It's Oscar season once again, and as we have discussed before, the Academy often nominates films set in San Francisco. This year is no exception. Previous nominees take place in either contemporary (Blue Jasmine, Foul Play, and Bullitt) or historical (Milk and The Pursuit of Happyness) versions of San Francisco. This year, however, two Oscar nominated films are set in San Franciscos of alternate universes.
In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, nominated for visual effects, Marin County apes swing across the Golden Gate Bridge to challenge the last remaining humans living in the overgrown ruins of post-Simian Flu San Francisco.
In contrast, the Japanese-influenced landscape of San Fransokyo in Big Hero 6, nominated for animated feature, is bright and modern.
The San Francisco History Center is no stranger to imaginative concepts of San Franciscos that might-have-been. Our 2013 exhibition for "Unbuilt SF" included plans for a Twin Peaks monument, an alternative City Hall, a freeway that would have run the length of the Panhandle, alternative sites for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and renovated Sutro Baths. More alternate San Franciscos can be found in the History Center's stacks and ephemera files. Come up to the sixth floor of the Main Library to study Daniel Burnham's 1905 plans for the city, which included extending the Panhandle to Hayes Valley. Or look into our vertical files: SF.BRIDGES.PROPOSED CROSSINGS for alternate plans of SF Bay crossings such as the Butterfly Bridge.
While we like San Francisco just the way it is, there are several books and movies that imagine an alternate-universe or alternate-history San Francisco. Along with the recent Planet of the Apes film and Big Hero 6, you might want to check out these titles:
Coming soon: San Andreas
In Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, nominated for visual effects, Marin County apes swing across the Golden Gate Bridge to challenge the last remaining humans living in the overgrown ruins of post-Simian Flu San Francisco.
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| via 20th Century Fox |
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| via Walt Disney Animation Studios |
The San Francisco History Center is no stranger to imaginative concepts of San Franciscos that might-have-been. Our 2013 exhibition for "Unbuilt SF" included plans for a Twin Peaks monument, an alternative City Hall, a freeway that would have run the length of the Panhandle, alternative sites for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, and renovated Sutro Baths. More alternate San Franciscos can be found in the History Center's stacks and ephemera files. Come up to the sixth floor of the Main Library to study Daniel Burnham's 1905 plans for the city, which included extending the Panhandle to Hayes Valley. Or look into our vertical files: SF.BRIDGES.PROPOSED CROSSINGS for alternate plans of SF Bay crossings such as the Butterfly Bridge.
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| Image of proposed San Francisco Butterfly Bridge from Pacific Road Builder and Engineering Review, June 1953. SF.BRIDGES.PROPOSED CROSSINGS.BUTTERFLY BRIDGE (SF Public Library) |
While we like San Francisco just the way it is, there are several books and movies that imagine an alternate-universe or alternate-history San Francisco. Along with the recent Planet of the Apes film and Big Hero 6, you might want to check out these titles:
- The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
- The Iron Heel by Jack London
- Big Trouble in Little China
- The Book of Eli (Check out how they created post-apocalyptic SF in this YouTube video.)
- Star Trek and Star Trek: Into Darkness (For more on the Star Trek/San Francisco connection head over to Memory Alpha - The Star Trek Wiki.)
Coming soon: San Andreas
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