The Case Study of Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Scholarly Commons ...

Unofficial secondary products: Fan fiction images and ideologies
Good, bad, or indifferent, one wishes that there were stories yet to come.
And why not one hope? (Starrett, 2008, p. 55)
While reading the original products and viewing Granada‟s television adaptation, I
realised early on that there were some aspects of Holmes‟s character that I was never
going to be allowed to see. Official secondary products serve a wide audience and
commercial popularity dictates that authors, producers and actors provide their audience
with genre based images and ideologies, as seen in Sherlock Holmes (2009). Moments
of quiet domesticity and everyday life, as portrayed in the original stories, fall by the
wayside. I was positive, however, that I could not be the only fan experiencing this kind
of dissatisfaction; I therefore turned to Sherlock Holmes fan fiction.
The Sherlock Holmes pastiche and parody works pioneered the modern
phenomenon known as “fan fiction,” which, in the 21 st century, is a thriving
genre most commonly associated with (but certainly not limited to) science
fiction and fantasy. Even with this broader genre, Holmes is one of the most
popular characters. (Doyle & Crowder, 2010, p. 236)
Fan fiction is an umbrella term for any piece of literary work produced by a fan for the
fandom of their choice; whether it be a short story, a novel, a poem, or the lyrics to a
song. Fan fiction often bears the enamoured traces of both the writer and their readers.
The images and ideologies that I encountered when reading Sherlock Holmes fan fiction
often reflected the relevant theme, namely angst and hurt/comfort. In narrowing my
search to those written in collaboration by authors KCS (2010a) and Protector of the
Gray Fortress (2010b), fan fiction authors often recommended on Youtube, I read,
amongst others, Sick Day (2008a), Broken and Buried (2008) and Vows Made in Storms
(2008b). In each story, the choice of genre enabled the author to place Holmes and
Watson in an uncharacteristic scenario. By focusing on hurt or angst-ridden situations,
Holmes and Watson‟s friendship is constantly tested and therefore the characters are
open to examination and exploration. Fan fiction often expands on the canon. This
allows the author to feign legitimacy and attempt to direct a reader‟s original cultivation
towards their story. Vows Made in Storms (2008b) was based on a lost Holmes tale, the
70