"Who wants to go to Vancouver?"
September 13, 2015 12:10 PM Subscribe
Tony Zhou is back with a love letter / lament for his cinematically ubiquitous hometown: "Vancouver Never Plays Itself".
I lived in Vancouver for a few years. Loved it there, just couldn't figure out how to make a living there. But we used to have a great time spotting locations in the "Cylon-occupied Caprica" storyline on Battlestar Galactica.
We used to refer to it as "Cylon-occupied Vancouver."
posted by Naberius at 12:30 PM on September 13, 2015 [12 favorites]
We used to refer to it as "Cylon-occupied Vancouver."
posted by Naberius at 12:30 PM on September 13, 2015 [12 favorites]
I haven't been able to confirm it, but supposedly Vancouver is the only city in North America that uses overhead power lines in alleyways with the transformers mounted on a platform between two poles. See this picture for an example. So if you see a scene with something like that in the background, chances are it was shot in Vancouver.
posted by Pong74LS at 12:47 PM on September 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by Pong74LS at 12:47 PM on September 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
I loved the contrast in this video between the generic shots of Vancouver for every film ever, and the gorgeous shots showing Vancouver's character as a city. City as character vs city as backdrop - wonderful.
Another interesting point from the comments of the Youtube video (no, seriously!):
"One thing you didn't mention is the way the population is disguised for foreign consumption. I was at UBC when a U.S. show was shooting a crowd of "students" eating lunch on a large flight of steps, and the real students were watching on the other side. The TV students were taller, prettier, thinner, impeccably groomed, fashionably dressed down, and older-looking than the schlumpy, fresh-faced real students. The racial differences were startling. Half of the real students were white, about 1/4 to 1/3 were East Asian, and the rest were South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), with a few Native and Middle Eastern kids, which is pretty representative of the city. The TV students were about two-thirds white, one-third black, with exactly one each East Asian and Hispanic kids."
And a response from Tony Zhou:
" I tried to do this point in early cuts of the video but I couldn't convey it properly with the footage I had. So unfortunately I had to cut it out. But you are totally right. Vancouver is 43% ethnically Asian (meaning South, Southeast, East, I don't think that percentage includes Middle Eastern), which makes it the most Asian city outside of Asia. I have never seen a film shot in Van that is even close to the actual racial makeup of the city. Never."
posted by lookoutbelow at 12:51 PM on September 13, 2015 [27 favorites]
Another interesting point from the comments of the Youtube video (no, seriously!):
"One thing you didn't mention is the way the population is disguised for foreign consumption. I was at UBC when a U.S. show was shooting a crowd of "students" eating lunch on a large flight of steps, and the real students were watching on the other side. The TV students were taller, prettier, thinner, impeccably groomed, fashionably dressed down, and older-looking than the schlumpy, fresh-faced real students. The racial differences were startling. Half of the real students were white, about 1/4 to 1/3 were East Asian, and the rest were South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), with a few Native and Middle Eastern kids, which is pretty representative of the city. The TV students were about two-thirds white, one-third black, with exactly one each East Asian and Hispanic kids."
And a response from Tony Zhou:
" I tried to do this point in early cuts of the video but I couldn't convey it properly with the footage I had. So unfortunately I had to cut it out. But you are totally right. Vancouver is 43% ethnically Asian (meaning South, Southeast, East, I don't think that percentage includes Middle Eastern), which makes it the most Asian city outside of Asia. I have never seen a film shot in Van that is even close to the actual racial makeup of the city. Never."
posted by lookoutbelow at 12:51 PM on September 13, 2015 [27 favorites]
Vancouver doesn't really have a clearly defined identity. There's no there, there.
posted by Nevin at 12:57 PM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Nevin at 12:57 PM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Saw that at XOXO last night and Tony Zhou was on hand to answer questions after. Evidently the format and pacing is something he developed from reverse-engineering how YouTube content algorithms work.
