Blog #2

For this week's post I will be analyzing episode one of the "Sherlock" series on Netflix. Many of us have seen the actual movie "Sherlock Holmes" and even in the show some of the same characteristics of the movie character are in this Sherlock. The show is from a British television network which is important to include while doing an analysis of the show due to the fact that the British culture will be reflected from the way the characters talk, dress, even their cars.

The show opens with the audience being introduced to Dr. John Watson whom we quickly find out is a soldier returning from war, and dealing with the emotional and physical trauma inflicted on him during the war. Though we find out that instead of being damaged and ruined by war, he misses the life of thrill and is bored of the one he is currently living. Dr. Watson is pictured in a basic room, dimly lit, plain colors, almost reflecting the military style. The lighting of the room especially adds to the setting giving off the emptiness Dr. Watson feels. We can see that the military is still a part of his life from the style of his home, to his plain haircut and clothes. He is essentially a reflection of the military. The boredom of John's life becomes clear as ever when the therapist begins to talk to him about his blog and how writing about everything that happens to him, but he simply replies "Nothing happens to me.

Not too long after meeting John, the show introduces us to Sherlock Holmes whom turns out to be exactly what John has been needing in his life. Sherlock Holmes is the complete opposite of boring. From his messy curly hair, to light eyes, to the way he is dressed, it is evident that Sherlock isn't someone you see in every day life. When you place the two side by side, you can see how extraordinary Sherlock is compared to John. This becomes more important as the episode goes on because while the two work on the crime together, John begins to signify and take on the role of a sidekick. The hero is always more appealing to the eye, while the sidekick is more casual. Sherlock almost instantly analyzes Dr. John Watson and his past just by paying attention to the smallest detail. He invites John to be his flatmate right off the back and from there a match is basically made in Heaven here. When John arrives at Sherlock's flat he sees that unlike him, Sherlock is messy. The room has items scattered everywhere and is quite cluttered, but the catch is that although the place is a mess, Sherlock still notices when the skull isn't in it's place. Sherlock's living space in turn can be viewed as a metaphor of his mind. Sherlock is a fast thinker, instantly analyzes, and always has something going on in his head. Though his mind is everywhere everything still has a place. Prior to meeting Sherlock, John uses a cane to help him get around. However, the more time he spends with Sherlock solving the murder case, we see John using his cane much less. At one point he forgets the cane in a restaurant. The cane signifies John's safety blanket and symbolizes more of the emotional torment he feels inside. By the end of the episode we learn that John doesn't even have a wound in his legs, he was actually shot in his left shoulder.

I feel like this episode was such a great example for semiotics, there's a number of signifers, symbols, intertextuality, codes, icons, etc. found in this episode. The more you watch it, the more you seem to notice them and see things you didn't before. Once again, I've fallen victim to binge watching a show on Netflix introduced by Professor Johnson. I also feel that we can learn a lot from Sherlock, because the way he pays attention to detail is how we need to analyze things especially in this class.