42ND STREET

Monday, June 30, 8:30 p.m. | The Busby Berkeley–choreographed, smash hit musical 42ND STREET may seem misplaced on this list (even blasphemously so, alongside SHOWGIRLS) but in “Notes on Camp,” Sontag singles out the film. “The pure examples of camp are unintentional; they are dead serious. Genuine camp does not mean to be funny.” 42ND STREET, a dazzling backstage story about a Broadway director who mounts one last show before he retires, is steeped in camp sensibility: extravagant production design, sincere melodrama, and earnest spectacle—Berkeley’s calling card.

Awards & Nominations

Nominee - Best Picture, Best Sound, Academy Awards

Summer Camp | June 2025 Specialty Series

In 1964, the essayist Susan Sontag wrote “Notes on Camp,” where she endeavored to define “camp,” an artistic and cultural sensibility. The essence of camp, Sontag wrote, is “its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.” In the 60 years since that publication (a brisk, 14-page read), camp has evolved and flourished: in drag culture, the queer community, and the fashion and music industries. In cinema, camp can be found in the extravagance of a sweeping melodrama or the movie that’s so-bad-it's-actually-brilliant, a film may read as “campy” because of its opulence or extreme performances, or we might call a movie a camp classic because its earnest seriousness makes us laugh all the way to the credits. For Summer Camp, we abide by one of Sontag’s most salient points: “Camp is, above all, a mode of enjoyment, of appreciation—not judgement.” Pack your bags, we’re going camping!

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu