Digital Labyrinth: Gen Z and the Backrooms Phenomenon
TL;DR
Backrooms, A24's feature-length adaptation of a viral meme directed by Kane Parsons, translates Gen Z's anxiety about life online into a mutating, algorithmic labyrinth where work and home blur into one endless space; drawing on gaming and internet culture (Portal 2, Minecraft) and surfacing concerns about AI and a tightening job market, the film became a Gen Z sensation, aided by a real 30,000-square-foot set and Parsons's rise from meme creator to Hollywood director.
- ‘Backrooms,’ Liminal Spaces and Gen Z Anxiety The New York Times
- The $100 Million Horror Hits: Two Critics on the Gen Z Breakouts The New York Times
- Backrooms and Obsession: How two low-budget horror films caused a Hollywood earthquake BBC
- 'Embarrassing': Hollywood’s Dumb-Money Creator Gold Rush — and 7 Names Worth the Bet The Ankler
- Who fits under The Amazing Digital Circus ’ big tent? AV Club
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