Film Matters: Please tell us about your article that is being published in Film Matters.
Andrew Roberts: My article uses Jane Schoenbrun’s film We’re All Going to the World’s Fair (2021) as a framework for discussing how openly trans content creators online use different platforms to explore their gender identities. I used the research of gender theorists such as Legacy Russel, Eliza Steinbock, and Jenny Sundén, who each have their own ideas regarding how identity changes and evolves online as if it were a technological machine. The film’s main character, Casey, explores her identity through the viral horror game The World’s Fair.
FM: What research and/or methodologies do you incorporate in your article?
AR: My professor, Amanda Greer, provided excellent advice by referring me to Oxford Bibliographies for my research. It is easily the best database I have ever used. Articles are sorted by topic, and scholars curate sections, write summaries, document histories, and recommend marginalized voices. The full service is not available to Canadian universities right now, and I miss the luxury of finding valuable sources quickly.
When picking relevant articles for my piece, I read the title and a bit of the abstract and sift through my choices. Steinbock’s Shimmering Images was already a reading in my course syllabus, giving a good starting point.
FM: Describe the original context for/when writing this article while an undergraduate student.
AR: I wrote this article back in April 2023 as my final undergraduate essay for a class called Contemporary Film Theory. The assignment asked to formally analyze a film released after 1990 using topics discussed in class as a lens. I had a ton of films in mind, but We’re All Going to the World’s Fair was a film that immediately spoke to me when I first saw it. The formal reading was so obvious to me that I was hesitant even to pick it as a topic because I did not believe it was unique enough. But obviously, material you know like the back of your hand is always a worthy topic to select, and the film was so new at the time that there was no academic discourse surrounding it.
FM: What does your writing process look like?
AR: Since I knew this was my last undergraduate essay, I wanted it to be one of my best assignments yet. I was only a cinema studies minor (I was a philosophy major), so it wasn’t every day I got a chance to analyze a film with limited restraints. During my writing process for this essay, I probably concentrated the most in my life. I had one week to complete it during exam season, and that time was broken up between rewatching the movie, researching, taking notes, and writing. All week, I was in my local library. I would pack lunch with those Starbucks Frappuccino glass bottle drinks and be there all day.
Summarizing a theorist’s arguments always takes the longest to write because you want to make sure you have all the facts correct. The theory acts as the foundation to your analysis, so you want to ensure it is the strongest part of your essay. As for the film analysis, I had those ideas stuck in my brain for around a year, so it was much easier to trust my writing without consulting any secondary information.
FM: How have your personal experiences shaped and influenced your writing?
AR: This essay is the first time I have analyzed a feature-length film. It was a long time coming because I love body horror. David Cronenberg is my favorite director, so having Jane Schoenbrun make this film while being inspired by his work made this a perfect project. Since my undergraduate studies were primarily focused on philosophy, knowing the material of thinkers such as Descartes and Aristotle may have also proved to help me subconsciously in my writing as they deal with the mind’s involvement with the body and vice versa.
FM: What are your methods for finding diverse and relevant sources?
AR: Finding diverse sources was crucial for my essay because it deals with the evolving gendered body. It was easy to find material because my essay required the inclusion of diverse voices. The University of Toronto also has one of the best databases in North America, which helped.
FM: Why is including marginalized voices in research important to you?
AR: Since I am in journalism school, marginalized voices are everything when you want a complete perspective on a story. Without going that extra mile to be curious and include all perspectives, you only report half-truths. What I love about film is that directors get a blank canvas with many formal instruments to tell their own unique perspectives. You prohibit the world from receiving the full story by not allowing these marginalized voices to make films or be a part of your research.
FM: What aspects of the writing process were most challenging? Why?
AR: Time constraints are always a challenge for university students. Imagine getting only one week to study a philosopher’s entire life, only for you to have to memorize all of it for the final exam. Since I wrote this essay during exam season, I had a few essays to finish, and I had to ask for an extension on this essay. Writing the essay right after finishing another one is hard, but I knew I wanted to focus my entire energy on this, so I gave myself enough time.
FM: What’s a resistance point you hit in your writing, and how did you move past it?
AR: I really hate rewatching a movie for an essay. The movie seems to last that much longer because you just want to go straight to the writing stage. You must also decide whether to begin with research or watch the movie first. Maybe some people watch the film they’re analyzing a few times during the writing process, but I didn’t want to get sick of something I enjoy. It was a relief that World’s Fair is under ninety minutes, or else I would have been analyzing a lot more material and, in turn, spending a lot more time not writing.
