One thing The Batman does incredibly well is giving a sense of scope to Gotham as a New York/Chicago-esque city eternally in fear of water and one bad weather day. While Burton's sets lent his film a gothic (ar ar ar) sense and Joel Schumacher turned his into a mixture of spires and neon, Nolan's Gotham was simply "CHICAGO" or "NEW YORK WALL STREET (for those few scenes in Dark Knight Rises). The Batman is neat in how Gotham absorbs all major city structures into a kitbashing of different ides but still it being so large (the exterior shot of the knockoff Madison Square Garden) that it is almost impossible to get around. I would assume this is a mix of filming in London and incorporating CG backgrounds but it's an interesting expansion into how to view the setting.
this is good content, Keith. love discursive tangent posts, whether there's a news peg or not.
as an aside, i would love to see Gotham content that incorporates, like, the northeast's weather extremes. has there ever been a batman storyline with a "Do The Right Thing"-kind of humid heat wave, where everyone is dripping with sweat and it makes the crazies even crazier?
So I have this working theory that Gotham is basically a large east coast city but with New Orleans style decadence and corruption. I guess you could consider NYC decadent and corrupt but not in the same vein as NOLA, where both are almost celebrated. I also think it has a thriving bohemian culture but that's not something that can be incorporated into a Batman movie (nor do I want to see them try, though I guess there are elements in Batman Returns portrayal of pre-Catwoman Selina.)
The big question for Gotham is: why live there? I feel like the reasoning has to be how it draws elites, finance, etc.: it's a fun city if you're rich. I really liked what "Batman: White Knight" did with the Joker's background: have his pre-Joker self be a country bumpkin who comes to the Big City for joy and opportunity, only to get ground in the dust. How many of us haven't reached for the heights of NYC, LA, Chicago, etc. (or even smaller cities that are big in comparison to where we grew up?) only to be chewed up and spat back out by expensive rent, lack of quality jobs, an unfeeling populace, and other reasons?
I think the fact that Nolan's Gotham was so obviously an actual city as opposed to sets made it feel somehow safer for me? I don't know why, like you said, it's a shithole in Begins.
One thing The Batman does incredibly well is giving a sense of scope to Gotham as a New York/Chicago-esque city eternally in fear of water and one bad weather day. While Burton's sets lent his film a gothic (ar ar ar) sense and Joel Schumacher turned his into a mixture of spires and neon, Nolan's Gotham was simply "CHICAGO" or "NEW YORK WALL STREET (for those few scenes in Dark Knight Rises). The Batman is neat in how Gotham absorbs all major city structures into a kitbashing of different ides but still it being so large (the exterior shot of the knockoff Madison Square Garden) that it is almost impossible to get around. I would assume this is a mix of filming in London and incorporating CG backgrounds but it's an interesting expansion into how to view the setting.
Me would rather be dead in Gotham than alive in South Carolina!
In the last section, I believe you mean "Batman v Superman," not "Batman v Robin." But I would love to see a film where Batman fights Robin!
this is good content, Keith. love discursive tangent posts, whether there's a news peg or not.
as an aside, i would love to see Gotham content that incorporates, like, the northeast's weather extremes. has there ever been a batman storyline with a "Do The Right Thing"-kind of humid heat wave, where everyone is dripping with sweat and it makes the crazies even crazier?
So I have this working theory that Gotham is basically a large east coast city but with New Orleans style decadence and corruption. I guess you could consider NYC decadent and corrupt but not in the same vein as NOLA, where both are almost celebrated. I also think it has a thriving bohemian culture but that's not something that can be incorporated into a Batman movie (nor do I want to see them try, though I guess there are elements in Batman Returns portrayal of pre-Catwoman Selina.)
The big question for Gotham is: why live there? I feel like the reasoning has to be how it draws elites, finance, etc.: it's a fun city if you're rich. I really liked what "Batman: White Knight" did with the Joker's background: have his pre-Joker self be a country bumpkin who comes to the Big City for joy and opportunity, only to get ground in the dust. How many of us haven't reached for the heights of NYC, LA, Chicago, etc. (or even smaller cities that are big in comparison to where we grew up?) only to be chewed up and spat back out by expensive rent, lack of quality jobs, an unfeeling populace, and other reasons?
I think the fact that Nolan's Gotham was so obviously an actual city as opposed to sets made it feel somehow safer for me? I don't know why, like you said, it's a shithole in Begins.