All posts tagged: Shaped

‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons on the Games, Shows, and YouTubers That Shaped Him

‘Backrooms’ Director Kane Parsons on the Games, Shows, and YouTubers That Shaped Him

Published by Jenni Sidey

“It’s been a very weird time recently,” Backrooms director Kane Parsons tells me over Zoom, from his room in Vancouver. “It’s been very strange—good strange, but it’s all very new.” Only four years ago, Parsons was a teenage YouTuber creating videos based on “the backrooms,” a 4chan meme (born from a single photo of a mysterious yellow-walled room) that spawned its own online mythology about a parallel universe of eerily vacant and seemingly-haunted spaces. Now the not-yet-21-year-old animator, composer, and filmmaker has become the youngest person ever to direct an A24 movie. Backrooms, which opens this Friday, is a feature-length reimagining of the meme, with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve playing characters who find themselves lost—and possibly not alone— in a liminal world. It’s pure 21st-century internet culture adapted for the screen, doing for Gen-Z perspectives (shaped by COVID and unlimited screen access) what A24’s Spring Breakers did for the Tumblr aesthetic way back when. Advance tracking suggests a box office hit in the making; if Parsons’ film can outperform this past weekend’s box-office champion …

Malaria may have shaped human evolution for thousands of years

Malaria may have shaped human evolution for thousands of years

Published by Jenni Sidey

Malaria may have shaped early human life across Africa far earlier than once thought, steering where people could safely live and when groups stayed apart. By tracing ancient mosquito habitats, researchers found an overlooked disease barrier running through humanity’s deep past. For decades, scientists believed climate was the main force guiding where early humans lived across Africa. Shifting rain patterns opened green corridors. Expanding deserts cut populations apart. Wet and dry cycles pushed groups into new landscapes or trapped them in isolated regions. But a new study suggests another powerful force may have quietly shaped human history for tens of thousands of years: malaria. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, the University of Cambridge and several collaborating institutions found evidence that malaria likely influenced where ancient human groups could safely live between 74,000 and 5,000 years ago. Their findings suggest the disease helped separate populations across Africa long before agriculture emerged. The study paints a striking picture of early human life. Ancient people were not only adapting to changing climates and dangerous predators. …

How the Steam Deck Shaped Valve’s Next Controller

How the Steam Deck Shaped Valve’s Next Controller

Published by skeptic

Valve’s approach to hardware development has always been deliberate, balancing creativity with practicality. In a recent interview hosted by NerdNest, Bill Fairchild joined Lawrence Yang and Steve Cardinelli to discuss how Valve’s design philosophy has shaped products like the Steam Deck and Steam Controller. One key takeaway was Valve’s focus on repairability and user customization, as seen in their decision to release CAD files and repair guides for their hardware. This commitment not only extends product lifespan but also enables users to adapt and modify their devices to suit individual needs. Throughout the discussion, you’ll gain insight into how Valve integrates community feedback into its development process, making sure its hardware evolves alongside user expectations. Explore the lessons learned from the Steam Controller’s initial reception, the role of Steam Input in broadening device applications and how Valve balances affordability with advanced features. These reflections offer a comprehensive look at the company’s thoughtful approach to creating hardware that is both functional and adaptable. The Evolution of the Steam Controller TL;DR Key Takeaways : Valve’s hardware design …

The future of fashion is made by hand – shaped by craft, community and climate

The future of fashion is made by hand – shaped by craft, community and climate

Published by Daniella Wilson

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Central Saint Martins is the holy grail of fashion schools that counts Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Mary Katrantzou, Phoebe Philo, and Gareth Pugh as ex-pupils. So, when they launch a new initiative it’s wise to sit up and take note – and their Makers Camp is, as ever, on the money with its push for fashion to truly shift its mindset and launch a new generation of designers who not only rethink how clothes are made, but learn by a set of new rules that put the planet first. MA fashion students have been signing up to the “Makers Camp: The West Africa Project”, which gives young designers all the information they need about fashion’s excessive extraction, pollution and waste. Berni Yates (knowledge exchange …

How Silicon Valley shaped Fed nominee Kevin Warsh

How Silicon Valley shaped Fed nominee Kevin Warsh

Published by Sam Flores

With his penchant for suits, ties and sweater vests, Federal Reserve chair nominee Kevin Warsh doesn’t share the rumpled look of many of the Silicon Valley entrepreneurs he calls friends. But they still count him as one of their own. “You wouldn’t be hanging out with us if you were as normal as you claim to be,” Palantir CEO Alex Karp told Warsh on a podcast in 2022. If confirmed by the Senate, Warsh wouldn’t just be the wealthiest Fed chair in history, he would also be the most tech savvy and the closest to the tech bro community to ever sit in the office. Warsh’s connection to Karp and other titans of Silicon Valley such as reclusive PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, Yahoo founder Jerry Yang and prominent venture capitalist Marc Andreessen go back decades — to college at Stanford and to investments made alongside some of them beginning soon after Warsh resigned as a Fed governor in 2011. Those connections and his focus on tech investments have shaped Warsh’s almost evangelical view of how …

From ‘market value’ to levelling up, the manosphere is shaped by a financial mindset

From ‘market value’ to levelling up, the manosphere is shaped by a financial mindset

