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. The City is a conglomeration of many cities, fused into one large city with a gigantic downtown and an impressive skyline.
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[edit] Design and description
According to the films' graphic designer Suzanne Buljan, companies and utilities in the city were uniformly given generic "City" names which are seen on signage and vehicles throughout the films, such as City Metro, City Waste, City Rail, City Post and City Power:[1]
"Everything is City – something; all the facilities are 'City' related."
—Suzanne Buljan
[edit] Philosophy and hyperreality
The concept of the City in The Matrix and its sequels is an archetype of the hyperreality theory proposed by Jean Baudrillard and developed by Umberto Eco; that is that the virtual "city" constructed by the machines controlling the society is more convincing and realistic to its inhabitants than the "real world" – a dystopian future noir portrayed in stark contrast to the virtual one.[2]
[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 some of 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 (which is still visible in the final scene of the earliest film) and the Sydney Opera House were digitally removed or shot around, there are several clearly Australian buildings, companies and signs visible throughout the trilogy, particularly the first movie.[3]
Buildings: Sydney Tower is visible on the construct TV screen. Martin Place, St James railway station, and various locations near Central station and Surry Hills are also recognisable.
Companies: Aon Corporation, AWA Limited, AMP Limited, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Dymocks Booksellers, MMI
Signage: Australian 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 because Australian locations were used.
[edit] Oakland
The highway scenes were shot on a specially-constructed set at the Naval Air Station Alameda, near Oakland, California. 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 the darker pavement on top of the lighter concrete runway is still visible in satellite imaging programs such as Google Earth). 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
Early drafts of the screenplay identified the city as Chicago, and most of the street and landmark names referenced in the films are from Chicago[4], such as Wabash and Lake, Franklin and Erie, State Street, Balbo Drive, Cumberland Ave, the Adams Street Bridge and the Loop Train.[5] However, some street names, such as Paterson Pass and Wu Ping Ave, are derived from names of production staff.
The city also has a Chinatown district, as seen in Enter the Matrix and The Matrix Reloaded.
[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 (Ironically, this area is called the slums by the redpills) and Westview.[6]
The map shows that the actual shape of the city represents the Y-shaped symbol seen at the end of the code sequence in The Matrix Revolutions.
[edit] Club Hel
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In the Matrix series, Club Hel is a nightclub run by the Merovingian, a ruthless, powerful elder program in the Matrix. The club appears in the film The Matrix Revolutions and the games The Matrix Online and The Matrix: Path of Neo.[7]
The club is located in the basement level of a building in the Mega City. The entrance is guarded by armed supernatural programs with gravity-defying capabilities. (The belief is that these Exiles are Vamps/Blood-Drinkers, since they have shown the ability to move across any surface, standing up; on more than one occasion.)
In The Matrix Revolutions, Morpheus, Trinity, and Seraph defeat these guards before proceeding to the inner chamber. Here they meet with the Merovingian to barter for Neo's escape from the Mobil Avenue Station,[8] a computer construct run by the Merovingian's henchman, the Trainman. After Trinity starts a fight and creates a Mexican standoff with the Merovingian, Neo is freed.
The name is actually drawn from the realm of Hel in Norse Mythology, where a goddess by the same name ruled over the spirits of those who died ingloriously and those who broke oaths. Similarly, the Merovingian does many dealings with the Exiles in the Matrix universe, the programs who have broken their oath to report for deletion.
The name of the Merovingian's wife Persephone is a reference to Greek mythology, in which Hades, the god of the underworld, kidnapped and married a young maiden named Persephone, who always remained resentful of him and unhappy with her marriage. Similarly, The Matrix's Persephone is constantly working against her husband and trying to undermine his endeavors, even though there is never a mention of the possibility of their separation.
There is also some allusion to hell. The décor of this club is most theological and mythological in nature. For example, Eve of biblical fame can be seen in the background holding the forbidden fruit of knowledge, which she had eaten and fed to Adam.
The club is a depiction of a fetish nightclub, filled with stereotypical members of goth, punk, and other modern subcultures. Some of the patrons even appear to be engaging in heterosexual and homosexual acts of a sexual nature. It is similar to the club in the first Matrix film in which Neo first meets Trinity. The patrons are Exiles in fact, and their attire and mannerisms are tied into the supernatural beings they are supposed to be emulating (two Exiles standing guard to the Merovingian's balcony look like Satyrs, or possibly Minotaurs, even if they are bondage/fetish Gear). A majority of the Exiles present are Vampires, Lupines, and other creatures from previous versions of the Matrix (see List of programs and machines in the Matrix series).
[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. (It is not stated that there are no other cities, just that the movies and games take place in the same exceptionally large city.)
- 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 are simulated to some degree 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 short films from The Animatrix, the setting appears to be that of Japan - East Asian 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 The 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.
- While interrogating Neo in the original film, the Agents view some of his biographical data. Neo's birthplace is shown onscreen as "Lower Downtown, Capitol City". The idea of a 'Capitol' city suggests that there are other cities, else the term 'capitol' is meaningless.
- As an alternate idea, there may only be one city, and the names, media and language differences may simply be a part of the Matrix, to trick the inhabitants; as the Machines clearly have the ability to manipulate memory and sensation, the Matrix may be the entire 'world', with trips to other 'countries' merely implanted memories.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Interview: Suzanne Buljan, whatisthematrix.com.
- ^ Gold, John Robert; George Revill (2004). "Historic cities, future cities", Representing the Environment. London: Routledge, 321. ISBN 0415145899.
- ^ Lights, Camera, Sydney, Voyeur (Virgin Blue), May 2005.
- ^ Lawrence, Matt (2004). "Before the philosophy", Like a Splinter in Your Mind: The Philosophy Behind the Matrix. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 18. ISBN 1405125241.
- ^ Wachowski Brothers Transcript, whatisthematrix.com, November 6, 1999.
- ^ The Matrix Online; Timesplitters: Future Perfect; MX Vs. Unleashed, The Washington Post, April 10, 2005.
- ^ The Matrix: Path of Neo
- ^ Club Hel
[edit] External links
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