Is We're All Going to the World's Fair woke?
Movie · 2021
We're All Going to the World's Fair has a wokeness score of 8/10, which we rate as Strongly Ideological. Woke messaging is very prominent and often feels forced or shoehorned in. Characters and plot are primarily shaped to serve the ideology. Many viewers feel the agenda overshadows the entertainment.
Key points
- Director's nonbinary identity and explicit ties to personal gender dysphoria shape the core metaphor of bodily transformation.
- Online horror challenge functions as allegory for queer identity exploration and dissociation from physical self.
- Critical consensus interprets film as trans cinema exploring dysphoria, isolation, and digital self-reinvention.
Wokeness analysis
The film centers on a teenage girl's participation in an online horror role-playing challenge that serves as an extended metaphor for gender dysphoria and identity exploration. Director Jane Schoenbrun, who identifies as nonbinary, has explicitly linked the story to their own coming-out process and experiences of dysphoria as a queer youth online. Multiple reviews highlight transgender subtext, body horror as allegory for feeling disconnected from one's physical form, and themes of transformation that align with progressive narratives around gender identity. The narrative prioritizes introspective, internet-mediated self-discovery over traditional plot or entertainment, with the challenge functioning as a vehicle for commentary on isolation, queerness, and digital self-reinvention. While not overtly preachy in dialogue, the ideological framing—rooted in the director's stated intent and critical interpretations—dominates the sparse story, making characters and events serve the messaging about dysphoric alienation rather than organic storytelling. This results in a message-driven work where progressive social themes of gender fluidity and online identity feel central and intentional, often overshadowing escapist or character-focused elements for viewers attuned to such agendas.
Plot
Teenager Casey, isolated in her attic bedroom, joins the viral 'World's Fair Challenge,' an online horror role-playing game requiring a blood ritual and documentation of supposed physical and mental changes. She records vlogs detailing her experiences, interacting with other participants' videos and eventually connecting online with an older man named JLB who offers guidance. The story unfolds through webcam footage and found-footage style, exploring her loneliness, potential grooming risks, and ambiguous transformations amid a neglectful home life. The film premiered at Sundance in 2021 and received critical acclaim for its atmospheric take on internet culture and coming-of-age themes.
Analyzed by AI on September 14, 2026