Published by Sam Flores

Louis Theroux’s recent Netflix documentary Inside the Manosphere shines a spotlight on masculinity influencers and the dangers of online misogyny, conspiracy theories and anti-feminist ideologies. Responses to the documentary have ranged from outrage to disbelief, criticising how the manfluencers treat the women in their lives and discussing the importance of role models in countering manosphere influences. But what has been less talked about is how it reveals the relentless pursuit of financial gain driving these “manfluencers” and the language they use to normalise their views. Amid a cost of living crisis and a declining job market, Theroux shows why “manfluencers” resonate so strongly with their target audience of boys and young men. Theroux meets four key figures in the manosphere, all of whom sell a carefully curated lifestyle based on conspicuous consumption, hypersexuality and an “alpha masculinity” mindset to their millions of followers. Although this may seem like a tempting lifestyle to some, the main effect is to reinforce a sense of inadequacy and failure among their audiences. Do this enough times, then you can …

‘It was an exorcism’: how heartbreak, queer rebirth and finding love over Only Connect shaped Wendy Eisenberg’s stunning new album | Music

‘It was an exorcism’: how heartbreak, queer rebirth and finding love over Only Connect shaped Wendy Eisenberg’s stunning new album | Music

Published by Sam Flores

It’s 30 December 2023. Wendy Eisenberg is walking and cannot stop. At an all-night rave in Bushwick featuring Detroit house legend Theo Parrish the previous night, they became paralysed by anxiety, returned home, “threw up a lot” and then set off with no destination in mind. “I walked for that entire day,” Eisenberg says by video call from their Brooklyn home. “I couldn’t stop moving my legs. I felt like I needed to reauthor myself, and this was how I was going to do it.” While out on their fevered walk, Eisenberg ran into an old friend. “She told me: ‘You seem like you’re having a kind of exorcism.’ Then she added: ‘Maybe just play some guitar?’” Thus diagnosed, Eisenberg went home immediately and began writing the music that became their sublime new self-titled album. “I remember reading how Cat Power wrote Moon Pix in 10 hours, in a dream state,” says Eisenberg. Many of these songs were written in a similar state, across three or four months after that “strange, mystical moment”. In the …

How Taylor Frankie Paul’s controversies shaped her journey to the Bachelorette

How Taylor Frankie Paul’s controversies shaped her journey to the Bachelorette

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Scandal has lined every step of the way throughout Taylor Frankie Paul’s rise to fame, and the controversy surrounding the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star is only becoming more complicated. Just days away from the premiere of Paul’s already divisive turn as the lead of The Bachelorette, reports emerged that production on SLOMW’s fifth season has been paused amid what police confirmed is an active domestic assault allegation regarding Paul and her ex-boyfriend, Dakota Mortensen. The Draper City Police Department said that “allegations have been made in both directions,” but that no charges have been filed yet. News of the alleged dispute, first reported by TMZ, came as a shock to SLOMW fans who had hoped that Paul’s recent search for love on ABC’s infamous dating show would put an end to her toxic on-and-off relationship with Mortensen — who …

Why some people still believe that aliens shaped ancient civilisations

Why some people still believe that aliens shaped ancient civilisations

Published by skeptic

Could ancient humans really have built the pyramids without extraterrestrial help? Or do such questions reveal more about modern anxieties than the past itself? The idea that aliens assisted the builders of ancient monuments was promoted by the Swiss author Erich von Däniken in his bestselling book Chariot of the Gods – published in 1968. Von Däniken died in January 2026, but his vision of ancient astronauts still captivates millions. The author had pointed to ancient structures such as the pyramids, along with enigmatic ancient artefacts, as supposed evidence that beings from beyond Earth shaped the civilisations of the past. Though these ideas have been repeatedly debunked, television shows such as the History Channel’s Ancient Aliens continue to air similar narratives. Erich von Däniken’s theories emerged at a distinct historical moment. They crystallised during the cold war, amid fears of nuclear annihilation, the space race and rapid technological change. As humans prepared to leave Earth, while simultaneously confronting their own destructive power, the idea of ancient astronauts offered both cosmic reassurance and existential drama. The …

The cyberpunk classic that shaped modern sci-fi is finally coming to TV — everything we know

The cyberpunk classic that shaped modern sci-fi is finally coming to TV — everything we know

Published by skeptic

Between Severance, Pluribus, For All Mankind, Foundation, Silo, Dark Matter, and more, Apple TV+ has absolutely marked itself as the premiere streaming service for science fiction TV. They’re now taking on their biggest challenge yet: a TV adaptation of Neuromancer, William Gibson’s 1984 novel about a hacker who gets caught up in a globe-trotting conspiracy. Neuromancer is a hugely influential book, but despite numerous attempts has never been adapted for the screen. If anyone can do it, it’s the sci-fi nerds at Apple TV. What is Neuromancer about? The seminal cyberpunk story Credit: Ace Neuromancer is about Case, a hacker who takes a job working for a shady ex-military officer named Armitage. Along with the cybernetically enhanced Molly, who’s also working for Armitage, Case looks into his employer, and ends up going down a rabbit hole that leads to the Tessier-Ashpool family, who have created a pair of artificial intelligences that want to merge into a super-intelligence. Along the way, Case will meet a sociopathic thief named Peter Riviera, the enigmatic Lady 3Jane, and her ninja …