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Official secondary products: Granada Television’s Sherlock Holmes (1984-1994) ideologies Economically, fandom can be considered a form of customer loyalty. While not always advocating quality, the consumer has a cultivated endearment towards a product, similar to that of a fan. An actor in many ways can become the product for which the loyalty is generated. Their life or personal struggle, depending on the character they embody, can contribute to a viewer‟s investment and want of association with that actor and their portrayal. “The enthusiasm with which Sherlockians greeted Brett‟s interpretation of Holmes, and the impetus his work gave to the growth of the Sherlockian cult in the 1980s, can hardly be exaggerated” (Redmond, 2009, p. 250). Due to the repetitive medium of television, Granada‟s depiction of Holmes was gradual and serialised. Therefore, Doyle‟s tales, while not filmed in canonical order, cultivated the viewer over time. As a fan, I soon became personally attached to Granada‟s depiction, and as a result, aspects of the show provoked expanded research of the actors. In hindsight, I am aware that I have infused Jeremy Brett‟s own personal struggles with that of Holmes. On many occasions, his performance was affected by his manic depression and heart condition, and through television‟s habitual cultivation, one witnesses his deterioration of health. According to Redmond (2009), “devotees agonised with Brett when he suffered a mental collapse in 1987, [and] rejoiced when he returned to work” (p. 250). My own loyalty to the Holmes franchise is now tied to Brett‟s performance and dedication to the role. In retrospect, this added emotional element cultivated a loyalty devoid of consumerist intentions. However, does this change my position as a consumer? No, it simply makes me a more invested one. Official secondary products: Sherlock Holmes (1939-1946) images and ideologies Rathbone‟s series of fourteen Sherlock Holmes films, predominantly filmed and set in the 1940s, draws on imagery and ideological themes from World War II. Rathbone‟s career as Holmes became a cultural staple for the West; in something of an early multimedia campaign “Rathbone was introduced to both moviegoers and radio listeners as Sherlock Holmes” (Davies, 2007, p. 40). To this day, various forms of media still carry Rathbone‟s portrayal, cultivating longevity and his legendary status: “It is difficult to find a week when one of them is not being shown on some television station‟s late movie, and video rental has given them a whole new audience” (Redmond, 2009, p. 234-235). In an effort to condense Rathbone‟s Holmes catalogue I examined the imagery and ideologies of Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943). As its title 60
may suggest, this film is not a direct adaptation from one of Doyle‟s works. Instead, it is an infusion of original and newly created Holmesian scenarios. The imagery of the film reflects its context. Set during the forties, the film begins in Switzerland; Holmes appears disguised as a bookseller to avoid Nazi detection, partaking in a secret meeting. In the film Holmes lives and functions amongst telephones and cars, while Watson, portrayed ten to twenty years older then Holmes, provides comic relief as the bumbling sidekick. 221B Baker Street is surrounded by sandbags in the event of a blitz, and Professor Moriarty remains Holmes‟s arch-nemesis alongside Nazi scientists and spies. While living in a relatively altered universe, Holmes‟s moral stature, cultivated during World War I, remained applicable to a forties audience. Richardson (as cited Davies, 2007) believes that these films were “updated from their Victorian settings to incorporate patriotic and anti-fascist messages” (p. 7). Holmes‟s cultivation of an audience often relies on the social melding of image and ideology. By the end of Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943) Holmes, having just commanded the British army, speaks the words “this blessed plot . . . this England”, at the end of a patriotic monologue imbued with English sentiment and Christian themes. Holmes