MovieChat Forums > The Wolverine (2013) Discussion > Why the Canadian flag in the bar scene?

Why the Canadian flag in the bar scene?


This is a shoddy attempt to portray this scene as Canada. There probably would never be a flag flown indoors in this country. That smacks of the US. I won't even get into the yahoo hunters, no I will.

This is Canada, again not the US. Guns are restricted. Transportation of firearms is permitted only if they are locked and unloaded. Those twats would never have gotten out of town without being arrested. And if they were Yanks as the accent suggests they would still have to obtain a temporary firearms licence.

Next, hunting with crossbows is illegal in the Yukon. Period.

Alcohol and firearms. No. Alcohol in a public place. No

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This is a shoddy attempt to portray this scene as Canada. There probably would never be a flag flown indoors in this country.


So, in other words, you don't know.

This is Canada, again not the US. Guns are restricted. Transportation of firearms is permitted only if they are locked and unloaded. Those twats would never have gotten out of town without being arrested.


Did you see a lot of police there? Did they get pulled over? Did they have to call the cops to tell them they were leaving so the cops could have checked the weapons?

Next, hunting with crossbows is illegal in the Yukon. Period.


But a guy with adamantium claws is ok? 

Alcohol and firearms. No.


I agree, but there are stupid people everywhere.

Alcohol in a public place. No


Do you mean like in a tavern or in the woods? Or do you just mean anywhere in that small town where there weren't a whole lot of cops?

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This is a shoddy attempt to portray this scene as Canada. There probably would never be a flag flown indoors in this country.

So, in other words, you don't know.


I've lived all over the north and even in the most rural places, I've never seen a Canadian flag flown indoors. So no, I'm not positive but I would probably bet C$50. on it.

Did you see a lot of police there? Did they get pulled over? Did they have to call the cops to tell them they were leaving so the cops could have checked the weapons?


There is a full time RCMP detachment in Faro. As well there is a Conservation Office right next door to the hardware store. Regardless, a firearm being discharged in the middle of town would cause a stir.

Do you mean like in a tavern or in the woods? Or do you just mean anywhere in that small town where there weren't a whole lot of cops?


Faro is the 6th largest town in the Yukon. Quite small in comparison but it grow to 5X in the summer. In hunting season there would be increased vigilance. And by public place I mean a place that the public has access to which doesn't have a liquor licence.

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And yet you accept a man with adamantium claws and unbreakable bones as well as having incredible healing properties, and a woman who can slice a bottle with her sword without breaking in or it falling apart instantly.

I mean, it is almost like this is a fantasy world or something. 

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No, fantasy is fantasy but I don't like the fact that the film-maker couldn't be bothered to respect the mores of a nation.

If he wanted US style scenes, set it in Alaska.

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Well, he just wanted it to be a little real so he set it in Little America.

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One could make the argument though that you're watching a Canada impacted by the revelation that mutants exist. For example, in the real world guns are restricted in Canada. However, could there be a push to remove those restrictions if people were concerned for their safety in a world where they could randomly encounter someone who can spew fire from his hands? I would say that's not only possible, but a reasonable expectation. From there you could then ask how that would impact Canadian society. Could it spark an increased wave of pro-nationalism that is represented in new and unexpected ways? Could people turn a blind eye to certain gun violence because those with guns are depicted as serving to protect them from the mutant "other?"

Those are things to consider. I'm not saying any of that is actually the case here or that the writers thought anywhere close to that deeply about things. All I am attempting to do is note that the introduction of fantasy elements has, in a broad sense, the potential to impact social/national mores in fiction.

It's like how people always try to say that female warriors in medieval fantasy are unrealistic. My response to that is that you're not watching/reading historical fiction. Although these fantasy worlds developed a similar structure to that of our medieval times the introduction of magic and other intelligent species radically alters things. With magic the ability to obtain power is not based on one's physical strength so men and women have an equal opportunity to advance in that area and from that you might ask if that would somwhat alter the perception of women overall, thus potentially helping people to be more accepting of women warriors. Then you have the issue that there are other species, like elves, where the same restrictions don't exist so that too could have an impact on human perception of their own population.

I could go on like that, but the point is that there are various ways to make sense of the propensity of human female warriors in such a setting because the introduction of fantastic elements would have wide sweeping consequences on a society.

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Point taken. The only problem with that is the perceived notion of what would happen in an alternate/parallel universe should probably be based on reality. The further you stray from what does happen in real life the more the narrative lacks believability. Sure, immortal superheroes with blades on their hands is a stretch but a race of Amazon women does have some sort of basis in fact. The changes in the last 100 years have been incredible. Can you imagine female cage fighters in Edwardian times? Female soldiers at the Somme? So who's to say what might happen in the future.

It's like how people always try to say that female warriors in medieval fantasy are unrealistic.


