Comparing the original Sherlock Holmes to the BBCs adaptation - Essay Example

Comparing the original Sherlock Holmes to the BBC’s adaptation Literary works produced in earlier years often tend to be adapted and reproduced to fit current lifestyles, especially if such works stirred great interest in their original formats. As such, books, novels, short stories among others can be reproduced in a different genre, for example in a film. The process of adapting and reproducing a literary work is often challenging and can lead to some degree of distortion of the original work. The distortion occurs when the producers, for example, try to fit a character to modern times and the probable scenarios that the character would play. This essay analyses the character of Dr. Watson in the original “complete Sherlock Holmes” by Conan Doyle and compares how this character is portrayed in the BBC’s adaptation of the same work. In “The complete Sherlock Holmes”, the author, Arthur Conan Doyle takes the reader trough an adventure which is the life of Sherlock Holmes, and how this character dedicated his life to solving crimes through deductive reasoning. In Doyle’s work, the story of Sherlock’s life is told by his close friend, and partner in solving crimes, Dr. Watson. Dr. Watson is a medical doctor returns home after being forced cease being an army doctor and leave Afghanistan after suffering a shoulder injury (Doyle 7-8). Similarities between the original and the adaptation In Sherlock, the BBC’s adaptation of Doyle’s work, Dr. Watson’s character is played by a heterosexual man who shares a platonic relationship with Sherlock. Just like The Complete Sherlock Holmes, the original version, Dr. Watson in the BBC adaptation is portrayed as a straight man who even gets married to a woman, Mary Morstan. In Doyle’s book, Sherlock and Dr. Watson had what is described as a homosocial relationship with Sherlock, in which male friends maintain a special bond but do not practice homosexuality. According to McLaughlin, although Sherlock and Dr. Watson retain their close relationship as male platonic friends, they also retain their masculinity by helping people solve crimes (23). Ideally, Dr. Watson’s professional friendship is what keeps Sherlock from becoming a criminal degenerate (McLaughlin, 21). Changes in the adaptation Dr. Watson is portrayed as a heterosexual man although many people suspect the possibility that Dr. Watson is attracted to Sherlock. For example, in A Scandal in Belgravia, Irene alder, the gay woman accuses Dr. Watson of being jealous of her flirting with Sherlock. Dr. Watson asserts that he is not gay, to which Irene responds” well I am. Look at us both” (A Scandal in Belgravia, Moffat 2010). This indirect reference to Dr. Watson’s sexuality makes the audience doubt whether Dr. Watson is really heterosexual. In the original “Scandal in Bohemia”, no such reference is made and in fact Dr. Watson and Irene do not engage much in conversation (Doyle 120). In addition, in the BBC adaptation, in the opening scenes of A Study in Pink Dr. Watson asks Sherlock whether he has a girlfriend, to which Sherlock responds in the negative (Moffat 2010). Sherlock also denies having a boyfriend, to which Dr. Watson responds, “Right, okay. You’re unattached, like me.” It seems as if Dr. Watson is making advances towards Sherlock, thus prompting the latter to say “John, I think you should know that I consider myself married to my work. And while I’m flattered by your interest, I’m really not looking for anything”(A Study in Pink, Moffat 2010). Such scenes are absent from the original work by Doyle, thus although not portraying Dr. Watson as homosexual, serve to suggest the possibility of him being attracted to Sherlock. In another scenario, while chatting with Mrs. Hudson, Dr. Watson tells her that he is moving out because he has found someone and they are getting married. Mrs. Hudson asks the name of the man that Dr. Watson is going to marry, thus implying that it is clear that Dr. Watson is gay. In addition, Mrs. Hudson seems surprised that Dr. Watson has gotten over Sherlock and is already marrying someone else. At this instance, Dr. Watson is forced to defend himself saying “…Sherlock was not my boyfriend…listen to me: I am not gay!”(Moffat 2010). Reasons for the changes in gender markers in the adaptation The main reason for the slight change in the gender markers for Dr. Watson is concerned with the progress made by the modern society in accepting various sexual orientations. In quoting digital spy (2010), Stein & Busse write that according to Moffat, the producer of Sherlock, the series alludes to the possibility of a sexual relationship between Sherlock and Watson because the modern society does not disapprove of such a relationship (206). This non-judgmental attitude is a clear deviation from the Victorian era during which The Complete Sherlock Holmes was written, considering that in that era it was impossible to allude to such sexual orientations. In essence, according to Stein & Busse there has been a great degree of enthusiasm from fans of Sherlock for the possibility of a peculiar relationship between Dr. Watson and Sherlock (221). In fact, according to the screen writer, Mr. Moffat, who also produced “Dr. Who?” he had been criticized by fans for failing to include some sort of queerness in his previous shows, thus he decided to make Sherlock’s and Dr. Watson’s relationship queer. The Relationship between the changes and modern-day gender expectations The fact that the writers of the BBC series toy with the idea that Dr. Watson and Sherlock could actually be having a sexual relationship shows how far the modern society has come in as far as accepting differences in sexual orientations. This means that people who practice bisexuality and homosexuality are getting recognition