remains ideologically steadfast and perhaps it is this consistency of character that helps cultivates a consumer into a fan. Official secondary products: The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (1994) images: Such is the enduring popularity of Holmes that many authors have written their own Holmes stories in the wake of Conan Doyle‟s death. In fact there are now far more of these in existence than the original sixty stories. However, these pastiches are but one aspect of the huge industry that has sprung from the creation of this most famous of detectives. (Duncan, 2008, p. 5) An industry it most certainly is. In Laurie King‟s case, Holmes is merely a springboard for her own amateur detective, Mary Russell, who now stars in her own series of detective mysteries. The first novel of the series is The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (1994), in which we follow a fifteen-year-old Russell under the tutelage of her reclusive neighbour, the retired Mr Sherlock Holmes. Russell herself tells the pastiche in first person. In the tradition of many pastiches, the author provides a prelude explaining how they came to be in possession of a long-lost Holmes story. However, in this instance, King claims that this is Mary Russell‟s tale, written to reveal an image of a real and 61
Page 1 and 2:
The Case Study of Sherlock Holmes (
Page 3 and 4:
Table of Contents Attestation of Au
Page 5 and 6:
List of Figures Figure 1. Abercromb
Page 7 and 8:
Attestation of Authorship I hereby
Page 9 and 10:
Abstract This study investigates a
Page 11 and 12:
Abercrombie and Longhurst‟s audie
Page 13 and 14:
and Morgan‟s (1990) and Shanahan
Page 15 and 16: two and turn them into action” (G
Page 17 and 18: Jenkins (1992), however, would disa
Page 19 and 20: that to be a secondary phase, a res
Page 21 and 22: they designed their continuum, were
Page 23 and 24: economistic theory, alongside Aberc
Page 25 and 26: informs us that we take our communi
Page 27 and 28: Methodology This chapter explains t
Page 29 and 30: albeit in Sherlock Holmes for Dummi
Page 31 and 32: Figure 2. Original model from Maste
Page 33 and 34: and like many, have a stereotypical
Page 35 and 36: Drawing from Shanahan and Morgan (1
Page 37 and 38: Model My research advocates the the
Page 39 and 40: Creative component Critiques Regard
Page 41 and 42: ethnographic position is made on tw
Page 43 and 44: Table 2. Ethnographic order of prod
Page 45 and 46: Good Doctor to placate any qualms t
Page 47 and 48: preconception was derived from its
Page 49 and 50: and Watson in defeating Lord Blackw
Page 51 and 52: The common picture of Holmes is of
Page 53 and 54: “embrace of fiction” (p. 606) a
Page 55 and 56: was lost. Therefore, Doyle‟s orig
Page 57 and 58: this was the only Holmes novel the
Page 59 and 60: 9). While the tale and its quick pu
Page 61 and 62: his feet with a cry of pleasure.
Page 63 and 64: Cultivation analysis: Official seco
Page 65: their flaws and their frailties, in
Page 69 and 70: Holmes in the role of supporting ac
Page 71 and 72: have endeavoured to intertwine and
Page 73 and 74: Official secondary products: The Pr
Page 75 and 76: 245). Redmond‟s (2009) statement,
Page 77 and 78: “shocking affair of the Dutch ste
Page 79 and 80: cited in Jenkins, 1992, p. 32). In
Page 81 and 82: The fan Sandvoss (2005) believes th
Page 83 and 84: emotional, or cognitive); they tres
Page 85 and 86: knowledgeable fans [who] may . . .
Page 87 and 88: negative connotation, for it no lon
Page 89 and 90: Figure 6, the consumer-to-fan culti
Page 91 and 92: Creative Component Introduction Fan
Page 93 and 94: esponsible, Lord Blackwood, played
Page 95 and 96: short and are exposed as fraudulent
Page 97 and 98: Conclusion We take our communicatio
Page 99 and 100: References Abercrombie, N., & Longh
Page 101 and 102: Davies, D. S. (2009). The further a
Page 103 and 104: Doyle, A. C. (2005k). The case-book
Page 105 and 106: Jenkins, H. (2007). Afterword: The
Page 107 and 108: Signorielli, N., & Morgan, M. (1990
Page 109 and 110: Bibliography Ackroyd, P. (2001). In
Page 111: Miller, P. V. (1994). Made-to-order
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