DC TV and tiny cells

[Morrus]

There's this thing I've been noticing about the DC television shows. Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, they all do this thing where they casually throw captured foes permanently into tiny unfurnished cages. These cages make prison look like luxury - not even a bed. And, as far as I can tell, people stay there for ever. You occasionally see them being fed, but that's about it.

Anyone else noticed this?

 

[ccs]

I've noticed it in Flash when I binge watched the 1st season.
Though to be fair, where they were keeping prisoners wasn't really ever designed for that....
I figured they'd make a better plan in season 2.

I noticed it some in Arrow. (Only seen S1-3)
SG I've yet to see an episode of.
I hate watching this stuff 1 episode/week. So I just let the season wrap & then watch the entire thing over about 2 weeks. Puts me about 9 months behind everyone else. (I dont care about spoilers.)

But do you think that's intentional? An over sight? Building to something?

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yep, I noticed...not happy about it, either. The inhumane conditions are definitely anti-heroic.

 

[Morrus]

It's completely bizarre. There aren't even toilet facilities. Not a pillow or blanket. No books, nothing. I've seen TV shows looking at death row in America, and even those places have beds and TVs and books and blankets. Supergirl is the worst, because the casually imprisoned foes are kept for life in transparent 5' wide hexagonal boxes in the middle of otherwise empty rooms.

In these images, people have been kept in these bare cages for very long periods of time. They're not the best pics, but the best I could quickly find. These things aren't even commented on.

Supergirl cells:

Arrow:

Flash:

 

[Scott DeWar]

Wow, never really thought about it. For some reason I thought it was supposed to be a stasis cell.

 

[Homicidal_Squirrel]

I think it's just lazy writing. The writers just want to show the villains being secured. They probably assume you're too distracted by all the good the heroes are doing to notice they have little care for the humane treatment of those they capture.

 

[Tonguez]

It has been noticed and commented on a few times, including on Ciscos tumblr account but its still creepy as heck.
The Flash specifically has had a couple of deleted scenes and off hand comments about how they feed the inmates takeaways (Mardon eats Thai every night) but the toilette regimes are left mysterious.

Of course we also saw in the Rogue Air episode that Prisoners are periodically moved on to the ARGUS prison on Lian Yu.

But yes it seems to be a particular design ascetic of the shows, which I don't think they've put too much thought into and which the audience is suppose to just accept. And to be fair, the same set up happens in almost every show/movie - I recall Magnetos glass cell in X2, Hannibal Lecters cell and the prison in Avatar the Last airbender too.

 

[Ryujin]

I've thought about it and consider it to be a very deliberate choice, to satisfy and attract a specific demographic.

 

[Kramodlog]

Budget constraints.

 

[Morrus]

But yes it seems to be a particular design ascetic of the shows, which I don't think they've put too much thought into and which the audience is suppose to just accept. And to be fair, the same set up happens in almost every show/movie - I recall Magnetos glass cell in X2, Hannibal Lecters cell and the prison in Avatar the Last airbender too.

Hannibal Lecter's cell was quite comfortable by comparison. Bed, sink, painting tools, desk.