In City of Ember, all resident must adhere to the Oath of Loyalty, a commitment to the current government and all preceding leaders. Under threat of arrest, the people of Ember must follow this creed: “We are each a beacon. Beyond Ember the darkness goes on forever in all directions. Ours is the only light in a dark world.”
Isolation in the City of Ember
In the underground city of Ember, fueled and lit by a mighty generator designed to last 200 years, its inhabitants know nothing of their past or that their time is running out. When Builders designed this city for the few survivers (due to mass destruction on the surface of the planet), they planned for each generation of mayors to carry on the secret within a sealed metal box until the time was right to open it. An unexpected death, however, broke the cycle.
Now starving, impoverished, and desperate to revive the broken generator, inhabitants of Ember are led by the corrupt Mayor Cole (Bill Murray). The clothing of the city’s inhabitants, including antique hard hats that pipe works employees wear with each generation’s names etched into them, show their ties to the past and inability to obtain materials outside their own sheltered world.
Clothing and Isolation
Barely able to contain his bloated belly, the clothing of the Mayor reflects his place in society. He wears a fancy suit comprised of pieces of other well-worn suits, an indication that he merely follows a long line of other Mayors. Although the suits before him (as indicated by a line of paintings in his office building) once had style, his patchwork clothing is a mixed-up mess, much like the Mayor himself.
Similarly, Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan) wear clothes that reflect the city’s isolation and impoverished conditions. A descendent of an early town mayor and now an orphaned teenager, she finds the lost metal box and attempts to learn the meaning of its contents. The granddaughter of the wool shop owner, Lina wears layers of clothing made of bits of colorful knitted material.
Ruth Myers, Costume Designer
Directed by Gil Kenan (Monster House), produced by Playtone's Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, and written by Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands), City of Ember employed costume designer Ruth Myers to create its grim glimpse into the future. Myers had worked with Kenan before on the animated character costumes in Monster House.
“We’re working in a unique world, where there are no obvious references,” Myers said in the production notes for City of Ember. “I’m used to working on fantasy films, but this is different from anything else – it’s kind of organic science fiction.”
Costumes are Embellished and Altered
Creating costumes with her team in Belfast, Myers made clothing for all the principal actors in addition to 400 actors. The costumes were made from scratch using patches, rubber piping, carpeting, and other unusual types of material. Each costume was designed and made specifically for the film.
“These people are all clad in work clothes which, because of the shortage of raw materials, are all more than fifty years old, so they’ve all embellished and altered their uniforms and overalls….If you look closely you’ll see that the Mayor’s guards’ armor is made from linoleum. You can inject a lot of gentle humor into clothes like these.”
For more information about clothing in the movies, read Clothing in She’s the Man and Clothing in the Movies and on TV.
