Introduction
Since the publishing of the books in 1887 Sherlock Holmes has grown into a national icon known for his detective work with the help of Doctor John Watson. Their huge fan following, otherwise known as “Sherlockians” have helped to expand his presence in the online space through interacting with the franchise and using tools available to create added materials. However, there are many issues with the power relationship between the fans and the producer, some of which will be discussed in the following essay. The main focus is on whether the fans do have a voice and therefore do have power in this arguably democratic society or whether they are being exploited by the producers' through the structure of practices for a wider audience and for profit. There is also the problem of the ideological notions that may be behind the thoughts of the producers' minds but also within wider society too. Is Sherlock ideological? Not only through the practices of fan culture but also within the story itself? Or is fan culture actually trying to overcome these ideological notions through having their say and creating their own materials to share through online spaces.
Has fan cultures changed the way the producers now create their work as the fans are able to interact with it more and have more of a say. The audience is always at the forefront of the producers mind, however, are they needed anymore? As this media landscape is changing so are the roles of the audience and the producers. The relationship between the producer and consumer is becoming blurred due to the proliferation of the internet as a source to create, distribute and interact with home made media texts.
Since the publishing of the books in 1887 Sherlock Holmes has grown into a national icon known for his detective work with the help of Doctor John Watson. Their huge fan following, otherwise known as “Sherlockians” have helped to expand his presence in the online space through interacting with the franchise and using tools available to create added materials. However, there are many issues with the power relationship between the fans and the producer, some of which will be discussed in the following essay. The main focus is on whether the fans do have a voice and therefore do have power in this arguably democratic society or whether they are being exploited by the producers' through the structure of practices for a wider audience and for profit. There is also the problem of the ideological notions that may be behind the thoughts of the producers' minds but also within wider society too. Is Sherlock ideological? Not only through the practices of fan culture but also within the story itself? Or is fan culture actually trying to overcome these ideological notions through having their say and creating their own materials to share through online spaces.
Has fan cultures changed the way the producers now create their work as the fans are able to interact with it more and have more of a say. The audience is always at the forefront of the producers mind, however, are they needed anymore? As this media landscape is changing so are the roles of the audience and the producers. The relationship between the producer and consumer is becoming blurred due to the proliferation of the internet as a source to create, distribute and interact with home made media texts.
History of Sherlock as a Franchise
Sherlock Holmes’s character has become a cross platform phenomenon in recent years, originating from short stories published in 1887 written by Sir Arthur Doyle and appearing in radio adaptation, films and television programmes alike. There has been a move to the online spaces through both media conglomerates such as BBC creating official websites and merchandise for the character and increasingly the audience. Non-copyrighted work with the audience such as fan fiction and fan videos have had an impact on the franchise, this fan culture has erupted and been brought to the forefront of our attention due to the broadcasting of the BBC’s Sherlock. Although this is presented as a new thing to be happening, this fan culture has been around for years, but not to the extent that can be seen on online spaces now, there wasn’t the resources to publish to the world like there is now.
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(BBC Sherlock's Official Merchandise) |
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(Unofficial Sherlock fan merchandise) |
Participatory Culture and Power
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(Tumblr gif) |
Through the revolution of the internet the audience is no longer mere passive spectators of the media, but avid users of it too. We are living in a ‘participatory culture … [where] participants… interact with each other according to a new set of rules’ (Jenkins p.3). This is evident in the fan culture and fandom that surrounds Sherlock. This “fandom…is about popular culture, mass media and the ability to connect with like minded others” (Barton, Lampley, 2013) which has resulted in an eruption of material posted online from fan fiction, to videos, to comic conventions. This “remix culture” which can be defined as “[material] created by taking digital snippets from various sources and combining them to create a new work” (Hetcher, 2009) is becoming more popular among fans. An example of this is the invention of the site Tumblr which allows it’s members to post multimedia and other content to this site and has been used extensively by BBC Sherlock fans who create memes and videos from the programme for entertainment purposes. The audience has this power to create and distribute their own material online, but is this power being implemented correctly? This new generation or ‘prosumers’ have the advantage of knowing what they want and being able to create the things they want and enjoy however ”Not all participants are created equal. Corporations… will exert greater power than any individual consumer” (Jenkins, 2006). For example the BBC has fought to combat un-copyrighted sites for their television programme Sherlock by creating their own official site that allows for members to interact. This takes the power away from the audience and into the hands of the media giants.
Through the revolution of the internet the audience is no longer mere passive spectators of the media, but avid users of it too. We are living in a ‘participatory culture … [where] participants… interact with each other according to a new set of rules’ (Jenkins p.3). This is evident in the fan culture and fandom that surrounds Sherlock. This “fandom…is about popular culture, mass media and the ability to connect with like minded others” (Barton, Lampley, 2013) which has resulted in an eruption of material posted online from fan fiction, to videos, to comic conventions. This “remix culture” which can be defined as “[material] created by taking digital snippets from various sources and combining them to create a new work” (Hetcher, 2009) is becoming more popular among fans. An example of this is the invention of the site Tumblr which allows it’s members to post multimedia and other content to this site and has been used extensively by BBC Sherlock fans who create memes and videos from the programme for entertainment purposes. The audience has this power to create and distribute their own material online, but is this power being implemented correctly? This new generation or ‘prosumers’ have the advantage of knowing what they want and being able to create the things they want and enjoy however ”Not all participants are created equal. Corporations… will exert greater power than any individual consumer” (Jenkins, 2006). For example the BBC has fought to combat un-copyrighted sites for their television programme Sherlock by creating their own official site that allows for members to interact. This takes the power away from the audience and into the hands of the media giants.
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| (Post taken from Tumblr) |
(Youtube fan video)
Democracy, Power, Regulation within Sherlock and Fandom
TThe role of the media conglomerates has significantly changed, whereas once they used “technological devices to disseminate symbolic content to large heterogeneous and widely dispersed audiences” (Mcquail, 1969) the audience is no longer seen as being passive and are not always a separate entity to the producers. The roles of the once separate producer and consumer has become merged and almost impossible to define a difference between them. With an increase in the “prosumer” many problems have evolved; including questions to do with regulation, democracy and power. Due to the proliferation of the web “new media [has given] rise to new centers of power which increase tensions within the prevailing structure of authority,” (Curran, 2002) this includes fan cultures that may be seen as “rebelling” against “hierarchal control of social knowledge by bypassing established mediating agencies” (Curran, 2002) by distributing copyrighted material on the web.
This has presented a struggle between the media gatekeepers and the audience as this generation of prosumers “pose a threat to the status quo” (Curran, 2002) as they bypass regulation controls put in place to counteract this.On one hand these “prosumers” could be seen as being rebellious and going against what is in place, but then again the power could still be in the media conglomerates hands. For example, fan fiction is a popular source for Sherlock fans to write their own material often extending and adding to the scenes already existent in the television programmes and films. However, “within the fan fiction community, there is a norm against seeking commercial gain“ (Hetcher, 2009) which means that the owners of the content are not likely to pursue legal action against this community as there is no commercial threat. “The existence of these practices indicates that the commercial content industry perceives some mutual benefit” for both the media conglomerates and the audience. The audience could be seen to ultimately be creating free advertisement and material for them that can then be used, within BBC's Sherlock's episode (Series 3, Episode 1) "The Empty Hearse" the producer included scenes that were written by fan fiction writers in order to explore the possible explanations for how Sherlock Holmes faked his own death. This could be seen as the fan fiction writers having power as their user generated content is being included in the television, but it could also be seen as a ploy to keep the audience interested and to exploit their needs.
TThe role of the media conglomerates has significantly changed, whereas once they used “technological devices to disseminate symbolic content to large heterogeneous and widely dispersed audiences” (Mcquail, 1969) the audience is no longer seen as being passive and are not always a separate entity to the producers. The roles of the once separate producer and consumer has become merged and almost impossible to define a difference between them. With an increase in the “prosumer” many problems have evolved; including questions to do with regulation, democracy and power. Due to the proliferation of the web “new media [has given] rise to new centers of power which increase tensions within the prevailing structure of authority,” (Curran, 2002) this includes fan cultures that may be seen as “rebelling” against “hierarchal control of social knowledge by bypassing established mediating agencies” (Curran, 2002) by distributing copyrighted material on the web.
This has presented a struggle between the media gatekeepers and the audience as this generation of prosumers “pose a threat to the status quo” (Curran, 2002) as they bypass regulation controls put in place to counteract this.On one hand these “prosumers” could be seen as being rebellious and going against what is in place, but then again the power could still be in the media conglomerates hands. For example, fan fiction is a popular source for Sherlock fans to write their own material often extending and adding to the scenes already existent in the television programmes and films. However, “within the fan fiction community, there is a norm against seeking commercial gain“ (Hetcher, 2009) which means that the owners of the content are not likely to pursue legal action against this community as there is no commercial threat. “The existence of these practices indicates that the commercial content industry perceives some mutual benefit” for both the media conglomerates and the audience. The audience could be seen to ultimately be creating free advertisement and material for them that can then be used, within BBC's Sherlock's episode (Series 3, Episode 1) "The Empty Hearse" the producer included scenes that were written by fan fiction writers in order to explore the possible explanations for how Sherlock Holmes faked his own death. This could be seen as the fan fiction writers having power as their user generated content is being included in the television, but it could also be seen as a ploy to keep the audience interested and to exploit their needs.
(Scene which used fan fiction material)
Sherlock and Ideology
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| (Mary from BBC's Sherlock) |
This exploitation of the audience's needs is a big part of the concept of “ideology”. Ideology has many definitions, but Althusser (1972) defines ideology as “a ‘representation’ of the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence”. It could be seen that this fan culture is a distraction for the proletariats (working class) away from important issues in the world and the power struggles there is between classes. This allows for the interests of the bourgeois (ruling class) to be catered for. Ideology doesn’t just have a basis in the “means of production” (Althusser, 1972) but in the “meanings, signs and values in social life” (Eagleton, 1991), this social life expand to the life and communication that happens online, a huge part of the fandom community. There could be said to be ideological notions within the Sherlock Holmes franchise. The story tells of two white middle class men involved in solving crime in, originally, the proximity of Victorian times, it emphasises the middle class values of Victorian people and the way society is structured through this higher authority, such as detectives like Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson keep people safe, keep things under control and be the protectors of the vulnerable, including women. However, the modernised version of these stories as told in the film Sherlock Holmes (2009) and the television series BBC Sherlock (2010) could be seen to have moved away from this structure, the character of Sherlock Holmes is still a detective in London, but there is more depth to his character and on many occasions he is the one in need of saving from various situations. Even the view of female character’s change and go against the stereotypical Victorian view of how women should act. With the influence of the huge fan following on online spaces there is a sense there is more freedom within the characters so they can see what the audience want. For example, within the recent television series, John Watson’s wife Mary is at first seen as the stereotypical, but by the end of series 3 she is seen as being a powerful character who is not presented as weak and stands up to the male characters in the story. So it can be questioned as to whether Sherlock as a story of meanings and values is really that ideological anymore, has there been a shift in the way it is viewed and is this down to the fan cultures influence?
Many would argue that Sherlock still has ideological notions as there is still power from the producers, it is their decision as to what they include within the television/film franchise. The audience has limited amount of power, or a deceptive amount of power. Eagleton (1991) argues that “to dub an idea ‘ideological’ is not just to call it false or deceptive, but to claim that it fulfills a particular kind of deceptive or mystifying function within social life as a whole”. In the case of the fan culture that surrounds Sherlock this function would be in terms of audience interest that buy into the franchise which would in turn lead to profit.
Transmedia Storytelling and False Consciousness
The thought that fan culture is ideological and deceptive coincides with the idea that the audience are living under “false consciousness” which can be defined as “[distracting] men and women from their oppression and exploitation be generating illusions and mystifications” (Eagleton, 1991) which prevents a person being able to understand the true nature of the situation. So is the audience being exploited by the media conglomerates through the nature of fan culture? There is evidence that Sherlock fans in particular do not just interact on one platform, it is across multiple platforms which allows them to immerse themselves in this world of Sherlock. This structure of “transmedia storytelling [is where] each medium does what it does best - so that a story might be introduced in a film, expanded through television, novels, and comics; it’s world might be explored through game play or experienced as an amusement park attraction” (Jenkins, 2006). It allows for the audience and fans to experience the franchise in many different spaces which also allows the story to grow, and a huge part of this is through the fan materials online.
As the fans immerse themselves in this fandom the lines between fantasy and reality are blurred. Through the audience interaction it is questionable as to whether they themselves believe the story to be true and whether the concept of “false consciousness” can be applied here. For example, within BBC’s Sherlock, the fans were used and involved through the social media platform Twitter with the hashtag “#sherlocklives” in order to not only see how they reacted to the end of series 2 but to also use these hashtags within the next episode. This is by no means a new thing, when Sherlock Holmes was killed off in the books there was uproar from the “fans” with Sherlock Holmes being sent letters at the fictional address 221b Baker Street with the audience in mourning for this detective. So, is history repeating itself with the new episodes of BBC Sherlock but with the fans expressing themselves through online spaces rather than letters?
The thought that fan culture is ideological and deceptive coincides with the idea that the audience are living under “false consciousness” which can be defined as “[distracting] men and women from their oppression and exploitation be generating illusions and mystifications” (Eagleton, 1991) which prevents a person being able to understand the true nature of the situation. So is the audience being exploited by the media conglomerates through the nature of fan culture? There is evidence that Sherlock fans in particular do not just interact on one platform, it is across multiple platforms which allows them to immerse themselves in this world of Sherlock. This structure of “transmedia storytelling [is where] each medium does what it does best - so that a story might be introduced in a film, expanded through television, novels, and comics; it’s world might be explored through game play or experienced as an amusement park attraction” (Jenkins, 2006). It allows for the audience and fans to experience the franchise in many different spaces which also allows the story to grow, and a huge part of this is through the fan materials online.
As the fans immerse themselves in this fandom the lines between fantasy and reality are blurred. Through the audience interaction it is questionable as to whether they themselves believe the story to be true and whether the concept of “false consciousness” can be applied here. For example, within BBC’s Sherlock, the fans were used and involved through the social media platform Twitter with the hashtag “#sherlocklives” in order to not only see how they reacted to the end of series 2 but to also use these hashtags within the next episode. This is by no means a new thing, when Sherlock Holmes was killed off in the books there was uproar from the “fans” with Sherlock Holmes being sent letters at the fictional address 221b Baker Street with the audience in mourning for this detective. So, is history repeating itself with the new episodes of BBC Sherlock but with the fans expressing themselves through online spaces rather than letters?
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| (Twitter hashtags used in BBC's Sherlock) |
Although, it could be argued that with the move to the audiences, creating their own media texts “the distinction between authors and readers, producers and spectators, creators and interpreters will blend to form a “circuit” of expression” (Jenkins, 2006) meaning that as the audience are also now the creators they are fully aware of it being fictional. This is further shown through the use of the “fourth wall” the actor's exercise throughout not only the broadcast material but also in “real” life too. Sherlock was arguably the first cross platform franchise to break the fourth wall boundaries through the actors own interaction with the fan culture. Martin Freeman, who plays Doctor John Watson in BBC’s Sherlock was the first to acknowledge the fandom by holding up a sign reading “Te Quiero Jan y Rosalia” (I love Jan and Rosalia) directed towards the administrators of the Martin Freeman Sexual Frustration Blog.
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| (Martin Freeman holding up sign aimed at the administrators of the Martin Freeman Sexual Frustration Blog) |
The fourth wall boundaries are also broken within the Sherlock series and also similar franchises such as Doctor Who through comic conventions. The reality and fantasy lines have become even more blurred through this. However, many of the actors attend these comic conventions which emphasises the fact it is not real, that it is a construction. The audience are therefore aware of this fact and are arguably not “disillusioned” like the concept of false consciousness implies.
Reflection
Through my cross platform textual analysis of Sherlock in relation to it’s huge fan culture I have learnt more about the impact the audience has on the franchise and just how involved they are in the story lines. My research into the subject of fan culture and ideology has made me question the motives of the producers' and whether we are being exploited to satisfy the needs of the media conglomerates. However, from my involvement with the fan culture myself, I can see how it can be purely down to entertainment purposes, through the online spaces we are allowed a voice and have more power to become more involved with the story lines and have an impact on the way the episodes will go. The fans have more power than ever before and are a huge part of the Sherlock. The programme wouldn’t be the same without the fandom, it adds much to the story through the fan fiction and fan videos created. I feel I have learnt a lot through my research about the impact the fan culture has and how the structures the media producers go through have changed in accordance with the rise of fan culture that is so important to Sherlock’s development as a story.