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 1:12 PM on September 13, 2015
posted by fifteen schnitzengruben is my limit at 1:12 PM on September 13, 2015
"We’re not shooting in Vancouver. I’m drawing the line on the insanity. Vancouver doesn’t look like anything. It doesn’t even look like Vancouver. It looks like Boston, California." -- "Pilot," Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
posted by zachlipton at 1:17 PM on September 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by zachlipton at 1:17 PM on September 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
When I moved to Vancouver for grad school, I ended up watching a lot of Dead Like Me, a TV show set in some vague Pacific Northwest city but clearly filmed in Vancouver. Part of the show's appeal was discovering new parts of the city, or spotting things I'd seen for the first time just days or weeks prior filling in for some Seattle-ish environment. It's probably one of the more honest uses of Vancouver in that no one ever says the show DOESN'T take place in Vancouver.
also I'm sad I only just learned about "Discouver Vancouver."
posted by chrominance at 1:28 PM on September 13, 2015
also I'm sad I only just learned about "Discouver Vancouver."
posted by chrominance at 1:28 PM on September 13, 2015
I can't believe he didn't mention Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu. A Hollywood movie that's both shot in and set in Vancouver. It's not a great movie, but it's neat to see Central Branch library blown up, and not have it supposed to be in some American city.
One thing I liked about Seth Rogen's 50/50 was that while it was shot in Vancouver and set in Seattle, there were lots of little clues that Rogen seemed to wish he could have set it in Vancouver (where he is from, and where I believe he had the experiences that the movie is based on). For example, the licence plate number of the Jeep he drives in the movie starts with "YVR".
posted by good in a vacuum at 1:31 PM on September 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
One thing I liked about Seth Rogen's 50/50 was that while it was shot in Vancouver and set in Seattle, there were lots of little clues that Rogen seemed to wish he could have set it in Vancouver (where he is from, and where I believe he had the experiences that the movie is based on). For example, the licence plate number of the Jeep he drives in the movie starts with "YVR".
posted by good in a vacuum at 1:31 PM on September 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
Hah, Psych was referenced right at the lead-in. Welcome to Sunny, Coastal Vancouver Santa Barbara! The best is when there are general setting shots and the actors are dressed as if they're in Southern California, while people who happen to be in the background are wearing big puffy jackets.
This made me wonder about Albuquerque, NM locations, specifically because I've heard the Country Club neighborhood has been shot as Anywhere, USA a number of times. But it seems that the most popular location is the ABQ Rail Yard.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:43 PM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
This made me wonder about Albuquerque, NM locations, specifically because I've heard the Country Club neighborhood has been shot as Anywhere, USA a number of times. But it seems that the most popular location is the ABQ Rail Yard.
posted by filthy light thief at 1:43 PM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
My town (Bozeman Montana) is pretty far from a "city" but some of its alleys have the power lines set up just like that. So that could still be a "chances are" Vancouver clue, but I'm skeptical of it being an "only Vancouver" clue.
posted by traveler_ at 1:45 PM on September 13, 2015
posted by traveler_ at 1:45 PM on September 13, 2015
(YVR being Vancouver's airport code, I should probably explain.)
posted by good in a vacuum at 1:49 PM on September 13, 2015
posted by good in a vacuum at 1:49 PM on September 13, 2015
Nelson, BC has the same type of back alley power lines.
posted by Bearman at 2:48 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Bearman at 2:48 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever, starring Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu... It's not a great movie,
Equally, syphilis is not a great way to say 'I Love You'.
posted by biffa at 2:52 PM on September 13, 2015 [7 favorites]
Equally, syphilis is not a great way to say 'I Love You'.
posted by biffa at 2:52 PM on September 13, 2015 [7 favorites]
Thanks for this 'Filmed in ABQ' link, 'thief.
posted by growabrain at 3:08 PM on September 13, 2015
posted by growabrain at 3:08 PM on September 13, 2015
Pong74LS, there are a couple places where those odd power lines are easy to see in downtown.
This spot is great because I often end up waiting at the bus stop watching interpretations of life on the mean streets as it plays out in front of the city sanctioned graffiti.
Other end of the block, better view of transformers.
Near where the picture was taken.
posted by ethansr at 3:13 PM on September 13, 2015
This spot is great because I often end up waiting at the bus stop watching interpretations of life on the mean streets as it plays out in front of the city sanctioned graffiti.
Other end of the block, better view of transformers.
Near where the picture was taken.
posted by ethansr at 3:13 PM on September 13, 2015
Keeping with the theme, every band on the soundtrack of this video is from Vancouver too
posted by thecjm at 3:28 PM on September 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
posted by thecjm at 3:28 PM on September 13, 2015 [5 favorites]
What I think is stupid is when they set the movie in Seattle, then film in Vancouver, then have rain machines that make it seem like it is somewhere that doesn't drizzle like either Seattle or Vancouver. The TV show The Killing was like that: pouring rain in every scene.
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever has a remarkable 0% on the Tomato meter out of 115 reviews.
posted by Xoc at 3:42 PM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever has a remarkable 0% on the Tomato meter out of 115 reviews.
posted by Xoc at 3:42 PM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Fascinating stuff, though I wished he would have mentioned films shot in Vancouver that are also set in Vancouver. Here's 3 off the top of my head.
That Cold Day In The Park 1969 (Robert Altman!)
Russian Roulette 1975
Shoot To Kill 1988
I have lived here, for the most part, since 1983 and I still find it disconcerting when I recognize the city on screen. Strange, I don't think I will ever get used to that.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 4:22 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
That Cold Day In The Park 1969 (Robert Altman!)
Russian Roulette 1975
Shoot To Kill 1988
I have lived here, for the most part, since 1983 and I still find it disconcerting when I recognize the city on screen. Strange, I don't think I will ever get used to that.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 4:22 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
zachlipton, you beat me to that quote! Studio 60 has gone down in infamy as an Aaron Sorkin vanity disaster, but it really wasn't a bad show. The sketches within the show were not great, but the show around the sketches was generally pretty funny and smart and Aaron Sorkin-y in a good way.
I can see how it would be offensive if a show was supposed to be set in Vancouver and the extras and cast didn't reflect the ethnic make up of the city at all, but if a show filming in Vancouver is supposed to be set in another town, don't they have to cast people who would look like what you'd expect to see in the show's location? (Perhaps it's a naive question. I haven't been on a US college campus in a while, and I don't know the current demographics. I suspect the student extras being older and thinner and prettier than the real students would probably be true almost anywhere in the US, though.)
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:59 PM on September 13, 2015
I can see how it would be offensive if a show was supposed to be set in Vancouver and the extras and cast didn't reflect the ethnic make up of the city at all, but if a show filming in Vancouver is supposed to be set in another town, don't they have to cast people who would look like what you'd expect to see in the show's location? (Perhaps it's a naive question. I haven't been on a US college campus in a while, and I don't know the current demographics. I suspect the student extras being older and thinner and prettier than the real students would probably be true almost anywhere in the US, though.)
posted by Ursula Hitler at 5:59 PM on September 13, 2015
I like speculative fiction TV shows and it seems like the majority are shot in Vancouver. Between watching all of the Stargates, Battlestar Galactica, Kyle XY, Psych, the X-Files, The Flash, Arrow and Almost Human (just for starters) I feel like I've lived in Vancouver even though I've never been there. The building where Laura Roslin got her cancer diagnosis (for example) is really identifiable and appears in EVERYTHING. Someday I'm going to go up there and I'll spend the entire damn time saying "I remember that building from the episode where the Tollan got blown up!"
There's also this downed tree in the forest that appears in every Vancouver show that ever goes out into the woods. I've been considering compiling all the clips of that log and setting it to the song "Log" from Ren and Stimpy.
Ironically, I live in downtown LA and my block recently stood in as Vancouver for an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. My neighborhood also regularly stands in as Brooklyn for Brooklyn 99 and NYC for Castle. But it pretty much never plays LA.
posted by rednikki at 6:04 PM on September 13, 2015
There's also this downed tree in the forest that appears in every Vancouver show that ever goes out into the woods. I've been considering compiling all the clips of that log and setting it to the song "Log" from Ren and Stimpy.
Ironically, I live in downtown LA and my block recently stood in as Vancouver for an episode of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. My neighborhood also regularly stands in as Brooklyn for Brooklyn 99 and NYC for Castle. But it pretty much never plays LA.
posted by rednikki at 6:04 PM on September 13, 2015
Clearly the thing to do is set a film in Vancouver, but then film it in random different cities around the world, since they all apparently look like Vancouver.
