I love cartoons. And color theory. <3 <3 <3
(If the bad guy's who I think it is in this ep, I'm going to be slightly put off. Didn't they do that one in BTAS?)
So I nattered earlier about color theory in Batman:TAS. In the early series, we had low saturated colors- lots of browns and grey-blues with red accents. A lot of the atmosphere was in the sky- it is *always* dark in Gotham, no matter what time of day, what time of year. Which was excellent for the feelings of gloom and darkness over the city.
In Gotham Knights, though... the sky is always- always- red. During the day. During the night. What changes is the lighting on the buildings and people, but I'm trying to remember if the sky itself ever goes blue or purple, cooler colors... I think a couple of times. But overwhelmingly, the sky in Gotham is *blood red.* The cool, low saturated colors evoked a gloomy, hopelessness, but the red is a *warm* color, and tends to take over in things. Red is overwhelming. Red is *intense*. And honestly, it makes it look a little bit like it's set in Hell. Not entirely inappropriate.
And it makes me think about the city. Because- the way I view Gotham- the only way that a lot of Batman stories make any sense to me- is that the city has a spirit, and it's a deadly one. I'm not sure all cities in the DC universe do, I'm not sure where it would fit in the overall mythos, which is largely less supernatural than a lot of the other sections of DC, but...for me, Gotham's hold on you isn't just metaphoric. There's some*thing* that traps you there. I don't know if I'll ever *do* anything with that idea, but it's always in the back of my mind when I'm reading/watching. It's the only reason I can explain why none of the other heroes helped with No Man's Land, for instance. Because if it were a normal city, there *would* have been aid, I think. But- as shown in the one comic where Superman comes in to try to help- Gotham is a city that has to heal itself. It rejects outside transfers. Any other way I try to think of it comes down to 'Bruce is too stubborn to ask for help, and the other heroes care more about that than about saving innocent lives,' which... I can't really stomach, and would kind of ruin my enjoyment of the story (and otherwise, *man* am I loving No Man's Land. Am about two-thirds through. Mmm, disasteriffic.)
But yes! Gotham Knights. Red sky. It plays well, I think, with the tone of the series. I'm not sure Gotham itself is in any more upheaval during this time, but... hmm. It's an interesting time for *Bruce*. He has the most family he's ever had, which on the one hand is good for him, and I'm sure he loves it. On the other, it provides more conflict, and forces (well, in his mind, anyway) him to close himself off more to be effective. It's... different than the first series in other ways, too. Tim is a very different Robin than Dick (*also* in red, I might add.) There's also a bit more acknowledgment of the dysfunction - Tim's civic test and "You don't exactly use due process...", Dick's outright saying "It was never quite right... this isn't exactly a normal childhood, you know." (both paraphrased, but about right.)
So... in conclusion, color theory= yay, and I should really go to bed because I have work in the morning. Boo.
(Man, I *totally* intended just to post "Yay! Cartoons! Also, hey, red sky. Huh." SO MUCH FOR THAT.)
(Oh, god damn it, I *knew* it. Hrrrmm. Not fond at all.)
So I nattered earlier about color theory in Batman:TAS. In the early series, we had low saturated colors- lots of browns and grey-blues with red accents. A lot of the atmosphere was in the sky- it is *always* dark in Gotham, no matter what time of day, what time of year. Which was excellent for the feelings of gloom and darkness over the city.
In Gotham Knights, though... the sky is always- always- red. During the day. During the night. What changes is the lighting on the buildings and people, but I'm trying to remember if the sky itself ever goes blue or purple, cooler colors... I think a couple of times. But overwhelmingly, the sky in Gotham is *blood red.* The cool, low saturated colors evoked a gloomy, hopelessness, but the red is a *warm* color, and tends to take over in things. Red is overwhelming. Red is *intense*. And honestly, it makes it look a little bit like it's set in Hell. Not entirely inappropriate.
And it makes me think about the city. Because- the way I view Gotham- the only way that a lot of Batman stories make any sense to me- is that the city has a spirit, and it's a deadly one. I'm not sure all cities in the DC universe do, I'm not sure where it would fit in the overall mythos, which is largely less supernatural than a lot of the other sections of DC, but...for me, Gotham's hold on you isn't just metaphoric. There's some*thing* that traps you there. I don't know if I'll ever *do* anything with that idea, but it's always in the back of my mind when I'm reading/watching. It's the only reason I can explain why none of the other heroes helped with No Man's Land, for instance. Because if it were a normal city, there *would* have been aid, I think. But- as shown in the one comic where Superman comes in to try to help- Gotham is a city that has to heal itself. It rejects outside transfers. Any other way I try to think of it comes down to 'Bruce is too stubborn to ask for help, and the other heroes care more about that than about saving innocent lives,' which... I can't really stomach, and would kind of ruin my enjoyment of the story (and otherwise, *man* am I loving No Man's Land. Am about two-thirds through. Mmm, disasteriffic.)
But yes! Gotham Knights. Red sky. It plays well, I think, with the tone of the series. I'm not sure Gotham itself is in any more upheaval during this time, but... hmm. It's an interesting time for *Bruce*. He has the most family he's ever had, which on the one hand is good for him, and I'm sure he loves it. On the other, it provides more conflict, and forces (well, in his mind, anyway) him to close himself off more to be effective. It's... different than the first series in other ways, too. Tim is a very different Robin than Dick (*also* in red, I might add.) There's also a bit more acknowledgment of the dysfunction - Tim's civic test and "You don't exactly use due process...", Dick's outright saying "It was never quite right... this isn't exactly a normal childhood, you know." (both paraphrased, but about right.)
So... in conclusion, color theory= yay, and I should really go to bed because I have work in the morning. Boo.
(Man, I *totally* intended just to post "Yay! Cartoons! Also, hey, red sky. Huh." SO MUCH FOR THAT.)
(Oh, god damn it, I *knew* it. Hrrrmm. Not fond at all.)