15 MINUTE INTRODUCTION OUTLINE

1. LATE Victorian Era (1837-1901) (Brenda & Lizette visuals) Industrial Revolution: The context for why the Mystery Genre became popularized o Brought people from farms (agriculture) to the cities (industrialization) o People were drawn to the cities because of job opportunities o Too many people came pouring in at once (overpopulation, not enough resources to support everyone) Social Order: Hierarchy, rich get away with everything, large clustered lower class Thus, the Holmes stories present a view of the socioeconomic context of the late Victorian era o Overpopulation led to high crime rates--hence, the interest in crime/police/detectives o Emergence of police and criminology to make justice more fair Logic vs the Supernatural o Belief in the Supernatural: seances, spirits, ghosts o The Age of Reason began to overtake the Age of Religion/Superstition o Doyle disproves the supernatural (theres a scientific explanation for everything)--this attitude was the popular attitude in the late Victorian Era

2. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [Becca] (Linda: Visuals) Portrayed Sherlock Holmes after his college professor Joseph Bell who introduced him to inductive and deductive reasoning Portrayed Dr. Watson after himself (Doyle was an eye doctor)

3. Mystery Genre Conventions A. THE STOCK CHARACTERS (Korayma -visuals) o Detective (Sherlock Holmes) 3 things that a detective needs: Observation, Knowledge, Deduction Uses logical deduction (general assumption to final conclusion) Ex: The Hound of the Baskervilles<<NOTE: DO WE WANT TO USE SIGN OF THE FOUR AS EXAMPLES HERE?. Everything has a scientific explanation behind (including the hound) 2. Stapleton is a naturalist (scientific background) 3. Connection between the hound and Stapleton o Sidekick (Watson) Holmes sidekick--relationship between Holmes and Watson Represents the late Victorians idea of the proper British gentleman Relates to audience (doesnt have extraordinary deduction skills like Holmes) Ex: Watson is lost, confused, relating to the audience (The RedHeaded League) o Client o Villain

B. THE ROLE OF THE POLICE (Michelle - Visuals) o Incompetent, biased, jumps to conclusions o Just wanted to be known for capturing criminals

C. CLUES (Michelle - Visuals) Physical evidence, concrete evidence, specifics that lead to a general conclusion Prints, blood sample Preservation of crime scene was crucial Pieces of the puzzle come together to show a clear picture Keeps the audience engaged Holmes changed the crime scene, making it a vital clue as compared to before D. THE BASIC PLOT FORMULA (Elysia - Visuals) o Holmes and Watson are at Baker Street o A client arrives o Holmes deduces things about the client from an object or the person him or herself o The problem is outlined (presentation of case) o Holmes and Watson discuss the case when the client is gone o The investigation begins o Holmes identifies what happened o Holmes explains it all to Watson back at Baker Street.

4. Modern-Day Texts Introduction o Revisionist Stage o The mystery genre is still popular House M.D. (Dan) o Include rhetorical situation o House is a medical genius who uses clues, in the form of symptoms to form diagnosis o Every case begins in Houses office o He is a Vicodin addict o Excellent deduction skills o Wilson is the Watson figure; he has more insight about the case. o Watson cant solve a case o Wilson can solve a case o House has a sense of humor o Both House and Holmes are eccentric, they go outside of the boundary Psych (John) o broadcasted on USA Network o interesting fact: created by Steve Franks, a UCI graduate o Include rhetorical situation o Gus is black (exhibits the multicultural aspect of the show) and like Watson, has a background in the medical field

Shawns power of observation relates his character to Holmes Police is known for not solving the case correctly, always up to Shawn to solve the case o Shawn uses deduction and has keen observation skills o Shawn and Gus have a more modern friendship rather than a professional relationship o Shawn lies about his skills; claims hes a psychic Sherlock Holmes (Films) (Bella) o Include rhetorical situation o Films is more of an action genre as compared to the Conan Doyle stories o Watson is more capable of doing things in the films than in the Conan Doyle books Better at making deductions Saves Holmes life often o The relationship between Holmes and Watson is more brotherly o Sherlock Holmes has a closer relationship with Watson o Sherlock Holmes is more of an action super hero in the modern day text o Action and comedy are both added to the movies to appeal to the younger audience o There is a supernatural villain o Women are looked down upon in the movie and in the books as well o Sherlock Holmes is more of a modern day superhero Sherlock BBC [Becca] o Include rhetorical situation o retelling of the books, with the same plot but with a modern twist o modern plot (21st century London) o same conventions o relationship between Sherlock and Watson is more emotional o Sherlock is very obnoxious (for the humor of the audience) Elementary (Jasmine - presenter) o Include rhetorical situation (Created after BBC Sherlock; American version) o Located in NY o Watson is an asian female surgeon; most active Watson (smarter) o Holmes attends rehab and AA meetings (heroine addict and alcoholic) o The Brownstone is the 21st century version of the 221B Baker Street o Holmes uses deduction to solve mysteries
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