Of course, my favorite city not playing itself is Factotum, which is nominally Los Angeles, but filmed around Minneapolis. Early on in the movie I'm watching and thinking "Hey, I recognize that building, neat!" and then things just got more and more obviously Twin Cities. Recognizable downtown bars! The Gedney sign visible when he's interviewing for a job! The camera fixed on the Canterbury Park sign when he skips work and goes gambling!
posted by ckape at 6:08 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Of course, my favorite city not playing itself is Factotum, which is nominally Los Angeles, but filmed around Minneapolis. Early on in the movie I'm watching and thinking "Hey, I recognize that building, neat!" and then things just got more and more obviously Twin Cities. Recognizable downtown bars! The Gedney sign visible when he's interviewing for a job! The camera fixed on the Canterbury Park sign when he skips work and goes gambling!
posted by ckape at 6:08 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think what Vancouver really needs to do is to truly embrace and recognize the ethnic diversity of the region. The power structure is most definitely "white" or "European, and the talking heads on tv and so on don't really reflect the culture of Vancouver. It was striking when I worked for a Crown based in Vancouver that most if not all of the management were "white", while most of the operations staff were Asian.
posted by Nevin at 6:57 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Nevin at 6:57 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I thought I invented Seacouver, but it appears not. Vancouver has actually played itself quite a few times, but every time I've seen it au naturel, I have actually felt slightly embarassed and wished it hadn't.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:28 PM on September 13, 2015
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:28 PM on September 13, 2015
Vancouver doesn't really have a clearly defined identity. There's no there, there.
This is absolutely true, by the way. Even in real life. I've lived here for 10 years and still suffer a fairly pronounced psychogeographical angst unlike anything I've experienced anywhere else. I don't think the filming is helping.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:32 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is absolutely true, by the way. Even in real life. I've lived here for 10 years and still suffer a fairly pronounced psychogeographical angst unlike anything I've experienced anywhere else. I don't think the filming is helping.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 7:32 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
Surprised nobody has mentioned Rumble In The Bronx yet. Why yes, New York City does have big snowy mountain peaks in the background. Why do you ask?
of course it was specifically called out in the linked video. my brain is mush tonight.
posted by Naberius at 8:02 PM on September 13, 2015
of course it was specifically called out in the linked video. my brain is mush tonight.
posted by Naberius at 8:02 PM on September 13, 2015
>Vancouver doesn't really have a clearly defined identity. There's no there, there.
This is absolutely true, by the way. Even in real life. I've lived here for 10 years and still suffer a fairly pronounced psychogeographical angst unlike anything I've experienced anywhere else. I don't think the filming is helping.
The "Bee Cee" of my youth doesn't really exist anymore. Jack Hodgins (my prof when I took "Creative Writing" at UVic 25 years ago) captured the essence of BC in books like Spit Delaney's Island.
The BC of DOA or 54-40 or even Bryan Adams Cuts Like A Knife has vanished. Replaced by condos and pulled-pork BBQ joints. At least the beer is better now.
posted by Nevin at 8:47 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is absolutely true, by the way. Even in real life. I've lived here for 10 years and still suffer a fairly pronounced psychogeographical angst unlike anything I've experienced anywhere else. I don't think the filming is helping.
The "Bee Cee" of my youth doesn't really exist anymore. Jack Hodgins (my prof when I took "Creative Writing" at UVic 25 years ago) captured the essence of BC in books like Spit Delaney's Island.
The BC of DOA or 54-40 or even Bryan Adams Cuts Like A Knife has vanished. Replaced by condos and pulled-pork BBQ joints. At least the beer is better now.
posted by Nevin at 8:47 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
For what it's worth, Naberius, while watching "Rumble in the Bronx" I had the same thoughts, which led to me finally starting to notice how often Vancouver shows up as a stand-in for some other city. And it's the sort of thing that, once you notice, starts becoming more and more obvious as time goes by, especially if you've visited Vancouver and seen some of the locations in person..
posted by Nerd of the North at 9:00 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Nerd of the North at 9:00 PM on September 13, 2015 [1 favorite]
I moved away from Vancouver, my hometown, 10 months ago and this video is the first thing that's made me truly homesick.
posted by jess at 9:16 PM on September 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by jess at 9:16 PM on September 13, 2015 [3 favorites]
I like speculative fiction TV shows and it seems like the majority are shot in Vancouver.
