‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’ Film Theories: Explanations, Themes, and Meaning

Talk about a horror movie made to reflect the times. We’re All Going to the World’s Fair drew me in fast. Its dark, deeply depressing atmosphere kept me engaged. And its excellent script kept me thinking about the film for weeks.

When I can’t stop thinking about a horror movie, that’s always a sign that I should write about it here. Exorcising those demons, if you will.

Here are my We’re All Going to the World’s Fair theories.

Screenshot from “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” trailer.

Top Theories About the Meaning and Themes of ‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’ (2021)

1. Digital Alienation and Identity Dissolution

Theory: The World’s Fair challenge symbolizes how the internet fragments identity and blurs the boundary between performance and reality for isolated youth.

• Why It Fits:
  • Casey is a teen immersed in an online culture that encourages vulnerability and spectacle. Her “transformation” may reflect the psychological effects of performing identity online without real connection or grounding — losing herself in a role that becomes too real.
• Key Moments:
  • Casey repeating “I want to go to the World’s Fair” — a ritualistic surrender of self.
  • Her confusion between play and reality during Skype calls with JLB.
  • Her breakdown after destroying her childhood stuffed animal, suggesting a loss of self.

2. Grooming and Online Exploitation

Theory: The film is a metaphor for the dangers of online grooming, with JLB as a predator who masks manipulation behind concern and fantasy.

• Why It Fits:
  • While JLB never physically acts, his behavior mirrors classic grooming tactics: emotional manipulation, insistence on secrecy, building false intimacy, and drawing Casey deeper into disturbing content.
• Key Moments:
  • JLB’s camera always off, creating an asymmetrical power dynamic.
  • His encouragement of Casey’s disturbing videos under the guise of “monitoring.”
  • Casey’s final accusation: “You’re into this because you’re creepy” — possibly breaking the illusion he built.

3. Mental Illness as a Creeping Force

Theory: The World’s Fair symbolizes the onset of mental illness — particularly dissociative or psychotic disorders — in a teenager without a support system.

• Why It Fits:
  • The gradual unraveling of Casey’s personality, detachment from reality, and the blending of internet fiction with her lived experience suggest a symbolic dramatization of mental deterioration.
• Key Moments:
  • Her sleepwalking parallels past trauma and present instability.
  • Her increasingly erratic behavior and inability to distinguish game from life.
  • JLB’s decision to go “out of game” is met with her shocking revelation: she may have been acting — or dissociating.

4. Escapism and Trans Identity

Theory: The World’s Fair is a metaphor for gender dysphoria and transformation — Casey’s desire to “change” could reflect a longing to escape her body or identity and become something else.

• Why It Fits:
  • The film’s creator, Jane Schoenbrun, is a nonbinary filmmaker, and the story subtly aligns with themes of bodily discomfort, identity role-play, and transformation. Casey’s ambiguity, lack of real name, and emotional distance from her environment all support this interpretation.
• Key Moments:
  • Casey’s discomfort with her physical presence (videos framed around absence or performance).
  • Her makeup and costume transformation in UV paint.
  • The phrase “I will disappear, and no one will know what happened to me” can reflect dysphoria and a wish to become someone else.

5. Creepypasta as Collective Grief and Mythmaking

Theory: The World’s Fair challenge is a stand-in for internet-born horror mythologies — like creepypasta — which serve as rituals for collective loneliness, fear, and identity play.

• Why It Fits:
  • The film treats the World’s Fair challenge as both real and unreal — mirroring how online horror myths create community while eroding personal boundaries. Both Casey and JLB are seeking connection, but through a myth that swallows them.
• Key Moments:
  • The VHS-style editings and ritualistic blood-letting reflect internet urban legends.
  • “Strange loop theory” — the idea of infinite recursion — fits perfectly with mythologies that trap their players.
  • The possibly fabricated epilogue suggests how myths persist even after belief fades.

Key Themes in ‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’

Adolescence as a Liminal State

The film explores adolescence as a threshold between childhood and adulthood — a time marked by confusion, fear, and experimentation. Casey teeters between innocence and independence, caught in a period where identity is fluid, volatile, and often unanchored from reality. The World’s Fair challenge becomes a symbolic rite of passage, evoking the uncertainty and vulnerability of growing up alone.

Disconnection in the Digital Age

Rather than demonizing the internet, the film presents it as a space of eerie, unfulfilling connection. Characters use screens to reach for intimacy, but their interactions are disjointed and one-sided. The result is a haunting portrayal of isolation — not from lack of contact, but from the insufficiency of digital interaction to satisfy human emotional needs.

The Blurring of Performance and Authenticity

Much of the film’s tension arises from the inability to tell whether Casey is roleplaying or truly changing. This reflects a broader cultural anxiety around performance — especially online, where personas are curated and ambiguity is rewarded. The film suggests that even sincerity becomes slippery when filtered through a performance-based medium like YouTube.

Adult Invisibility and Powerlessness

Though Casey lives with her father, he is conspicuously absent from the narrative. This absence mirrors a larger theme of adult disengagement, portraying a world where youth navigate overwhelming experiences without meaningful guidance. The adults that do intervene, like JLB, are either ineffective or unsettling in their motivations.

The Appeal of Horror as Catharsis

The World’s Fair challenge — and the disturbing videos that follow — tap into the appeal of horror as an emotional outlet. For Casey and others, horror becomes a way to externalize internal pain. The film shows how online horror culture creates a stage where people can express buried trauma and alienation through controlled scares.

Plot Summary

• Year Released: 2021
• Director: Jane Schoenbrun
• Writer: Jane Schoenbrun

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair follows Casey, a lonely teenager who takes part in a mysterious online horror game known as the “World’s Fair Challenge.” After performing a ritual involving blood and a strobe video, she begins documenting strange changes she may—or may not—be experiencing. As her videos grow more disturbing, she attracts the attention of JLB, an older man who follows the challenge and reaches out under the guise of concern. Their online interactions blur the lines between performance and reality, revealing deeper themes of isolation, identity, and the dangers of digital connection.

Movies with Similar Themes to ‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’

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Cam (2018)

A camgirl discovers her online persona has been taken over by a mysterious doppelgänger, blurring the line between digital identity and real self.

Eighth Grade (2018)

A socially anxious girl documents her life through YouTube videos while struggling with isolation, performative identity, and emotional uncertainty.

—> Watch Eighth Grade online.

Skinamarink (2022)

Two children find themselves trapped in a house where their parents and the laws of reality have disappeared — a slow, eerie meditation on childhood fear and disconnection.

—> Watch Skinamarink online.

The Den (2013)

A student studying web chat behaviors witnesses a murder online and becomes the target of a dark conspiracy, exploring the dangers of anonymity and voyeurism.

Ginger Snaps (2000)

Two outsider sisters navigate puberty and transformation when one becomes a werewolf — a bloody metaphor for female adolescence and identity crisis.

—> Watch Ginger Snaps online.

Unfriended: Dark Web (2018)

A group of friends uncover a hidden layer of the internet with horrifying consequences, examining how deep online culture can spiral into real-world danger.

—> Watch Unfriended: Dark Web online.

Men, Women & Children (2014)

An ensemble drama that explores how digital media affects teenagers and their parents, focusing on isolation, performative behavior, and emotional estrangement.

—> Watch Men, Women & Children online.

Afterschool (2008)

A prep-school student becomes obsessed with filming after witnessing a tragedy, leading to questions about mediation, identity, and emotional detachment.

—> Watch Afterschool online.

Welcome to the Dollhouse (1995)

A brutally honest look at adolescent alienation, focusing on a lonely girl navigating a world of emotional neglect and cruel social dynamics.

—> Watch Welcome to the Dollhouse online.

Have Your Own ‘We’re All Going to the World’s Fair’ Theory?

You don’t see a movie like We’re All Going to the World’s Fair every day. I’m grateful for this one — it’s exactly the horror movie vibe I often find myself craving.

But what were your thoughts? Any analysis you’d like to share with me? If so, leave it in the comments (pretty please).

😱