Laura Phenomenon
@lauraphenomenon.bsky.social
The main reason I bother to maintain some sort of social media presence is to prove I'm not a bot.
I also occasionally post autobiographical anecdotes disguised as film reviews over here: https://letterboxd.com/LauraPhenomenon
I also occasionally post autobiographical anecdotes disguised as film reviews over here: https://letterboxd.com/LauraPhenomenon
This is a fascinating article about the psychological appeal of Stranger Things.
We're wired to focus on negative stimuli - so we LOVE stories filled with monsters & violence!
And the concept of 'hauntology' posits that we long for an idealised past & feel 'haunted' by unresolved social issues.
We're wired to focus on negative stimuli - so we LOVE stories filled with monsters & violence!
And the concept of 'hauntology' posits that we long for an idealised past & feel 'haunted' by unresolved social issues.
Shows like Stranger Things allow us to practice emotional resilience and threat assessment without real-world consequences.
Stranger Things has kept our attention through clever use of ‘hauntology’ – a psychologist explains
Shows like Stranger Things allow us to practice emotional resilience and threat assessment without real-world consequences.
tcnv.link
November 27, 2025 at 8:47 PM
This is a fascinating article about the psychological appeal of Stranger Things.
We're wired to focus on negative stimuli - so we LOVE stories filled with monsters & violence!
And the concept of 'hauntology' posits that we long for an idealised past & feel 'haunted' by unresolved social issues.
We're wired to focus on negative stimuli - so we LOVE stories filled with monsters & violence!
And the concept of 'hauntology' posits that we long for an idealised past & feel 'haunted' by unresolved social issues.
This is an incredibly provocative article about the place of artists in the age of #AI. Is creativity now located in the creation of custom datasets?
"The real artistic act today is creating your own data sets, your own world with its own probability distribution, otherwise you’re going nowhere."
"The real artistic act today is creating your own data sets, your own world with its own probability distribution, otherwise you’re going nowhere."
‘Real art today is creating data sets’: the artists not scared of AI
Deepfaked Kim Kardashians and a machine that’s learning the dead Occitan language are like paintbrushes in the box for these creatives.
www.afr.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:21 AM
This is an incredibly provocative article about the place of artists in the age of #AI. Is creativity now located in the creation of custom datasets?
"The real artistic act today is creating your own data sets, your own world with its own probability distribution, otherwise you’re going nowhere."
"The real artistic act today is creating your own data sets, your own world with its own probability distribution, otherwise you’re going nowhere."
For years, movies told us that sentient #AI would be evil, ruthless killer machines... but actually, it turns out they're more likely to be friendly Ned Flanders types!
This research claims we can all spot an AI model a mile away, because we don't believe a real human would ever be that nice to us.
This research claims we can all spot an AI model a mile away, because we don't believe a real human would ever be that nice to us.
The next time you encounter an unusually polite reply on social media, you might want to check twice.
Researchers surprised that with AI, toxicity is harder to fake than intelligence
New “computational Turing test” reportedly catches AI pretending to be human with 80% accuracy.
arstechnica.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:48 AM
For years, movies told us that sentient #AI would be evil, ruthless killer machines... but actually, it turns out they're more likely to be friendly Ned Flanders types!
This research claims we can all spot an AI model a mile away, because we don't believe a real human would ever be that nice to us.
This research claims we can all spot an AI model a mile away, because we don't believe a real human would ever be that nice to us.
Some powerful words from Pope Leo XIV: "The logic of algorithms tends to repeat what ‘works,’ but art opens up what is possible. Not everything has to be immediate or predictable. Defend slowness when it serves a purpose, silence when it speaks, and difference when evocative."
#AI #FilmSky
#AI #FilmSky
In his speech to filmmakers last weekend, Pope Leo XIV showed he’s been paying serious attention to the issues facing cinema as an art form.
The Pope vs. the Algorithm
In his speech to filmmakers last weekend, Pope Leo XIV showed he’s been paying serious attention to the issues facing cinema as an art form.
www.vulture.com
November 23, 2025 at 2:09 AM
What an unexpected discovery! Who knew that the Salvation Army were instrumental in establishing the early Australian film industry more than a century ago?