It's not live-action, but Vancouver does appear in the beginning of Mass Effect 3, and supposedly there are currently-existing buildings as part of the late 22nd-century skyline... although they don't last for very long.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:58 PM on September 13, 2015
It's not live-action, but Vancouver does appear in the beginning of Mass Effect 3, and supposedly there are currently-existing buildings as part of the late 22nd-century skyline... although they don't last for very long.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:58 PM on September 13, 2015
I wandered away from it after like five episodes, but isn't much of Continuum set and filmed in greater Vancouver?
Clearly the thing to do is set a film in Vancouver, but then film it in random different cities around the world, since they all apparently look like Vancouver.
If I ever become a major film/tv producer, I'm going to set a show in Vancouver and Toronto but film it entirely in Chicago and NYC. Like it'll say "VANCOUVER" and show a shot of the Chicago lakefront with an orange Pinto falling out of the sky CGI'd in if they won't let us throw more Pintos at Chicago. And people with thick Lon Gisland accents will say things like "Yeah I gotta go back to Massssssscarborough to see my ma."
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:59 PM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Clearly the thing to do is set a film in Vancouver, but then film it in random different cities around the world, since they all apparently look like Vancouver.
If I ever become a major film/tv producer, I'm going to set a show in Vancouver and Toronto but film it entirely in Chicago and NYC. Like it'll say "VANCOUVER" and show a shot of the Chicago lakefront with an orange Pinto falling out of the sky CGI'd in if they won't let us throw more Pintos at Chicago. And people with thick Lon Gisland accents will say things like "Yeah I gotta go back to Massssssscarborough to see my ma."
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:59 PM on September 13, 2015 [2 favorites]
Somewhere, I have a giant (Crown Victoria hood-sized) "Seattle Police" retroreflective magnetic shield. A friend of mine's Vancouver street was used so often as a set for "bad side of town" shots, it was more common to NOT be able to walk down it, than to actually use it as, you know, a public street. The Seattle police logo thingie was left behind after such a location shoot. It looks great on my yellow Westfalia camper.
posted by Dreidl at 11:08 PM on September 13, 2015
posted by Dreidl at 11:08 PM on September 13, 2015
I moved away from Vancouver, my hometown, 10 months ago and this video is the first thing that's made me truly homesick.
posted by jess at 9:16 PM on September 13 [+] [!]
I moved away from Vancouver 20 years ago, and despite my now well-honed exasperation at the city's solipsistic tendencies, this video still made me homesick.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:46 AM on September 14, 2015
posted by jess at 9:16 PM on September 13 [+] [!]
I moved away from Vancouver 20 years ago, and despite my now well-honed exasperation at the city's solipsistic tendencies, this video still made me homesick.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:46 AM on September 14, 2015
I moved to Vancouver over forty years ago roundabout my tenth birthday. In the 1970s (and well into the 80s an 90s), there was no sense that it was one of those cities (the Londons, Tokyos, NYCs, Romes etc) that the whole damned culture had an immediate impression of (even if it happened to be stilted, stereotypical, wrong).
Now that's fast changing. Colour me underwhelmed.
posted by philip-random at 1:26 AM on September 14, 2015
Now that's fast changing. Colour me underwhelmed.
posted by philip-random at 1:26 AM on September 14, 2015
This is absolutely true, by the way. Even in real life. I've lived here for 10 years and still suffer a fairly pronounced psychogeographical angst unlike anything I've experienced anywhere else. I don't think the filming is helping.
I'm from California so this viewpoint might not be appreciated, but I think "Pacific Northwest" is a very strong regional identity while the major cities within it are not as distinctive, Seattle probably standing out the most, and Vancouver second. Doesn't even matter that much whether you're in Canada or the U.S. I actually really like Vancouver though.
posted by atoxyl at 2:30 AM on September 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
I'm from California so this viewpoint might not be appreciated, but I think "Pacific Northwest" is a very strong regional identity while the major cities within it are not as distinctive, Seattle probably standing out the most, and Vancouver second. Doesn't even matter that much whether you're in Canada or the U.S. I actually really like Vancouver though.
posted by atoxyl at 2:30 AM on September 14, 2015 [3 favorites]
SImilarly, I absolutely love when Toronto gets to play Toronto. One of my favourite things about Scott Pilgrim.
