Mega City (The Matrix)
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Mega City is an enormous virtual megacity in which the inhabitants of the Matrix live their lives in the Matrix series.
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[edit] Locations and references
Mega City as it appears in the Matrix films is an amalgam of various cities of the late 20th century, in particular:
- Sydney, Australia (where most of the movies were filmed)
- Oakland, California (where the car chase scenes in The Matrix Reloaded were filmed)
- Chicago, Illinois (where the Wachowski brothers were born and raised)
[edit] Sydney
Excluding the car chase sequence in The Matrix Reloaded, the Matrix films were entirely filmed in the Australian city of Sydney.
Although such distinctive landmarks as the Sydney Harbour Bridge (although you can see this in the final scene of the film before the credits) and the Sydney Opera House were digitally removed or shot around, there are several clearly Australian buildings, companies and signage visible throughout the first movie in particular.
Buildings: Sydney Tower is visible on the construct TV screen. Various Sydney skyscrapers and locations around Central Station and Surry Hills are also recognisable.
Companies: Aon Corporation, AWA Limited, AMP Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Dymocks Booksellers, MMI
Signage: Non-American spelling such as "Authorised personnel only" or "In case of fire, do not use lift" appears occasionally, although in some cases this may be because production designer Owen Paterson is Australian rather than use of Australian locations.
[edit] Oakland
The highway scenes were shot on a specially-constructed set at the nearby Naval Air Station Alameda. A two-mile purpose-built highway complete with overpasses, onramps and offramps, and highway signs was erected on portions of two unused aircraft runways on the former military base. After filming, the movie set was taken down and removed, although still visible from aerial photographs is the darker color of the pavement on top of the lighter concrete runway. The preceding chase sequence from an underground car park was shot in various Oakland streets. The Webster Tube, which goes under the Oakland Inner Harbor between downtown and Alameda Island, was also used. A highway sign reading "Whipple Ave. 1/2, Woodside Rd. 1 1/2, Marsh Road 3 3/4" is seen on an overpass during the motorcycle chase scene. These roads are connected to US Route 101 on the San Francisco Peninsula, and a street sign with those mileages would be seen on southbound 101 in the Redwood City area, although no scenes were photographed in that area.
[edit] Chicago
Most of the street and landmark names referenced in the films are from Chicago, such as Wabash and Lake, Franklin and Erie, State Street, Balbo Drive, Cumberland Ave, the Adams Street Bridge and the Loop Train. Some street names however, such as Paterson Pass and Wu Ping Ave are derived from names of production staff. Also early drafts of the screenplay have stated that the city was Chicago.
[edit] The Matrix Online
The Wachowski brothers provided a map of Mega City for the designers of the MMO game The Matrix Online, which splits the city into four main districts: Downtown, International, Richland and Westview. Further development of the game will reveal further details about the geography of the city.
The map shows that the actual shape of the city is the Y-shaped symbol seen at the end of the code sequence in The Matrix Revolutions.
[edit] Club Hel
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[edit] Locations outside of Mega City
The revelation that the Matrix films and games take place in a single megacity was surprising, as there were several references to other places and cultures throughout the series.
- During Neo's online search for Morpheus, the headline "Morpheus eludes police at Heathrow Airport" and an Arabic newspaper appear, suggesting that London and the Middle East exist in the Matrix world (unless the City airport is called "Heathrow")
- The presence of an airport and a post office in Enter the Matrix implies that City-dwellers can travel to other cities and countries
- In The Matrix Reloaded, Neo is transported to a remote mountainous area resembling the Alps or the Himalayas, supposedly the location of The Merovingian's mansion) from which he has to fly "500 miles due south" in order to return to The City.
- In Beyond, one of the Animatrix short films, the setting appears to be that of Japan - oriental lettering can be seen on signposts, and the main character Yoko owns a cat called Yuki, indicatively Japanese names. In addition, in World Record, another Animatrix short, the runner wears running gear emblazoned with 'USA', and a nurse mentions her aunt who lives in the south of France. This seems to suggest that not only are there regions outside the City, but other nations too, leading to the possibility of the Matrix being larger than previously thought. It is entirely possible that The Matrix is simply an exact copy of the World during the year 1999.
It is not, however, stated that there are no other cities, just that the movies and games take place in the same exceptionally large city.