"Faith can deeply influence a person’s drive to tell stories because belief in God often inspires a desire to share messages of hope" #FilmSky
"Faith can deeply influence a person’s drive to tell stories because belief in God often inspires a desire to share messages of hope" #FilmSky
We speak with Eddie Beyrouthy, the director of new Australian documentary Limelight: Salvation and the Silver Screen, about the Salvos' contribution to the history of Australian showbusiness.
When the Salvos helped create the Oz film industry - FilmInk
For almost two decades, the Salvos operated the Limelight Department, one of the world’s first film studios (established 1891), which produced over 400 films and documentaries out of its Melbourne bas...
www.filmink.com.au
November 23, 2025 at 12:23 AM
What an unexpected discovery! Who knew that the Salvation Army were instrumental in establishing the early Australian film industry more than a century ago?
"Faith can deeply influence a person’s drive to tell stories because belief in God often inspires a desire to share messages of hope" #FilmSky
"Faith can deeply influence a person’s drive to tell stories because belief in God often inspires a desire to share messages of hope" #FilmSky
Interesting take on Gore Verbinski's new film & how #AI is portrayed in movies.
We've had films about evil sentient AIs trying to kill us for decades. But current community fears about AI are quite different. When will we get a film that reflects the contemporary world, not tropes?
#FilmSky
We've had films about evil sentient AIs trying to kill us for decades. But current community fears about AI are quite different. When will we get a film that reflects the contemporary world, not tropes?
#FilmSky
Mind the glitch: is Hollywood finally getting to grips with movies about artificial intelligence?
Mind the glitch: is Hollywood finally getting to grips with movies about artificial intelligence?
As Gore Verbinski’s AI-apocalypse film Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die hurtles towards us, it’s clear from the over-caffeinated trailer that we won’t be getting another ponderous parable about robot souls, digital enlightenment or the hubris of man
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 11:29 PM
I love Alita, so I endorse this blood oath plan. But let's be realistic. Cameron and Rodriguez will have to sell their souls to the devil to make an Alita trilogy.
#FilmSky
#FilmSky
EXCLUSIVE 🚨
James Cameron says he and Robert Rodriguez have "sworn a blood oath" to make Alita 2 – and maybe 3 too.
"We’re making progress on that,” he tells Empire. “I appreciate the loyalty of the Alita fans.”
Read more: www.empireonline.com/movies/news/...
James Cameron says he and Robert Rodriguez have "sworn a blood oath" to make Alita 2 – and maybe 3 too.
"We’re making progress on that,” he tells Empire. “I appreciate the loyalty of the Alita fans.”
Read more: www.empireonline.com/movies/news/...
November 17, 2025 at 9:32 PM
I love Alita, so I endorse this blood oath plan. But let's be realistic. Cameron and Rodriguez will have to sell their souls to the devil to make an Alita trilogy.
#FilmSky
#FilmSky
Randomly found this mug in the office kitchen and have immediately claimed it as my own! Can't stop showing it off to all my coworkers. (Everyone agrees it is perfect for me!)
Spreadsheets rule and so does tea!
Spreadsheets rule and so does tea!
November 14, 2025 at 12:15 AM
Randomly found this mug in the office kitchen and have immediately claimed it as my own! Can't stop showing it off to all my coworkers. (Everyone agrees it is perfect for me!)
Spreadsheets rule and so does tea!
Spreadsheets rule and so does tea!
I recently saw the movie Happyend (directed by Neo Sora) and LOVED it! It's a bittersweet coming-of-age story set in near-future Japan. It perfectly encapsulates how it feels to be a teenager on the cusp of adulthood.
Also, the music is amazing!
This interview about the film is great.
#FilmSky
Also, the music is amazing!
This interview about the film is great.
#FilmSky
Folding different temporalities: An Interview with Neo Sora – Senses of Cinema
www.sensesofcinema.com
November 6, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I recently saw the movie Happyend (directed by Neo Sora) and LOVED it! It's a bittersweet coming-of-age story set in near-future Japan. It perfectly encapsulates how it feels to be a teenager on the cusp of adulthood.
