After viewing the first episode of Sherlock, A Study in Pink, it is blatantly
clear that it is filled with several key semiotic concepts. The BBC adaptions
of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s characters are successfully portrayed in creating a
thrilling mystery show. From how Sherlock and Dr. Watson act around each other,
actions leading into more perplexing depth, and just the overall cinematography
of the show, it really succeeds at making the viewer want to dissect the
episode using some of Sherlock’s detective abilities.
Over the course of the episode, we learned vital
information about Sherlock’s psyche, which, in the end, leads up to his
decision in a life or death situation. The syntagmatic analysis of this is that
Sherlock does things because he’s bored. In the beginning of the episode, we
learn that he gets excited of the fact that there are more deaths in the case,
and that he also does detective work because they intrigue him, since he doesn’t
get paid for it. Knowing this attribute about him explains why he wanted to
take a chance at taking the pill in the end, which might have caused his
ultimate demise.
An example of synecdoche, which is a prominent one in
this episode, is the symbolism of Dr. Watson’s cane. It is shown as being a
sign of weakness holding Watson back. There are times when he struggles to keep
up with Sherlock, due to this hindrance. Another example of syntagmatic
analysis that parallels this thought is his time spent with Sherlock allows him
to attain more confidence. This causes him to be able to walk and run without a
cane, and overall, become more decisive about his actions.
This is just a scratch at the surface of the semiotic infused
episode of Sherlock. These techniques
gain our attention and allow us to engage in the show by analyzing the
information given. A lot of these subsets of semiotics allow this episode to
succeed in providing the viewer with what they crave, mystery.
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