Sherlock Blog Post -- Lindsay Rance

The first episode of Sherlock begins with John Watson having a flashback of fighting in Afghanistan. This tells the viewer that this man is a soldier and is probably traumatized. During this time the music is very slow and quiet. It isn't until after Watson meets Sherlock that the music begins to pick up. When Sherlock introduces himself and says the address of their apartment, the music gets really loud and upbeat. 

Throughout the entire episode, the lighting and the atmosphere of the show are complimentary of one another. All of the characters, besides Mrs. Hudson and the last murder victim, are wearing dark colors. This compliments the fact that the London weather is very rainy and presumably cold. The lighting makes everyone and everything look cold which furthers this observation. The lighting also drastically changes after the cabbie reveals how he is going to kill Sherlock.

The camera work also helps with the telling of the story. When we watch the victims "commit suicide," the scenes flash from before they take the pill (when they are happy) and then darkness, then cutting to the victims crying and taking the pill. This is to give the story some mystery and tells the viewer that something darker is happening. 

There is a lot of symbolism in the show. The biggest symbol is probably Watson's cane. In the beginning it represents Watson's trauma from the war and how he still ties himself to being in the army. We find out that he actually misses being in battle so having that cane aids in his identity of being a soldier. However, as his relationship with Sherlock develops the cane slowly disappears. This shows how Watson is beginning to let go of the war and how he found a new adventure in aiding Sherlock. 

When doing the paradigmatic analysis, I realized that there are two separate "good vs. evil" relationships in play. The first one being Sherlock against the police. The police see Sherlock as evil because he's a sociopath and he reveals truths about them that they'd rather keep secret. Sherlock sees them as evil because they tend to mess up the investigation with their stupidity. The only people who see Sherlock as the good guy are the people he's helped (restaurant manager, Mrs. Hudson) along with Detective Lestrade and Watson. 

The other "good vs. evil" relationship I identified is Sherlock vs. Moriarty. This relationship reveals some intertextuality as well because in the book, Sherlock's arch nemesis was Moriarty. In the show, Moriarty isn't mentioned until the very end. When he is, there is absolute silence throughout the scene. This shows the seriousness of Sherlock's new opponent and somewhat foreshadows the battle to come.

Signifier/Signified	- The flashing images of the victims before they were murdered to when they took the pill - The lighting: very bleak; fits the atmosphere of foggy London - The music: would become intense when certain lines were said or specific plot points were revealed - The wardrobe: everyone besides the Mrs. Hudson and the last murder victim wore neutral colors
Syntagmatic Analysis	- A murder mystery which brings John and Sherlock closer together (beginning of their story)
Paradigmatic Analysis	- Sherlock vs. the police department: they all think he’s psychotic while he thinks they’re idiots; Donovan predicts that one day Sherlock might kill someone - Sherlock vs. “Moriarty”: this isn’t revealed until the very end of the show. Sherlock realizes that there is a “worthy competitor” out there
Metaphor	- Sherlock’s apartment represents his mind. - John’s cane use. - The pill battle with the cabbie represents Sherlock’s need to be right about everything.
Icon	- The cane shows up more in the beginning because it shows how John doesn’t want to move on from the war; it disappears when he finds a new adventure with Sherlock - London becomes John’s new battlefield
Symbols	- The cane - The street map of London that hinted at Sherlock’s thinking process
Indexes	- John’s friend who introduces him to Sherlock - The pink suitcase/pink cellphone
Intertextuality	- Same characters from the books are in the show