Cultural Influence Of Sherlock Holmes

HISTORY
Sir Conan-Doyle wrote his first Sherlock Holmes book in 1886, A study in Scarlet. The fictitious character Sherlock Holmes was inspired by a real-life person Dr. Joseph Bell, a renowned scientist at the Edinburgh University. Sir Conan-Doyle wrote 56 short stories and 4 novels making 60 adventures in total. Sherlock Holmes lived at 221B, Baker Street and was a tenant of Ms. Hudson. Despite having such a strict habit, Sherlock has been described as untidy. Sherlock is also a moody character. Holmes also appears to undergo depression which is accompanied by pipe smoking and playing violin. Dr. Watson an army doctor accompanied Sherlock in his expeditions, Holmes’s character has been translated to other media as well, and he is widely known on both stage and screen. The earliest actor to have essayed the role is William Gillette (a founding member of the New York Holmes society still known as the Baker Street Irregulars), who gave several popular theatrical portrayals at the turn of the 20th century. Those who appeared as Holmes on-screen include Basil Rathbone, Peter Cushing, Robert Downey jr., Benedict Cumberbatch.

CULTURAL INFLUENCE
when we talk about the occupation of a detective the first picture that comes to our mind is usually of a person wearing a cape and a deerstalker with a magnifying glass and a smoking pipe and this entire image can be related to Sherlock Holmes. There have been various media references to Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock has been an inspiration for many fictional characters (ike the Walt Disney movie ‘The Great Mouse Detective’ where the character of the mouse has been inspired from Sherlock Holmes). The character of detective Bobby from Law and Order: Criminal Intent is based on Sherlock Holmes.

The Holmesian speculation
This was also known as the Holmesian Game or just The Game, it is a practice of discussing the stories of Sherlock Holmes beyond the end of the story or making the elongating the story by imagining a back story. The main aim of this practice is to clarify some anomalies also Holmes and Dr. Watson are considered real people.

SEMIOTICS
In Star Trek: The next generation, Data takes on the character of Holmes in the episode “Elementary dear Data” (reference to famous dialogue ‘Elementary, my dear Watson)

In Stark Trek VI The Undiscovered Country , Spock quoted the famous Sherlock dialogue “When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be truth.” A commercial for the game clue, Sherlock and Dr. Watson were featured as players.

HOW SHERLOCK CHANGED THE WORLD
In this movie it is mentioned that during that period of time eye witnesses were the major source of proof rather than semiotic analysis and logical analysis. Sherlock Holmes inspired the modern detective in many ways. Top forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee. “Today when I go to a crime scene, I use his logic, his method of deduction. That’s how we do it today, solving cases based on Sherlock Holmes’ logic.” Doyle used many new ideas of investigation while writing the Holmes series that are now used in modern police forces such as analysis of different types of tobacco ash and mud and soil samples to determine past locations. Many pioneers of forensic investigation cite Holmes as their teacher and inspiration in the field. And while sherlockians were present during the 20th century, the sherlock fandom a new wind in 2010 because of the show SHERLOCK starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Morgan Freeman. It was the retelling of the stories in a modern set up. The newly revived sherlock fandom took the internet by a storm. The season 2 finale showed Holmes making an attempt to die after being called fake by arch enemy Moriarty, only to be shown alive when Watson is standing near his grave. The fandom erupted. Watson has been labeled as the sidekick but in the adaptations, Watson plays an equally important role. The two characters balance each other and truly. Part of the reason that Holmes has stayed relevant for this long is because of his bond with Watson and which in turn helps him bond with the audience and make him easy to adapt with roles.