*A few spoilers will be discussed* Since July 21 (known hereafter as Barbenheimer day, as a result of the well-known, simultaneous release of two seemingly contrasting films, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer ), I’ve returned to the former two more times, ultimately having me wonder, on each occasion, what brings me back to the cinema, after all. The go-to answer is that there is something inevitably addictive about the movie’s (smart) silliness, accurately showcasing how dolls present themselves, how people (children and adults) tend to handle them and how playtime unfolds. How can one not have fun when they discover that Margot Robbie’s Barbie is to be seen walking around in tippy toes, even when she’s not wearing high heels? Going further, small daily activities, such as eating, drinking, brushing teeth, showering, will look simulated to viewers, but feel real strictly to the featured dolls (for you may still end up with a carton of expired milk in Barbi
Summer camps may easily be gold mines of bizarre and humorous events, as literary / cinematic pieces have demonstrated time and again. Vera Brosgol’s graphic novel Be Prepared (2018) announces the same atmosphere, which is most certainly eccentric, almost chaotic (despite the rules that are never absent within camps) – and yet, the book manages to stand out due to the author’s cultural angle. What the readers receive is the unfiltered perspective of a nine-year-old Vera (since the featured recollections are inspired from Brosgol’s real-life childhood), who has moved from Russia to America at the age of five and struggles to fit not just in American sisterhoods, but also in a taxing Russian summer camp. The fact that Brosgol draws significant inspiration from her own experiences as a young immigrant and camper gives the plot a particular charm which cannot be reproduced that simply. There’s a curious mixture of absurdity and solemnity throughout young Vera’s accounts, all engulfed by