and not being shunned by the society, as was the practice during the Victorian days. However, the fact that the BBC series only toys with the idea of a homosexual relationship between Dr. Watson and Sherlock, while it has no intention of creating such a relationship is demoralizing to the Gender/Sexual Minorities (GSM). The fact is that the GSM community would be very proud of being represented in such a popular show. Such sentiments notwithstanding, the BBC producers seem to sort of downplay the existence of such relationships, or continue to shun them although not to such a great extent as that witnessed during the Victorian times. This means that although bisexuality and homosexuality have come to be accepted in modern times, there still exists a certain disapproval rate for such relationships. For example, according to digital spy, Benedict Cumberbatch, who plays the character of Sherlock in the series denied that Sherlock and Dr. Watson are gay, instead choosing to refer to their relationship as bromance (2010). Cumberbatch adds that “…it’s probably the first ever bromance… it’s a beautiful thing.” The last statement could be interpreted to mean that if Sherlock and Dr. Watson were indeed gay, then their relationship would not be “a beautiful thing”. This depicts some degree of homophobia which is rude to the GSM community. Causes of anxiety in the adaptation Many scenarios in the BBC’s adaptation of Sherlock cause anxiety to the viewer with regard to the gender markers of Dr. Watson. For instance, in A Study in Pink, when Sherlock and Dr. Watson are searching for a room at Mrs. Hudson’s apartment, the latter tells them “there’s another bedroom upstairs, if you’ll need two bedrooms” (Moffat 2010). In this sense, Mrs. Hudson is alluding to the likelihood that the two men could be homosexuals and thus no need for an extra bedroom since they will share one. This scenario causes anxiety because the viewer is anxious to know the response that will be given by the two men and Dr. Watson in particular because it is his sexuality which is often in doubt. The whole use of gay jokes in the series is at first funny and understandable, considering that one would expect people to be suspicious of two males moving into the same flat and going for dinner. However, at some point, the jokes cease to be funny and create some sort of anxiety in the viewer who wonders whether the producers are not just queer-baiting. The fact that almost everyone continues to imply that Sherlock and Dr. Watson may be gay, but then troll on the idea of such a possibility is not right. It is pitiful that the producers of Sherlock make the allusion that two males cannot have a close relationship without being misjudged. Making the audience comfortable In relation to the gender markers concerning Dr. Watson and Sherlock’s friendship, there are few scenarios that make the audience comfortable. Mostly, the gender markers Sherlock would only be comfortable for conservative viewers who still have not fully accepted the right to different sexual orientations. For instance, a conservative viewer would get comforted by the declaration by Dr. Watson that he is not Sherlock’s date in A Study in Pink (Moffat 2010). Additionally, the producers of Sherlock felt the need to clarify on Dr. Watson’s sexual orientation when he says “but for the record – if anyone out there still cares- I’m not actually gay.” Such a statement would only provide comfort to homophobic people, otherwise, liberal thinking viewers would be somewhat offended by how less the producers care about the GSM community. This said, however, it would appear as though the general public, while not being homophobic, would prefer for Dr. Watson and Sherlock to remain as just close friends and not take the gay route. Sherlock continuing on being the asexual who does not care for a sex life and Dr. Watson being the heterosexual who adores his best friend provide some sort of comfort that the original “The Complete Sherlock Holmes” is not distorted and that two distinct males can have a special friendship. Conclusion Sherlock, the BBC’s adaptation of “The Complete Sherlock Holmes” continues to portray Dr. Watson and Sherlock as two males having a close non-sexual relationship just like the original piece. However, the BBC’s version is more daring towards creating doubt on the gender markers of Dr. Watson, by making it appear as if the latter is attracted to Sherlock. The frequent allusions by people that the two could be gay serve to create anxiety in the viewer concerning whether subsequent scenes will reveal that in deed Dr. Watson and Sherlock are romantically involved. However, this scenario does not happen and viewers are kept in anxiety over whether the series will end that way. Keeping the viewers in suspense over the sexual orientation of particularly Dr. Watson is good for interest retention, but the producers concentrate too much on making gay jokes that it almost becomes offensive for gay people and other GSM. A good percentage of the society has come to accept the GSM and as such, it is not appropriate to keep on joking about such a sensitive matter. Works Cited Doyle, Arthur. The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Volume1. New York: Barnes & Noble Classics.2003, Print. McLaughlin, Rebecca. A Study in Sherlock: Revisiting the Relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson. In BSU Honors Program Theses and Projects. 2013. Web. 2014. Sherlock. Dir. Moffat, Steven. Perf. Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman, and Laura Pulver. Hartswood Films, 2010.DVD. Sperling, Daniel. Cumberbatch, Moffat: ‘Sherlock’s not Gay’. 2010. Web. 2014. Stein, Louisa & Busse, Kristina. Sherlock and Transmedia Fandom: Essays on the BBC Series. 2012, Print. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. Read More