Though it's particularly hilarious when Toronto is playing Seattle and they just leave the CN Tower in the shot, figuring everyone will assume it's the Space Needle. The Space Needle isn't that big. Wake up, sheeple.
posted by 256 at 3:08 AM on September 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
Though it's particularly hilarious when Toronto is playing Seattle and they just leave the CN Tower in the shot, figuring everyone will assume it's the Space Needle. The Space Needle isn't that big. Wake up, sheeple.
posted by 256 at 3:08 AM on September 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
My fave is Double Jeopardy, where you can see the Canadian flags in the background of what is supposed to be NW US.
posted by clvrmnky at 6:15 AM on September 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by clvrmnky at 6:15 AM on September 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
One of the things I spend my free time doing is supporting the Vancouver Whitecaps, as a member of the Southsiders, a vocal, spirited group of a few hundred soccer supporters. We actively encourage participation in our section, standing, cheering, waving flags and singing. Often, especially during big matches against Portland or Seattle, we have many newcomers in our section taking in the spectacle. They stand with us and watch, and sometimes even film us doing our thing. But they are too inhibited to sing. Even with a few hundred others.
Once, on my way to a match my son and I stumbled on a flash mob pillow fight a the the Art Gallery, right across the street from "North Korea". We dived in, grabbing a pillow and smacking folks for a good 15 minutes of fun. There must have been 100 or so people doing that. There must have been at least 200 more on the edges filming it with their phones.
Vancouver doesn't have an identity because for some weird reason, people don't participate in creating it. Perhaps it is the fact that Vancouver's identity is "spectacle for visual consumption" that is the reason why you can't really say what kind of community identity we are making here. It's too intellectually lazy to say that our tremendous diversity means that we stovepipe do into little meaning making communities that have nothing to do with one another.
Vancouver is a city that is driven by a consumption ethic in stark contrast to a participative one. Tony's film captures this beautifully. I think this reality makes this city a paradox. Beautiful to look at, full of beautiful things to buy, but really hard to live in and hard to find the time to create a cultural narrative different from the conveniently provided spectacle. It is gorgeous on the outside and empty on the inside, and that makes it perfect for a backlot. There is not meaning to be inferred from the landscape, and so it is the ideal cipher for other people's stories.
posted by salishsea at 8:18 AM on September 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
Once, on my way to a match my son and I stumbled on a flash mob pillow fight a the the Art Gallery, right across the street from "North Korea". We dived in, grabbing a pillow and smacking folks for a good 15 minutes of fun. There must have been 100 or so people doing that. There must have been at least 200 more on the edges filming it with their phones.
Vancouver doesn't have an identity because for some weird reason, people don't participate in creating it. Perhaps it is the fact that Vancouver's identity is "spectacle for visual consumption" that is the reason why you can't really say what kind of community identity we are making here. It's too intellectually lazy to say that our tremendous diversity means that we stovepipe do into little meaning making communities that have nothing to do with one another.
Vancouver is a city that is driven by a consumption ethic in stark contrast to a participative one. Tony's film captures this beautifully. I think this reality makes this city a paradox. Beautiful to look at, full of beautiful things to buy, but really hard to live in and hard to find the time to create a cultural narrative different from the conveniently provided spectacle. It is gorgeous on the outside and empty on the inside, and that makes it perfect for a backlot. There is not meaning to be inferred from the landscape, and so it is the ideal cipher for other people's stories.
posted by salishsea at 8:18 AM on September 14, 2015 [4 favorites]
no mention of Supernatural? which is set in everywhere across the US but filmed almost exclusively in Vancouver.
posted by numaner at 9:37 AM on September 14, 2015
posted by numaner at 9:37 AM on September 14, 2015
Vancouver is a city that is driven by a consumption ethic in stark contrast to a participative one.
