Interview: Backrooms Director Kane Parsons on fan theories and growing up on the internet
thepeoplesmovies.com
A 20-year-old director turning a creepypasta meme into a feature film is a masterclass in how internet folklore spreads, mutates, and achieves cultural legitimacy through participatory fan culture.
Participatory CultureMeme TheoryCollective IntelligenceFolklore Transmission

Theory Briefing
- Kane Parsons, just 20, went from viral YouTube Backrooms video to A24-backed feature director — a textbook case of participatory culture at work.
- The Backrooms began as a single creepy forum post and exploded into a massive fan-theory ecosystem, illustrating how internet folklore self-organizes.
- Parsons credits growing up online as central to his creative vision, showing how digital-native generations remix collective myths into mainstream art.