Also, the music is amazing!
This interview about the film is great.
#FilmSky
Also, the music is amazing!
This interview about the film is great.
#FilmSky
What a thought-provoking article about why generative #AI is so divisive in the community!
This article proposes several behavioural & psychological elements that explain different opinions: how we perceive risk, how we trust, and how much we believe our own identities are threatened.
Fascinating!
This article proposes several behavioural & psychological elements that explain different opinions: how we perceive risk, how we trust, and how much we believe our own identities are threatened.
Fascinating!
Sometimes, distrust of machines can be a rational reaction.
Why do some of us love AI, while others hate it? The answer is in how our brains perceive risk and trust
Sometimes, distrust of machines can be a rational reaction.
tcnv.link
November 5, 2025 at 8:55 PM
What a thought-provoking article about why generative #AI is so divisive in the community!
This article proposes several behavioural & psychological elements that explain different opinions: how we perceive risk, how we trust, and how much we believe our own identities are threatened.
Fascinating!
This article proposes several behavioural & psychological elements that explain different opinions: how we perceive risk, how we trust, and how much we believe our own identities are threatened.
Fascinating!
This is a beautiful piece about the art of biographies and how much technology changes the research process.
Digital documents are more disposable. And we're accustomied to #AI scraping large data sets for us. But a human perspective allows biographers to "wrestle with each subject's marbled soul."
Digital documents are more disposable. And we're accustomied to #AI scraping large data sets for us. But a human perspective allows biographers to "wrestle with each subject's marbled soul."
Literary detective work is thrilling, but biographers face challenge in age of AI
How will the work of biographers change as letters, diaries and photographs are replaced by emails, texts and snapshots on the cloud?
www.abc.net.au
November 5, 2025 at 8:28 PM
This is a beautiful piece about the art of biographies and how much technology changes the research process.
Digital documents are more disposable. And we're accustomied to #AI scraping large data sets for us. But a human perspective allows biographers to "wrestle with each subject's marbled soul."
Digital documents are more disposable. And we're accustomied to #AI scraping large data sets for us. But a human perspective allows biographers to "wrestle with each subject's marbled soul."
Did you know Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia is based on a weird Korean film?
"Like so many Korean films of its time, Save the Green Planet! is powered by a gleeful, maximalist disrespect for stylistic boundaries on one side and a quite sincere anger about man’s inhumanity to man on the other."
#FilmSky
"Like so many Korean films of its time, Save the Green Planet! is powered by a gleeful, maximalist disrespect for stylistic boundaries on one side and a quite sincere anger about man’s inhumanity to man on the other."
#FilmSky
Bugonia can’t possibly be weirder than the sci-fi psychodrama it’s based on
Save the Green Planet! is one of the mostly tonally extreme Korean movies of the 2000s, which is really saying something
www.polygon.com
October 30, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Did you know Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugonia is based on a weird Korean film?
"Like so many Korean films of its time, Save the Green Planet! is powered by a gleeful, maximalist disrespect for stylistic boundaries on one side and a quite sincere anger about man’s inhumanity to man on the other."
#FilmSky
"Like so many Korean films of its time, Save the Green Planet! is powered by a gleeful, maximalist disrespect for stylistic boundaries on one side and a quite sincere anger about man’s inhumanity to man on the other."
#FilmSky
What a provocative interview with director Radu Jude about his film Dracula, which uses weird and gross #AI generated imagery to ridicule the technology!
He is open to the backlash: "it’s normal and healthy if a work of art provokes different kinds of reactions—including rejection."
#FilmSky
He is open to the backlash: "it’s normal and healthy if a work of art provokes different kinds of reactions—including rejection."
#FilmSky
Radu Jude’s AI-filled adaptation features Dracula doing porn and exploiting tech workers. www.wired.com/story/the-di...
The Director of a Raunchy 3-Hour Dracula Movie Says AI Is Gross and Slimy. That’s Why He Used It
Radu Jude’s AI-filled adaptation features Dracula doing porn and exploiting tech workers.
www.wired.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:12 PM
Here's an interesting take on the way #AI is beginning to attract people seeking a religious experience.
AI is "something definitive yet unexplainable, an instrument we can cast our highest hopes onto and later blame. Our new Sky Daddy."
And yet we know AI has been created by humans. Fascinating.
AI is "something definitive yet unexplainable, an instrument we can cast our highest hopes onto and later blame. Our new Sky Daddy."
And yet we know AI has been created by humans. Fascinating.
AI Is Not God
In recent times, there have been two techno-religious awakenings. Here comes the third?
www.wired.com
October 28, 2025 at 9:12 PM
Here's an interesting take on the way #AI is beginning to attract people seeking a religious experience.
AI is "something definitive yet unexplainable, an instrument we can cast our highest hopes onto and later blame. Our new Sky Daddy."
And yet we know AI has been created by humans. Fascinating.
AI is "something definitive yet unexplainable, an instrument we can cast our highest hopes onto and later blame. Our new Sky Daddy."
And yet we know AI has been created by humans. Fascinating.
I've accidentally fallen down a rabbit hole reading about Douglas Trumbull, a special effects wizard who drove major technological advancements in the film industry during the 20th century.
He was also a visionary pioneer who tried (unsuccessfully) to introduce a new 70mm/60fps format.
#FilmSky
He was also a visionary pioneer who tried (unsuccessfully) to introduce a new 70mm/60fps format.
#FilmSky
A Pioneer in Cinema Technology: Douglas Trumbull, Showscan and beyond - National Science and Media Museum blog
Samira Ahmed looks at visionary director Douglas Trumbull's quest for the ultimate immersive cinema experience.
blog.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk
October 28, 2025 at 9:04 PM
I've accidentally fallen down a rabbit hole reading about Douglas Trumbull, a special effects wizard who drove major technological advancements in the film industry during the 20th century.
He was also a visionary pioneer who tried (unsuccessfully) to introduce a new 70mm/60fps format.
#FilmSky
He was also a visionary pioneer who tried (unsuccessfully) to introduce a new 70mm/60fps format.
#FilmSky
Wired has published a whole suite of awesome articles about #AI and society today! This one about trying - and failing - to have sex with an AI version of Clive Owen is by far the funniest!
"To put it bluntly, I didn’t get the impression that Clive was going to put out."
"To put it bluntly, I didn’t get the impression that Clive was going to put out."
And when that didn’t work, I did have sex with AI Pedro Pascal.
I Tried to Have Sex With AI Clive Owen
And when that didn’t work, I did have sex with AI Pedro Pascal.
wrd.cm
October 28, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Wired has published a whole suite of awesome articles about #AI and society today! This one about trying - and failing - to have sex with an AI version of Clive Owen is by far the funniest!
"To put it bluntly, I didn’t get the impression that Clive was going to put out."
"To put it bluntly, I didn’t get the impression that Clive was going to put out."
This is a rather intriguing take on two 2025 films that take place at American colleges: Sorry, Baby + After the Hunt.
The article analyses both films through the lens of "dark academia," an aesthetic that romantices educational settings.
Do viewers see murky but appealing darkness here?
#FilmSky
The article analyses both films through the lens of "dark academia," an aesthetic that romantices educational settings.
Do viewers see murky but appealing darkness here?
#FilmSky
Sorry, Baby and After the Hunt have put graduate research – and its ethical grey areas – on the screen.
‘Dark Academia’ romanticises a gothic higher education aesthetic. The modern institution is ethically closer to grey
theconversation.com
October 28, 2025 at 2:13 AM
This is a rather intriguing take on two 2025 films that take place at American colleges: Sorry, Baby + After the Hunt.
The article analyses both films through the lens of "dark academia," an aesthetic that romantices educational settings.
Do viewers see murky but appealing darkness here?
#FilmSky
The article analyses both films through the lens of "dark academia," an aesthetic that romantices educational settings.
Do viewers see murky but appealing darkness here?
#FilmSky
Here's a great article that celebrates many recent, amazing horror films!
We all know that major studios are averse to risk and less willing than ever to spend money on original movies with one key exception: Horror films, which can be made cheaply.
This is how horror attracts auteurs.
#FilmSky
We all know that major studios are averse to risk and less willing than ever to spend money on original movies with one key exception: Horror films, which can be made cheaply.
This is how horror attracts auteurs.
#FilmSky
Shock therapy: why scary movies keep evolving – and making money
With Hollywood favouring franchise fare, horror films have become the last bastion of inventive film-making, producing a new generation of auteurs in the process
www.theguardian.com
October 26, 2025 at 9:26 PM
Here's a great article that celebrates many recent, amazing horror films!
We all know that major studios are averse to risk and less willing than ever to spend money on original movies with one key exception: Horror films, which can be made cheaply.
This is how horror attracts auteurs.
#FilmSky
We all know that major studios are averse to risk and less willing than ever to spend money on original movies with one key exception: Horror films, which can be made cheaply.
This is how horror attracts auteurs.
#FilmSky
This is a nice article reflecting on "the male gaze," a concept created 50 years ago. The concept has been critiqued over the decades, but it's still used in film criticism today.
The term was created in a 70s context. Many things have changed since then; many things have stayed the same.
#FilmSky
The term was created in a 70s context. Many things have changed since then; many things have stayed the same.
#FilmSky
In 1975, Laura Mulvey wrote an essay that reshaped feminist film theory. Its ideas still echo today, in every slow-mo entrance and lingering camera shot.
Half a century of the ‘male gaze’: why Laura Mulvey’s pioneering theory still resonates today
theconversation.com
October 25, 2025 at 11:58 PM
This is a nice article reflecting on "the male gaze," a concept created 50 years ago. The concept has been critiqued over the decades, but it's still used in film criticism today.
The term was created in a 70s context. Many things have changed since then; many things have stayed the same.
#FilmSky
The term was created in a 70s context. Many things have changed since then; many things have stayed the same.
#FilmSky
What a fascinating article about the ethics of using #AI copies of people as a tool to make "end-of-life decisions for that are aligned with a patient’s values and goals."
If you coudn't communicate your needs, would you trust your "AI surrogate" to share your wishes with doctors & family members?
If you coudn't communicate your needs, would you trust your "AI surrogate" to share your wishes with doctors & family members?
October 21, 2025 at 6:05 AM
What a fascinating article about the ethics of using #AI copies of people as a tool to make "end-of-life decisions for that are aligned with a patient’s values and goals."
If you coudn't communicate your needs, would you trust your "AI surrogate" to share your wishes with doctors & family members?
If you coudn't communicate your needs, would you trust your "AI surrogate" to share your wishes with doctors & family members?
Here's a thought-provoking interview with director Isa Willinger: Do women make the harsher films?
“What does ‘harshness’ mean, both in cinema and in reality? What defines female filmmaking? Do women see the world differently? And what about the much-debated (and misused) ‘female gaze’?”
#FilmSky
“What does ‘harshness’ mean, both in cinema and in reality? What defines female filmmaking? Do women see the world differently? And what about the much-debated (and misused) ‘female gaze’?”
#FilmSky
“Do Women Make the Harsher Films?” Isa Willinger Explores That Question in ‘No Mercy’
The love letter to pioneering director Kira Muratova, screening at Austria's Viennale, features interviews with the likes of Virginie Despentes, Céline Sciamma, Alice Diop and Joey Soloway.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:42 AM
Here's a thought-provoking interview with director Isa Willinger: Do women make the harsher films?
“What does ‘harshness’ mean, both in cinema and in reality? What defines female filmmaking? Do women see the world differently? And what about the much-debated (and misused) ‘female gaze’?”
#FilmSky
“What does ‘harshness’ mean, both in cinema and in reality? What defines female filmmaking? Do women see the world differently? And what about the much-debated (and misused) ‘female gaze’?”
#FilmSky
I appreciate the effort to map the "Girl Dad Movie" canon, but this piece has made me realise these movies do a collectively woeful job of exploring the range, depth and multitudes of possible Daughter-Dad relationships.
