Creating a sense of place in fiction

Making unreal places feel real

Somewhere in the behind-the-scenes material of the first Black Panther film, director Ryan Coogler notes that he didn’t think people would believe in the fictional African nation of Wakanda until they shot a scene at a market, with people buying and eating food.

It wasn’t the visual effects, the towering vistas, the stunning scenery, the cool flying vehicles and amazing Afrofuturism design. It was seeing people sitting around having a meal. A completely normal, almost throwaway scene that anchors the entire experience.

Think of the market scene in Blade Runner, with atmosphere so thick you can taste it. It’s the food, again, though. The Mos Eisley Cantina in Star Wars isn’t exactly a meal, but it is normal(ish) people sitting around having a drink. Science fiction and fantasy universes that are too focused on plot often overlook those ordinary moments, and without them everything can start to feel a bit flat. It’s why Triverse opens with the detectives buying coffees from an old fashioned café.

Pity the superhero movie that forgets regular folk in favour of magic fisty-biffs.

I got thinking about this not due to a science ficion thing but the graphic novel Paris, by Andi Watson and Simon Gane. It’s the most gorgeous thing: