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Jilver Mazariegos
Lynda Hass
Writing 37
November 26 2014
The Detective Super Hero

Conan Doyle's brilliant works of the detective genre created the first ever detective hero
that remain just as popular now as it did during the Victorian Period. The classical conventions
of Holmes being the pocket genius or the champion of science revolutionized the genre at its
classical period as no author invented a protagonist as unique and brilliant as Holmes. The
popularization of the detective genre blossomed within the middle class during its classical phase
and still continues to entertain the audience with its star protagonist Holmes. In fact, there have
been many adaptations of the Holmes during the past century in the film industry however the
Guy Ritchie adaptation is unique as it keeps the conventions of Holmes but distorts it to appeal
to the modern 21st century audience and fit to the film's medium. Holmes creator Doyle had
many conventions of his protagonist that defined the first true detective, but not just any
detective but the detective hero, a man of prominence, who is fearless and strong but humble to
the weak who dispenses chivalry to all women and help the helpless, whosoever shall ask for
it. (Panek 88). This hero is also shown and portrayed within the film Sherlock Holmes played by
actor Robert Johnson Jr., this adaptation keeps many of the conventions of Holmes that Doyle
created such as the intellectual minded Holmes, the down to earth detective, the sociopath and
most importantly the detective hero that is Holmes. This convention although is kept and shown
in the film is also adapted, changed into not just a simple hero but an action super hero. A new

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genre that flourished during the late 1900 and still does today's, the super hero genre is a mash up
of the hero with supernatural powers or abilities that normal people do not have. This new genre
not only entertains but captivates the audience into having ideals based on the super hero and this
attracts the audience.

The film is plotted under the premise of a death scandal who Sherlock Holmes is trying to
catch along with Watson and the police to end this mystery once and for all. During the first
scene when Sherlock finally finds the hidden hideout of Lord Blackwood, he decides to enter the
hideout and save the woman who was going to be another victim of Blackwood. This scene
implicates many cinematic elements that convey the conventions of the original Sherlock
Holmes. The scene uses a combination of a flash-forward and a non-diegetic sound when
Holmes first fights a henchman of Blackwood. When the scene goes into a flash-forward scene,
we see the outcome of the fight before it happens in essence it's the mind of Holmes and is
backed up with the voice of Holmes thoughts detailing every move he will perform before it
happens. The cinematic elements correlates to Holmes intellectual superiority that he can
figuratively see the future before it happens. The scene also shows when Holmes confronts
Blackwood and saves the young lady's life from the malicious villain. Using key-light on
Holmes, he is seen as the important figure conveying his victory over the adversary, and saving
those who need saving.
However this is not the only scene in which his convention is portrayed, the second
scene happens during the revival of Blackwood and Holmes is gathering clues to regarding to the
deaths lead by Blackwood. Holmes deduces the next potential crime is in a butchery. Once he
reaches the place, Blackwood sets a trap on Holmes by placing Irene Adlar, a character who

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knows Holmes, in a trap to her death luckily Holmes saves her. This scene explicitly uses many
medium close-ups to catch the expression of Holmes as he is left to figure out a strategy to save
Irene, as Holmes must think quickly the camera does extreme close ups of every object in the
scene as well as match on action that conveys Holmes quick movement and reasoning to figure
out a way to save Irene. The scene ends when Holmes gets a personal close up of his face not
only showing his relief but that he is victorious. Both these scenes eloquently provide the
definition that this scholarly author states "Holmes's social philosophy. . . is that while the
existing order of things may be unattractive in many ways, his duty and vocation is nevertheless
to protect it." (Chausson 62). The main convention of Holmes is still portrayed in the film as an
intellectual and brilliant man who uses his gifts as a form to help, to be the detective hero that
these people need. However these conventions although are kept the same, some are twisted,
changed, adapted to suit the film.

Despite the strict correlation of the hero convention, Gus decides to twist the exact
definition of the detective hero to fit the new setting. A simple explanation of why the film was
portrayed this way was can be given by a New York Times writer, who stated that the director
was a film maker filming "cool things" using "cool people" and usually involved action (Scott).
Simple but there is much more than that, the Victorian period was where the classical mystery
detective genre bloomed because it was a thriller to the audience, a sense of entertainment to get
lost into another world. This historical context provided the detective genre to blossom and
appeal to the audience than any other detective novel before Doyle. This context however
changed through the coming century as now the convention is altered to fit the audience. Today

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entertainment is still made in a similar fashion as the Victorian period but know action is mixed
into the convention, in essence the convention of the detective mystery genre turned into the
action detective mystery genre. In the first scene talked about, every aspect of Holmes deduction
and helping is tied with this new characteristic on Holmes his strong physique, when Holmes
foretells the next seconds of film he proceeds "to snap bones, gouge organs and turn flesh into
pulp"(Scott). A major difference from the traditional Holmes who was more of an intellectual
individual and not of a man of violence (Scott). This change is because the audience
entertainment is on action, of guns and explosion and of the super hero These popular genres
mixed and created this modern Sherlock Holmes who not only intellectually strong but also
physically strong. This transcended the original detective Holmes into something more than a
hero, the super Hero. Guy Ritchie created a new version of Holmes, He was a "proto-superhero,
amenable to all kinds of elaboration and variation"(Scott).
This prototype-super hero was something new to Holmes that the genre has not
developed yet during its original classical period. The historical time period was a period of
incompetent police where crime was unable to be solved devastating the people of that time. This
created the original Holmes that suited for the middle class where he is seen as the hero of the
people, a detective willing to undertake the job that was of the police and solve the crimes for
those who need it. This historical context differs from the modern world today instead it's about
having a hero who is different, dramatically different who is seen as an ideal, awesome, "cool"
individual and this created the action packed Holmes, the super hero Holmes. The context in
which the type of Holmes is presented has impacted Holmes both from today and from the past,
it provides the characteristics that Holmes undertakes and embellishes in.

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These changes are made to adapt to the audience to entertain much like what Holmes did
during the Victorian Era. This new audience was interested of Action movies of super heroes and
the product of transferring Holmes from literature into the cinema altered his original
conventions. These scenes portrayed Holmes as a man of courage and bravery much as he was in
Doyle's stories, being quick minded having chivalry, strong, brave all these attributes are used in
this new Holmes throughout the film. Some of these characteristics are altered suited to this new
Holmes as a man of no fear, physically strong as he is intelligent. These new medium of Holmes
do not take away the true essence of the character Holmes, the original conventions are all still in
the film and in the later sequels as this film review writer mentions that "This returns the story
somewhat to the Conan Doyle tradition that Holmes did most of his best work in his mind"
(Robert). This remains true to every aspect of the film. Although the historical period and
audience period have changed Holmes continues to have many of the same convention that he
original had and while some have adapted and changed, Holmes remains as the super, detective
hero.
Work Cited
Panek, Leroy. "Read An Introduction to the Detective Story". Doyle (1987): 88-89. Web. 26
Nov. 2014
Clausson, Nils. "Journal of Narrative Theory". Degeneration, "Fin-de-Sicle" Gothic, and the
Science of Detection: Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Hound of the Baskervilles" and the Emergence
of the Modern Detective Story (2005). n. pag. Web. 26 Nov 2014.
Scott, A. O. "The Brawling Supersleuth of 221B Baker Street Socks It to Em."The New York
Times. The New York Times, 24 Dec. 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/25/movies/25sherlock.html>.
Ebert, Robert. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows Movie Review (2011) | Roger Ebert." All
Content. Elbert Digital LLC, 14 Dec. 14. Web. 26 Nov. 2014.
<http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/sherlock-holmes-a-game-of-shadows-2011>.