I like to write down timestamps and take notes on my phone. What I love about the Criterion discs is that you can create bookmarks, so you do not have to write down timestamps yourself. As for my viewing process for this article, I own the Utopia release of World’s Fair (great slipcase).
FM: What do you enjoy most about your article?
AR: I love that it has my voice in there. I am telling the reader exactly what I love about World’s Fair, but also what I love about body horror and film in general. The essay is a summation of my movie-watching time during my undergraduate studies in many ways.
FM: How has the Film Matters editorial and publication process impacted the development/evolution of your article?
AR: What I originally submitted for my class assignment is significantly longer than what was published in Film Matters. I had a section where I summarized the entire qualitative research study done at Loyola University regarding online survival strategies for expressing gender fluidity online. I summarized two separate strategies that were mentioned in the research but not in the final article. These strategies were called “Empowering” and “Keeping it Real.” I decided to get rid of this section because I did not use these strategies to analyze the film. The characters Casey and JLB only embodied the two other strategies: “Bracketing” and “Online Masking.”
My original submission for class also did not have images. Instead, the essay was riddled with timestamp footnotes, thanks to my egregious notetaking while rewatching the movie. I think the images work much better because they allow the reader to know exactly what I am talking about without going back and consulting the film.
FM: What audience do you hope to reach with your Film Matters article and/or what impact do you hope it has on the field of film studies?
AR: I am not sure what the reach of this publication is, but I hope that the people who love World’s Fair will love this article. I am also glad I got to champion the work of Jane Schoenbrun, who is easily one of the most unique directors working right now. Their newest film, I Saw the TV Glow, further elaborates on the themes of World’s Fair and tackles many other things, such as nostalgia and friendship.
I hope my article helps the field of film studies to speak more about trans identity, gender identity, and the internet. A new generation of filmmakers are creating some very personal and vulnerable art, and I believe Schoenbrun is a part of that. I hope this article inspires other film lovers like me to write about things they love, because, guaranteed, there will be someone out there willing to read it.
FM: How has your department and/or institution supported your work in film and media?
AR: My first film studies class during my second year of undergraduate during the COVID-19 pandemic changed my life forever. At that time, I was a casual movie fan; but after seeing In the Mood for Love as part of my syllabus, I understood that film was much more than entertainment but something to be studied. My professors at the University of Toronto have been nothing short of supportive, and they have helped me to watch some amazing cinema.
I made many friends in the cinema studies department that I still talk to today. They push me every day to continue pursuing what I love.
FM: How has your faculty mentor fostered your advancement as a film scholar?
AR: Amanda Greer’s class, Contemporary Film Theory, was probably my favorite class I took as an undergraduate. I was excited to show up and be a noisy, pretentious film fan every Tuesday and Wednesday night. She introduced me to some of my favorites, such as Eve’s Bayou (1997), Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019), and Cemetery of Splendor (2015). She also shares my obsession with Criterion releases since most of her syllabus was just an excuse to add more of them to the university’s library. Her class provided me with an atmosphere that made me confident in my writing and analysis, making this article possible.
FM: What advice do you have for undergraduate film and media scholars?
AR: Since I began my master’s degree in journalism, I have failed to maintain my film-a-day routine, so I am a hypocrite in saying that you should always watch movies. I feel inspired after watching just about anything. Along with watching, you should also write notes after each film you watch; you never know what may spill out of your brain. Letterboxd has been crucial to this routine, and I know I sound pretentious when saying I take that app too seriously. I have a few separate essay ideas based on some quick notes I wrote on Letterboxd. Inspiration can come from anywhere; you just have to search continuously.
FM: What are your future plans?
AR: I am completing the final year of my master’s degree in journalism. My Major Research Project will be about the struggles of film festivals in Canada. Other than that, I am writing film reviews for a Toronto magazine called Exclaim! and articles for the arts section at THIS Magazine. I hope to be a film critic one day, even though it seems like that occupation is all but extinct now.
Author Biography
Andrew Roberts will graduate from the Master of Journalism program at Toronto Metropolitan University in 2025. He specializes in lifestyle, arts, and entertainment journalism. His work can be found in publications such as: Exclaim!, Today’s Parent, THIS Magazine, The Mike, and his Substack, The Ferryman.
