Movies
‘The Babadook’ is Trending for the Most Unexpected Reason
Wait. What? How did The Babadook become an LGBT icon?!
Released back in 2014, Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook is widely considered to be one of the very best horror films to come along in recent years. The title character, a terrifying manifestation of the female protagonist’s grief and depression, has already become something of a horror icon despite a serious lack of franchise potential, inspiring Halloween costumes and all sorts of fan art.
But today, the character was thrust into the spotlight for an unexpected reason. The Babadook, three years after the release of the film, has become an overnight sensation.
In the wake of Netflix mistakenly putting the Australian horror film into its LGBT section, the titular Babadook quickly became a viral meme across the internet today, humorously hailed as an LGBT icon and essentially becoming the unofficial spokesperson for Pride Month. At the time of writing this post, #TheBabadook is trending in one of the top spots on Twitter!
As it always does, the internet is having a field day with this whole thing. Some are confused as to how the madness even started, while others are having a blast playing along and whipping up fan art the likes of which Jennifer Kent surely never expected her debut feature to spawn – after all, The Babadook has nothing whatsoever to do with this particular subject matter.
That’s the internet for ya. What will they come up with next?!
Movies
‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons Is No Fan of Generative AI: “Defeats the Purpose Entirely for Me”
There has been a lot of talk recently about filmmakers embracing generative AI as part of the filmmaking process, from Darren Aronofsky to Martin Scorsese. But what about filmmakers that are against the use of Gen AI for creative pursuits? You can count 20-year-old Backrooms director Kane Parsons among that group, which should give you some hope for the future.
In a new chat with The Australian, the self-taught young filmmaker makes it crystal clear that he won’t be using generative AI in any of his upcoming filmmaking projects.
“I think I’m in the same boat as most well-adjusted people,” Parsons tells the outlet. “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I get no enjoyment from using those tools. It defeats the purpose entirely for me.”
“What interests me more is interrogating it artistically,” Parsons notes. “We already live in a world where you walk outside and there are billboards and signs that are obvious AI slop. That’s become part of our visual reality. To me, generative AI feels less like innovation than a symptom of a broader cultural and economic rot.”
He explains, “I’m interested in using that iconography in art – not using AI to make the art itself, but examining what it represents. I definitely want to explore it further in future projects.”
Kane Parsons also notes during the interview with The Australian, “… there’s so much at stake and so many genuinely harmful consequences already happening.”
Backrooms marks young prodigy Kane Parsons’ feature directorial debut, and it’s based on his own series of YouTube videos that were brought to life using Blender, the open-source 3D computer graphics software suite. So it’s no surprise that Parsons, who has hand-made his filmmaking career up to this point, isn’t buying into the hoopla around Generative AI.
His debut feature is the #1 movie in the world, so perhaps he’s onto something.
What’s next from Kane Parsons, you ask? Stay tuned…
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