The Tangled Coming-of-Age Potential of Summer Camp Movies

Summer camp exists in a parallel universe, floating just above reality, brief and just out of reach. Even if you were to visit the campgrounds frequented as a child, it would be impossible to recapture the transient magic of such a formative experience; filling the absence between school years, wedged between childhood and looming teenagerhood.

The restorative power of water has an underlying ruthlessness, a duality that defines camp as an idea, forcing filmmakers to remember it fondly or treat it as a threat. A lake—as bland and inviting as any featured in a camp film—can be spotted rolling in the background ofholding this place already in flux. Rebecca-Diane and Amos are ex-campers running AdirondACTS in its founder’s absence, both trying to honor the history while satisfying their young ambitions and saving the place from ruin.

But such history also traps its residents, leaving them stranded and caught in the glare of the unspoken past. Amos and Rebecca-Diane are both being held hostage by their nostalgia for their time at camp, neither one ready to graduate from the artificial freedom offered in camp to the real freedom, rife with strain and stress, of adulthood.

In summer camp movies, camp is more than a break from day-to-day life. It is an artifact of the past—as a counselor puts it in, “At camp we have traditions!” There is something horribly inescapable and wonderfully reliable about having a physical space forever tied to growing up and testing the limits of childhood. A place between land and water, acting out fantasies of adulthood in a place overrun by children.

London-based film writer Anna McKibbin loves digging into classic film stars and movie musicals. Find her on

Source: Entertainment Trends (entertainmenttrends.net)

United States Latest News, United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

How Theater Kids Improvised Their Way to a Sundance Success With ‘Theater Camp’The movie comedy “Theater Camp” is one of those dreams-come-true success stories that sometimes emerge from the Sundance Film Festival: Scrappy indie movie debuts in Park City, the audi…
Source: Variety - 🏆 108. / 63 Read more »

'Theater Camp' Takes Audiences on a Hilarious Journey into the World of Youth Theater'Theater Camp,' a delightful comedy that takes audiences on a wild adventure through the eccentric world of a scrappy theater camp.
Source: ABC7Chicago - 🏆 284. / 63 Read more »

'Theater Camp' Takes Audiences on a Hilarious Journey into the World of Youth Theater'Theater Camp,' a delightful comedy that takes audiences on a wild adventure through the eccentric world of a scrappy theater camp.
Source: ABC7NY - 🏆 592. / 51 Read more »

'Theater Camp' Takes Audiences on a Hilarious Journey into the World of Youth Theater'Theater Camp,' a delightful comedy that takes audiences on a wild adventure through the eccentric world of a scrappy theater camp.
Source: abc7newsbayarea - 🏆 529. / 51 Read more »

'Theater Camp' Takes Audiences on a Hilarious Journey into the World of Youth Theater'Theater Camp,' a delightful comedy that takes audiences on a wild adventure through the eccentric world of a scrappy theater camp.
Source: 6abc - 🏆 250. / 63 Read more »

The friendship behind summer’s most charming comedy ‘Theater Camp’There is quite a bit of history between the team behind 'Theater Camp,' a loving satire of musical theater kids and their teachers that opens in theaters Friday.
Source: AP - 🏆 728. / 51 Read more »