My only issue with "female warriors in medieval fantasy" is when they continually get naked for no reason, like in GoT. Sort of ruined the whole series for me.

how that would impact Canadian society. Could it spark an increased wave of pro-nationalism that is represented in new and unexpected ways? Could people turn a blind eye to certain gun violence


That's the day that I either move to Greenland or top myself. But I think that there is a certain pride in Canada regarding the "Just Society". Unfortunately, I do see a shift coming. Fear is a huge motivator.

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The only problem with that is the perceived notion of what would happen in an alternate/parallel universe should probably be based on reality. The further you stray from what does happen in real life the more the narrative lacks believability.


I would say it depends on how well it's handled. If things are simply changed for the sake of change with little critical basis for the change provided then it can come across as forced and thus create a believably issue. However, there's a point wherein the fantasy elements can become so pronounced that it's unbelievable for things not to change.

For example, an issue I have with comics pertains to banks. Some destructive super powered individual seems to rob or attempt to rob one every week. Why then do these institutions still exist? Obviously the answer is that it's not something that writers thought of too deeply and/or it's being ignored for the sake of providing a familiar and easy source of conflict. However, in my mind, that sort of massive security issue would prompt governments to switch to entirely electronic currency and the impact of that is something that can be explored in a way that elevates the story, rather than detracts from it. Maybe it doesn't work. Maybe it throws the world economy into chaos either because the shift is too abrupt or because there are powers that allow for the easy manipulation of electronic currency. In which case, there should be even more changes to society to the point where it may not be entirely recognizable.

The end result of all that may be something too divergent from modern society for select personal tastes (not everyone likes fantasy worlds and that's fine). Someone may prefer something like the original Spider-man trilogy where the world is largely the same except for the fact that a handful of people have superpowers. However, I don't think you can get that from a concept like the one that X-men has. The ramifications of there being millions of super powered people living among a majority powerless population is something that can't not seriously impact society and thus the attempt to portray that is something that I think is necessary in order to maintain believably.

Sure, immortal superheroes with blades on their hands is a stretch but a race of Amazon women does have some sort of basis in fact. The changes in the last 100 years have been incredible. Can you imagine female cage fighters in Edwardian times? Female soldiers at the Somme? So who's to say what might happen in the future.


There's no evidence that there was a "race" of Amazons but it is based in fact in the sense that there have always been individual women who bucked tradition and donned the warrior role in society and also that the Greeks had contact with nomadic people where women warriors were an accepted part of society.

Unfortunately, in medieval society these depictions of women warriors were not often glorified in the same sense that figures like Athena was in Greco-Roman society. Rather, they were regularly demonized in order to send a societal message that following in their footsteps was bad. Thus they were depicted in terms that could have been considered very "un-womanly" and "hideous" even while their actions often led to their doom. "Beowulf" is an example of that.

In any case, this is kind of my point. Societal changes happen in interesting ways. Thus, just as we can imagine a fictional fantasy medieval setting wherein women warriors are common because of our knowledge of women warriors at various points in history, we can imagine a fictional "near future" where the existence of mutants have influenced things like gun laws. The reason being that fear driven responses to changes in gun laws is not new to us. It may be "new" to a certain part of the world but if it can happen in one place it can happen in another and thus I would say that this sort of thing also has a basis in fact and thus is not a stretch.

My only issue with "female warriors in medieval fantasy" is when they continually get naked for no reason, like in GoT. Sort of ruined the whole series for me.


Agreed. There's no question that they're often handled poorly in terms of their physical portrayals. Unfortunately, they often exist less to empower and more to be salacious. Hence, also, the absurd "armor" that they often wear in a lot of pop fantasy, which would offer them no real world protection.

That perhaps adds to the issue certain people seem to have with their existence. If they're not treated seriously then it can be difficult to take them seriously, thus contributing to the believably of their existence within that setting. However, there are some very good depictions out there. I actually think "A Song of Ice and Fire" provides a very solid example of one in Brienne of Tarth. However, I have only read the books so I don't know how well her character has been adapted to "Game of Thrones." Supposedly there's a lot more senseless nudity in the show than in the books from what a friend of mine who got disgusted with the show for that reason told me. She is also not a fan of fantasy women with non-functional sexualized armor and what she refers to as "excessive" breast size.

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[deleted]

Being patriotic is like being proud that you got 10 fingers and a pair of ears at birth. Please explain to me how that deserves respect. There's no effort involved whatsoever.

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[deleted]

Written by Americans. Probably wrote what they knew, and only added a Canadian flag during production to show that Logan was back in Canada.


http://www.freewebs.com/demonictoys/

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Why are you so butt hurt about a scene whose location is absolutely trivial in the movie. *beep* take a Xanax

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Can't say for Yukon, but I stayed in Montreal for a bit, flags everywhere. But the US? It takes place in Canada, was shot in Sydney. They probably stuck a flag there to remind the audience where the characters are. From filming locations... "Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Yukon Bar Fight Scene)"

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"Alcohol in a public place. No." Hahahaha!!! No, we're just all so sweet and nice in Canada, that never happens. We might hurt someone's feelings.

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