AMC's Into the Badlands, a new martial arts/sci-fi series
- Thread starter JD
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I saw the opening scene of it on the most recent episode awaiting a TWD tag-scene. Good-looking fight scene, but that's not enough, really, for me to invest into the series. (Not to mention having to watch the aired episodes to catch up.)
But this takes place (a) centuries(y) in the future? Then why did I see a desk-lamp from the 1970s in one of the rooms and most other technological items looked like, well, "present day" ones and not something more in line with one from centuries from now. Yadda, yadda, yadda, fall of civilization, apocalypse, all of that. I get it. But, still, a centuries old desk-lamp that runs on fluorescent rods?
But this takes place (a) centuries(y) in the future? Then why did I see a desk-lamp from the 1970s in one of the rooms and most other technological items looked like, well, "present day" ones and not something more in line with one from centuries from now. Yadda, yadda, yadda, fall of civilization, apocalypse, all of that. I get it. But, still, a centuries old desk-lamp that runs on fluorescent rods?
I don't recall any mention of just how far in the future it is, just that it's post-apocalyptic. Which is often an excuse for a production to use a retro aesthetic. I was wondering myself why all the cars we see in the show are vintage models. The rationale occurred to me that maybe it's supposed to be because they have no computers, and thus are the only kind of car that a civilization which had lost its high-tech infrastructure would be able to maintain. Still, that doesn't explain why they use cars from the '40s rather than the '70s, say.
Ultimately, I don't think this is meant to be a very plausible future. For instance, although personally I love the idea of a world where guns have been utterly eradicated from existence, I don't consider it to be a plausible scenario that a ban on their use could be consistently enforced in a post-apocalyptic feudal hellscape. It's just an excuse to do a show driven by martial arts and swordplay in a futuristic setting. And by the same token, the collapse of technology is an excuse to use retro cars and set dressings and fashions, even though it isn't all that realistic.
It's easier to believe taking some other things into account. Most people in this Universe seem to be illiterate, which means they won't have an understanding of chemistry or engineering to build the guns and make the gunpowder. Those who do know how to read and maintain some technologies (like the engines in the vehicles, which I'm guessing are reserved for the Nobility and their Regents) are likely few and kept under watch by the Barons.
Except that widespread literacy was a more recent historical development than the widespread use of firearms by at least a couple of centuries. Plenty of people in the past were able to make gunpowder and guns without knowing how to read, because they learned the skills and knowledge through apprenticeship and hands-on training.
Perhaps some of the resources and infrastructure needed for mass-production of firearms and gunpowder aren't around anymore? They have Poppy fields for Opium but no machinery for production, they talk about Oil fields but again we see little machinery so I'm guessing the pumps are all via manual labor as well.
For all we know, there just isn't much saltpeter around in the area the series takes place in.
For all we know, there just isn't much saltpeter around in the area the series takes place in.
I wish that were the case. Sadly, the explanation given in the show was simply "the barons banned guns".
But guns have been around for over a thousand years. You don't need industrial-era technology to make them, just skilled smiths. Besides, if they're able to keep old cars and lighting fixtures and the like in good repair, why can't they do the same with antique firearms?
Hmm... looking into it, it seems that one of the main natural sources of saltpeter is limestone caves, some of which are found in Tennessee and Kentucky. The show seems to be set in the American South, and is filmed in New Orleans. So I guess the question is just how expansive the Badlands are.
It would take a transporter or gun-powder eating bug to do that--and then--they'd use crossbows or airguns.
No mass shootings, but unless you were a skilled fighter, you'd be out of luck. Then too--I've seen something like clip fed, repeating crossbows.
The Widow and one of her fight scenes reminded me of the Divinyls song "I Touch Myself". Emily Beecham and the lead singer look alike and the setting looks the same.
Another thing, I wondered if Azra was New York City. The city we see on the medallion and the card looks like a shot of New York taken from Central Park.
Given that the show is filmed in New Orleans and evidently set there (since where else do they have cemeteries like that?), it occurs to me that "Azra" could be a corruption of "Atlanta."
Are we even certain that this is set on Earth?
Orson Scott Card had these books where a net of mind controlling satellites were censoring creativity and invention to keep humanity in a state of limbo where they could thrive without having a global war, by making sure that some concepts were impossible to realize. After twenty thousand years and no maintenance, or replacement due to wear and tear, the satellite net had to allow for the invention of things like the crossbow and horse drawn wagons/carts despite allowing medicine and computers the whole time.
Orson Scott Card had these books where a net of mind controlling satellites were censoring creativity and invention to keep humanity in a state of limbo where they could thrive without having a global war, by making sure that some concepts were impossible to realize. After twenty thousand years and no maintenance, or replacement due to wear and tear, the satellite net had to allow for the invention of things like the crossbow and horse drawn wagons/carts despite allowing medicine and computers the whole time.
Just going by the picture of the cityscape, that does work too.
The barons all live within walking distance of each other?
When they say Oil fields, how many derricks are we really talking about? Considering the man power available, when they say oil fields, it's possible they're just talking about the state reserve that was a billion gallons 20 years ago, in a tank under a corn field.
When they say Oil fields, how many derricks are we really talking about? Considering the man power available, when they say oil fields, it's possible they're just talking about the state reserve that was a billion gallons 20 years ago, in a tank under a corn field.
^The actor, Marton Csokas, is indeed 49.
It's pretty much a given that Quinn being stronger and heavier than the Widow should've easily have beaten her. But he ahd his hands full this week.
Different fighting styles, because of different dimensions and weight of the fighters.
The smaller you are the faster you have to be to achieve multiple proportionately less critical strikes because you weapons are lighter and you have less power behind them.
The bigger you are, the more hits you can take, and more likely that you can destroy your opponent with one critical strike, which is harder to get, since you're slower.
It's a question of trading off those two until you reach an equitable equilibrium.
The Mountain vs the Viper.
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2IYyywZMs[/yt]
The smaller you are the faster you have to be to achieve multiple proportionately less critical strikes because you weapons are lighter and you have less power behind them.
The bigger you are, the more hits you can take, and more likely that you can destroy your opponent with one critical strike, which is harder to get, since you're slower.
It's a question of trading off those two until you reach an equitable equilibrium.
The Mountain vs the Viper.
[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2IYyywZMs[/yt]