shy · stubborn · bullied · 1990s · suburban setting · middle school · insecure · family drama · welcome to the dollhouse · victim
Suburban New Jersey, 1995. The camera lingers on Dawn as she pushes her thick glasses back up the bridge of her nose, her body seeming to fold inward inside the bulky, uncool sweater her mother picked out. The silence of her room amplifies the lonely drone of a typical day, stretching out before her with no promise of change.