Latest news with #RaveCulture
Malay Mail
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Irvine Welsh calls ‘Men in Love' an antidote to hate, criticises AI and social media
LONDON, July 12 — Scottish author Irvine Welsh on Friday described the new sequel to his cult novel Trainspotting as an antidote to a world full of 'hate and poison', as he took aim at social media, the internet and AI. Men in Love, the latest in a series of sequels, follows the same characters — Renton, Spud, Sick Boy and Begbie — as they experience the heyday of rave culture in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Welsh's novel was turned into the wildly successful 1996 hit film of the same name directed by Danny Boyle and starring Ewan McGregor. The black comedy drama featured a group of heroin addicts living in an economically-depressed part of Edinburgh. 'We're living in a world that seems to be so full of hate and poison. Now it's time I kind of focus more on love as a kind of antidote to all that,' Welsh said. Although his novel was published over 30 years ago, there were many parallels with the world today, he added. The 1980s demise of much heavy industry such as shipbuilding in the Leith area of Edinburgh heralded a new world for some 'without paid work'. 'Now we're all in that position. We don't know how long we'll have paid work, if we do have it, because our economy, our society, is in just a long form revolutionary transformation,' he told BBC radio. 'It's a big, contentious, messy revolution. There's lots to play for, but there's some very dystopian tendencies within it,' he added. Despite the problems faced by earlier generations, Welsh said he detected less optimism now. 'Natural stupidity' 'I think we're just a bit more scared... I think we've got this existential threat on the horizon, basically, of species extinction... through kind of wars and diseases and famines and climate change and no economic means for younger people to make their way in the world as we had,' he said. Welsh also took aim at artificial intelligence (AI), an internet appropriated by big corporations and a social media culture marred by 'vitriolic pile-ons'. He said the internet had stopped people from thinking and had created a 'controlling environment' in which 'we just take instruction'. 'We've got artificial intelligence on one side, and we've got a kind of natural stupidity on another side. We just become these dumbed down machines that are taking instruction. 'And when you get machines thinking for you, your brain just atrophies.' He said he hoped that people's current addiction to mobile phones would be a phase that runs its course. 'You look down the street and you see people with a phone stuck to their face. 'Hopefully, if we survive the next 50 years, that's going to look as strange on film as... people chain smoking cigarettes did back in the 80s,' he added. Men in Love is due to be published by Penguin on July 24. — AFP
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Vooglam Brings Immersive Eyewear Experience to Electric Forest with Cult Vision Collection
AUSTIN, Texas, June 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Eyewear brand Vooglam will elevate festival style to new heights at Electric Forest, taking place from June 19 to 22, 2025 in Rothbury, Michigan, with the debut of an interactive booth experience that merges music culture with the brand's signature fashion-forward and subculturally inspired eyewear designs. The activation is a part of Vooglam's Cult Vision, a digital magazine dedicated to cultural explorations. The inaugural issue's theme is Music Festivals, connecting the brand's products to music genres and festival aesthetics. The center of Vooglam's Electric Forest activation is a holistic and immersive user experience booth designed to allow users to enter Vooglam's worldbuilding and showcase how eyewear enhances festival culture. The installation features three distinctive activations: the "Your Frame, Your Vision" infinity mirror selfie station, where festival-goers can capture their style moments in an endless reflection complete with supporting visuals and social media filters; a mini DJ booth bringing beats directly to the brand experience, and a comprehensive try-on area with point of sale, for festival goers to explore and purchase from the curated Cult Vision collection. The Cult Vision collection is a thoughtfully selected curation from four of Vooglam's product collections. Rave Culture takes center stage here with styles for EDM enthusiasts and is supported by Retro Radio for Rock and Indieheads, Boho-Chic for country aficionados, and Pan Africa for hip-hop heritage. Every frame in the assortment serves both a functional purpose for attendees and an aesthetic example of festival identity that can be incorporated into their everyday style. Crucially for Vooglam this isn't just another festival booth or brand activation, it's an authentic cultural moment, underlining the brand's radical approach to offline events. By creating installations that invite participation and self-expression, Vooglam positions itself as more than an eyewear provider but as a cultural thought leader, understanding the intersection of music, fashion, and personal identity. Vooglam at Electric Forest showcases Vooglam's dedication to meeting music fans where they congregate, providing style solutions that resonate with specific subcultures while remaining accessible to casuals. The brand recognizes that festival culture extends beyond physical attendance, designing pieces that capture festival aesthetics for both fans and those celebrating from home. Festival-goers can explore all of Vooglam's event coverage and discover their festival style at About Vooglam Established in 2017, Vooglam creates high-quality designer eyewear inspired by today's style tribes, transforming the functional into tools for self-expression. With a catalog of almost 2,000 unique frame designs available in over 170 countries, serving more than one million customers, Vooglam delivers eyewear for every look and need. The brand combines functional vision solutions with meticulously researched and authentic subcultural design elements, offering fully customizable eyewear that includes prescription lenses and lens types. Organized into seven distinctive product lines, Vooglam's offerings range from the audacious to the subtly creative. Through cutting-edge manufacturing techniques, premium materials, and rigorous quality control, Vooglam continues to transform how consumers express themselves through eyewear. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Vooglam Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