The part I found most interesting was exploring the relationship between the audience and the producers with regards to regulation and democracy. The audience have the freedom to interact with the characters, believe them and recreate them, however they like and they now have the tools online with share this online to fellow fans. Regulation in theory should stop them from being able to do this as much of the material online is copyrighted, however it helps keep the franchise going and allows for the fan to become as involved as they like with the story. They are no longer seen as passive consumers of media being fed to them, they actively consume and interact with it. The producers are fully aware of this which I think is the reason why they do not try and take down all the copyrighted material online, this would displease their audience and they would lose their fan base. I do not think this is ideological as such, I think it means that the audience have the power as the producers are doing things to please them. Although, I can see how it could be regarded as being ideological and deceiving as it could be “fake” power being given to the audience as at the end of the day the producers have the power to broadcast and include the fans material.
Through my cross platform textual analysis of Sherlock in relation to it’s huge fan culture I have learnt more about the impact the audience has on the franchise and just how involved they are in the story lines. My research into the subject of fan culture and ideology has made me question the motives of the producers' and whether we are being exploited to satisfy the needs of the media conglomerates. However, from my involvement with the fan culture myself, I can see how it can be purely down to entertainment purposes, through the online spaces we are allowed a voice and have more power to become more involved with the story lines and have an impact on the way the episodes will go. The fans have more power than ever before and are a huge part of the Sherlock. The programme wouldn’t be the same without the fandom, it adds much to the story through the fan fiction and fan videos created. I feel I have learnt a lot through my research about the impact the fan culture has and how the structures the media producers go through have changed in accordance with the rise of fan culture that is so important to Sherlock’s development as a story. The part I found most interesting was exploring the relationship between the audience and the producers with regards to regulation and democracy. The audience have the freedom to interact with the characters, believe them and recreate them, however they like and they now have the tools online with share this online to fellow fans. Regulation in theory should stop them from being able to do this as much of the material online is copyrighted, however it helps keep the franchise going and allows for the fan to become as involved as they like with the story. They are no longer seen as passive consumers of media being fed to them, they actively consume and interact with it. The producers are fully aware of this which I think is the reason why they do not try and take down all the copyrighted material online, this would displease their audience and they would lose their fan base. I do not think this is ideological as such, I think it means that the audience have the power as the producers are doing things to please them. Although, I can see how it could be regarded as being ideological and deceiving as it could be “fake” power being given to the audience as at the end of the day the producers have the power to broadcast and include the fans material.
Conclusion
The lines between what can be counted as a producer and what could be counted as the audience have almost certainly blurred, making it difficult to see where the power actually lies. The two have become inseparable and have merged to create a new type of consumer - a “prosumer”. This “prosumer” has the power to create the material, making the lines between what is reality and fantasy blurred, it can be questioned as to whether people are under a “delusion” or “false consciousness” as the prosumer are aware of it’s construction through the making of the fan texts.
Fan culture has had an impact on the structure of the way media texts are created, the audience is always at the forefront of the producers mind, however it is understandable where the ideological notions and power issues come from. Through the current regulation of fan texts it is certainly more lenient on the prosumers online, compared to what it would be for other areas of the media. What the purpose of this is can be questioned, is it for the producers to keep the audience interested? and if so, what is the thought behind this? Just profit? The audience could be seen to be disillusioned as to what they are contributing to online, it could be helping the media conglomerates with free advertising and free material to use in their broadcasted pieces.
However, is this just a cynical or negative view of the audience? This definition of ideology suggests distortion and illusion/allusion which in turn suggests the audience are a passive entity that are merely injected with messages and are automatically ingested as correct, much like the outdated hypodermic syringe model suggests. However, audience’s aren’t seen to be passive or homogenous anymore, they are seen as individuals who can process and interpret meanings and signs themselves. So is this definition of ideology and false consciousness an outdated version that is merely behind with the times?
The concept of ideology has tended to undermine the audience by assuming they are a passive mass of people and not individuals. The fans will never have complete power, we need these big media conglomerates to have the power they do to create the media and broadcast it so the fans can feed off it and “remix” it and publish it themselves. So the structure that is in today’s society could be argued to be at it’s most ideal, even though there is the possibility of ideology the audience’s participation can override this through the creation of their own materials.
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