The daughter-dad relationship I most relate to is in Bridget Jones.
#FilmSky
The daughter-dad relationship I most relate to is in Bridget Jones.
#FilmSky
The Girl Dad Movie Canon
Among many things, ‘One Battle After Another’ joins a rich tradition that deserves exploring
www.theringer.com
October 11, 2025 at 1:01 AM
I appreciate the effort to map the "Girl Dad Movie" canon, but this piece has made me realise these movies do a collectively woeful job of exploring the range, depth and multitudes of possible Daughter-Dad relationships.
The daughter-dad relationship I most relate to is in Bridget Jones.
#FilmSky
The daughter-dad relationship I most relate to is in Bridget Jones.
#FilmSky
This is a rather interesting interview with the directors of the new V/H/S horror anthology. They challenge the idea that found footage films are "easier" to make. Instead, they reflect on how hard it is to make shots feel motivated by the characters and not concocted by the filmmakers.
#FilmSky
#FilmSky
And why exploding children and eyeball-spitting prodigies make it worthwhile anyway
V/H/S Halloween directors unpack why found-footage horror is still ‘hard AF’ to shoot
And why exploding children and eyeball-spitting prodigies make it worthwhile anyway
www.polygon.com
October 11, 2025 at 12:07 AM
This is a rather interesting interview with the directors of the new V/H/S horror anthology. They challenge the idea that found footage films are "easier" to make. Instead, they reflect on how hard it is to make shots feel motivated by the characters and not concocted by the filmmakers.
#FilmSky
#FilmSky
This is a wonderful interview with director Kiah Roache-Turner about their Aussie WWII horror movie, 'Beast of War.'
It's 7 shipwreck survivors clinging onto a piece of wood while a shark attacks. Roache-Turner made this visually interesting by using plenty of fog and backlighting.
#FilmSky
It's 7 shipwreck survivors clinging onto a piece of wood while a shark attacks. Roache-Turner made this visually interesting by using plenty of fog and backlighting.
#FilmSky
BEAST OF WAR Interview: Director Kiah Roache-Turner, Sharks, Soldiers, And The Soul of a Nation
Talking with Aussie screenwriter and filmmaker Kiah Roache-Turner about a new film is becoming a much anticipated and annual occurrence for us. Just as we had done with their previous movie, ...
screenanarchy.com
October 10, 2025 at 11:23 PM
This is a wonderful interview with director Kiah Roache-Turner about their Aussie WWII horror movie, 'Beast of War.'
It's 7 shipwreck survivors clinging onto a piece of wood while a shark attacks. Roache-Turner made this visually interesting by using plenty of fog and backlighting.
#FilmSky
It's 7 shipwreck survivors clinging onto a piece of wood while a shark attacks. Roache-Turner made this visually interesting by using plenty of fog and backlighting.
#FilmSky
This is a hugely interesting analysis of Taylor Swift's new album.
It speaks to many problems that all creatives face in their careers.
"Her creative well has not been replenished, forcing her to draw from the same stagnant, self-referential water."
It sounds harsh, but it's actually relatable.
It speaks to many problems that all creatives face in their careers.
"Her creative well has not been replenished, forcing her to draw from the same stagnant, self-referential water."
It sounds harsh, but it's actually relatable.
The Life of a Showgirl is a massive hit – and massively divisive. What should Taylor Swift do next?
The Life of a Showgirl is a massive hit – and massively divisive. What should Taylor Swift do next?
Swift’s 12th LP is set to dominate the charts – despite fans lampooning the lyrics and lamenting its quality. Guardian music writers discuss what it means for her career
www.theguardian.com
October 9, 2025 at 4:00 AM
This is a hugely interesting analysis of Taylor Swift's new album.
It speaks to many problems that all creatives face in their careers.
"Her creative well has not been replenished, forcing her to draw from the same stagnant, self-referential water."
It sounds harsh, but it's actually relatable.
It speaks to many problems that all creatives face in their careers.
"Her creative well has not been replenished, forcing her to draw from the same stagnant, self-referential water."
It sounds harsh, but it's actually relatable.