I agree, and it's one of the things that gnaws away at me the longer I stay here. However, things that buck that trend are here if you look. There's an active indie comedy scene with all sorts of storytelling, improv, standup and other events, and similarly active indie music, arts, games, writing, maker and small creative business scenes. I'm trying to cultivate the attitude that I live in a small but enthusiastically creative town that happens to be a slice of delicious deli meat thinly sandwiched between some pillowy but finally unsatisfying condo development bread.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:19 AM on September 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I agree, and it's one of the things that gnaws away at me the longer I stay here. However, things that buck that trend are here if you look. There's an active indie comedy scene with all sorts of storytelling, improv, standup and other events, and similarly active indie music, arts, games, writing, maker and small creative business scenes. I'm trying to cultivate the attitude that I live in a small but enthusiastically creative town that happens to be a slice of delicious deli meat thinly sandwiched between some pillowy but finally unsatisfying condo development bread.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:19 AM on September 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm really looking forward to Beeba Boys, a Punjabi Sikh gangster film set in present-day Vancouver. Deepa Mehta (she of Bollywood/Hollywood, and Midnight's Children) had a lot of fun making this apparently. The previews look amazing. I haven't been as excited about a Canadian film in quite a while.
posted by bonehead at 10:26 AM on September 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by bonehead at 10:26 AM on September 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
and, for the record, Vancouver may not have an identity but East Van does.
posted by philip-random at 10:32 AM on September 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by philip-random at 10:32 AM on September 14, 2015 [1 favorite]
and, for the record, Vancouver may not have an identity but East Van does.
I <3 East Van. Main St is increasingly under attack by the Condo Homogenizing Swarm, but there's still plenty of interesting things going on in Mt Pleasant & Commercial. I've also got my eye on New West, which I suspect might be one of the locuses for Interesting Things as younger people with creative ambitions get pushed further and further East.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:38 AM on September 14, 2015
I <3 East Van. Main St is increasingly under attack by the Condo Homogenizing Swarm, but there's still plenty of interesting things going on in Mt Pleasant & Commercial. I've also got my eye on New West, which I suspect might be one of the locuses for Interesting Things as younger people with creative ambitions get pushed further and further East.
posted by Jon Mitchell at 10:38 AM on September 14, 2015
yeah, were I a little younger, I suspect I'd already be in New West.
posted by philip-random at 11:55 AM on September 14, 2015
posted by philip-random at 11:55 AM on September 14, 2015
"I haven't been able to confirm it, but supposedly Vancouver is the only city in North America that uses overhead power lines in alleyways with the transformers mounted on a platform between two poles. See this picture for an example. So if you see a scene with something like that in the background, chances are it was shot in Vancouver."
Nah, there are a couple of those in the arts district in LA too — I stumbled onto them and took pictures, though they didn't come out that well.
"I wandered away from it after like five episodes, but isn't much of Continuum set and filmed in greater Vancouver?"
Yes, which is part of what makes it routinely hilarious for anyone who knows anything about the fact that Vancouver is in Canada and not actually part of the United States. Like when a police department gets an order that comes "all the way from the President!" Or when they talk about a farm running off FDA inspectors — presumably because a farm would be subject to Health Canada's regulations instead. Or that nominally, they work for the RCMP (logo on their car in many scenes) but are sometimes just the Vancouver PD, and often complain about interference from "the Feds," who I assume are also RCMP. And why is "Homeland Security" coming to defuse the bombs? Wouldn't "200 liter" drum be easier to understand than "55 gallon"? Why does their city councilman think he's going to run for "Congress" (of the Humanities?) next? Why does a suspect assert fifth amendment rights (which I'm pretty sure allows a fixed-length bridge to replace ferry services for PEI)? The only way to make sense of most of it is to think of it as a "continuum" where Vancouver was annexed into the U.S. but still keeps some Canadian naming schemes — maybe even all of Canada and the U.S. are one country in the show's timeline.
posted by klangklangston at 12:46 PM on September 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
Nah, there are a couple of those in the arts district in LA too — I stumbled onto them and took pictures, though they didn't come out that well.
"I wandered away from it after like five episodes, but isn't much of Continuum set and filmed in greater Vancouver?"
Yes, which is part of what makes it routinely hilarious for anyone who knows anything about the fact that Vancouver is in Canada and not actually part of the United States. Like when a police department gets an order that comes "all the way from the President!" Or when they talk about a farm running off FDA inspectors — presumably because a farm would be subject to Health Canada's regulations instead. Or that nominally, they work for the RCMP (logo on their car in many scenes) but are sometimes just the Vancouver PD, and often complain about interference from "the Feds," who I assume are also RCMP. And why is "Homeland Security" coming to defuse the bombs? Wouldn't "200 liter" drum be easier to understand than "55 gallon"? Why does their city councilman think he's going to run for "Congress" (of the Humanities?) next? Why does a suspect assert fifth amendment rights (which I'm pretty sure allows a fixed-length bridge to replace ferry services for PEI)? The only way to make sense of most of it is to think of it as a "continuum" where Vancouver was annexed into the U.S. but still keeps some Canadian naming schemes — maybe even all of Canada and the U.S. are one country in the show's timeline.
posted by klangklangston at 12:46 PM on September 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
The worst part about going to UBC (and I'm dating myself here) was how our labs got taken over all the time by MacGyver.
...this video is the first thing that's made me truly homesick.
Quoted for truth. Of course, the Vancouver I remember, pre-Urban Fare, a grotty Granville St. that was strip clubs, used book stores and cheap pizza places, a dangerous West Hastings and a Kits that actually had a waterfront view, only exists on film now. Rumble in the Bronx is a surprisingly good record of Vancouver in the nineties.
posted by bonehead at 1:25 PM on September 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
...this video is the first thing that's made me truly homesick.
Quoted for truth. Of course, the Vancouver I remember, pre-Urban Fare, a grotty Granville St. that was strip clubs, used book stores and cheap pizza places, a dangerous West Hastings and a Kits that actually had a waterfront view, only exists on film now. Rumble in the Bronx is a surprisingly good record of Vancouver in the nineties.
posted by bonehead at 1:25 PM on September 14, 2015 [2 favorites]
ROU_Xenophobe - Because of a spike in the Canadian dollar, Scott Pilgrim was almost filmed in NYC
posted by thecjm at 2:20 PM on September 14, 2015
posted by thecjm at 2:20 PM on September 14, 2015
Just FYI, for the new X-Files reboot they're returned to Vancouver for shooting. So keep your eyes peeled for the new, gentrified, condo-ified Vancouver in that one. I don't know if I've seen the current, upscale Yaletown in film & TV yet.
Meanwhile, I always get a small kick out the bits of Vancouver-ness that sneak past the set designers and end up in the shot. I recall one scene in Fringe that was supposed to be a city block in New York or something but they forgot to remove the distinctive BC Lotto sign in the window of a convenience store. Also, there was another show that I can't recall that filmed a scene set in a (futuristic?) shopping mall but was actually this shot of the Vancouver Central Library atrium... complete with a view of the book stacks in the upper windows.
posted by mhum at 4:30 PM on September 14, 2015
Meanwhile, I always get a small kick out the bits of Vancouver-ness that sneak past the set designers and end up in the shot. I recall one scene in Fringe that was supposed to be a city block in New York or something but they forgot to remove the distinctive BC Lotto sign in the window of a convenience store. Also, there was another show that I can't recall that filmed a scene set in a (futuristic?) shopping mall but was actually this shot of the Vancouver Central Library atrium... complete with a view of the book stacks in the upper windows.
posted by mhum at 4:30 PM on September 14, 2015
Hah, Psych was referenced right at the lead-in. Welcome to Sunny, Coastal Vancouver Santa Barbara! The best is when there are general setting shots and the actors are dressed as if they're in Southern California, while people who happen to be in the background are wearing big puffy jackets.
We can tell you aren't in Santa Barbara, Psych, no matter how many extras you make carry around surfboards.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 7:50 AM on September 20, 2015
We can tell you aren't in Santa Barbara, Psych, no matter how many extras you make carry around surfboards.
posted by Solon and Thanks at 7:50 AM on September 20, 2015
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Love, love, love this series. I get so happy when it shows up in my subscriptions.
posted by xingcat at 12:28 PM on September 13, 2015