William Sherlock Scott Holmes
Near the end of “The Empty Hearse,”[162] John tells Sherlock, “You’d have to be an idiot not to see that you love it”. Sherlock prepares to face a crowd of reporters awaiting him outside 221B now that the news is out that Holmes is back from the “dead”. “Love what?” he asks. “Being Sherlock Holmes,” John answers. Sherlock frowns before he replies, “I don’t even know what that’s supposed to mean”.
This dialogue explains a lot about series three episodes and some fans’ concern that the Sherlock returned to London seems very different from the one who ends series two. Sherlock has always been brilliant in the Science of Deduction but far less knowledgeable about social interactions and the reasons behind societal rules. From the first episode, Sherlock prefers to think of himself as a “high-functioning sociopath,” and during series three he falls back on using that self-diagnosis to explain his socially aberrant behaviour.
Perhaps Sherlock is correct that, during series three episodes, he does not even know what “being Sherlock Holmes” is supposed to mean. During his hiatus from London, he lacks John’s balancing influence. At least shortly before his return, Sherlock has been imprisoned and tortured. Whether Sherlock intends for audiences to ask if Sherlock, like John returning from war, suffers from PTSD, the man who returns from the “dead” displays a much wider range of emotions and often seems much younger emotionally, less socially experienced, and even less brilliant in making deductions than the Sherlock Holmes who left London. It makes sense that the character with the full name of William Sherlock Scott Holmes (revealed in series three) might provide insights into whom “Sherlock Holmes” was during his childhood and how he became a modern “dragonslayer”.
The actor has said that he asked showrunner Moffat why Sherlock is the way he is. Moffat’s response was that Sherlock Holmes is simply brilliant, but Cumberbatch wanted to know more than that, to understand what in his upbringing helped lead to the adult consulting detective. Cumberbatch understands that “someone isn’t just brilliant, there is something that has happened... So [Sherlock’s backstory] is examined a lot more in this series. After two years away, he is rusty about human relationships, especially with his best friend and with London”.[163] Understandably, Sherlock needs some time in order to return to some semblance of his former life.
William Sherlock Scott Holmes has many non-Work thoughts and is completely devoted to those he loves. He at least tolerates his family: inviting Mycroft to revisit their childhood by playing games with him, putting up with his parents (played by Cumberbatch’s parents) during their visit to London, and even spending Christmas at the family home.
As William Sherlock Scott Holmes, Cumberbatch convincingly plays “younger,” such as being annoyed by his mother’s chatter and literally pushing his parents out the door when John comes to visit[164] (a scene that the actor suggested is very close to his actual interactions with his parents at times) or admitting to Archie, a boy in John’s wedding party, that he has no idea why grownups insist on formal wear, but they both have to dress appropriately for the ceremony.[165] This “younger” Sherlock is eager to please John and even worse (if possible) in reading social cues; he assumes that his best friend will always know how to “read” him, too, and will easily forgive any inappropriate behaviour (even faking his death). This innocence is something that Cumberbatch imbues into the third-series Sherlock in scenes reflecting the man’s upbringing and unease in interacting correctly with others, especially at John’s wedding.
More important than these glimpses into the boy who becomes the consulting detective are several visits to Sherlock’s mind palace, which are the series’ most intriguingly filmed scenes. Inside the elaborately constructed mind palace, Sherlock relies on Mycroft’s advice and admonishments in order to think logically.[166] Molly Hooper provides medical guidance; a beloved pet, emotional security; Moriarty, motivation to survive and protect John.[167] The scenes inside Sherlock’s head not only give Cumberbatch a greater emotional range to play but also some of the most elaborate stunts or effects.
Humour also plays a bigger role in the first two episodes’ scripts. When Sherlock is reunited with the unsuspecting John, who has moved on with his life, he inappropriately jokes about John’s reaction to his return. Cumberbatch broadly plays comedy as Sherlock pretends to be a French waiter who interrupts John just when he is about to propose to Mary. Cumberbatch affects a bad French accent, and every Clouseau-reminiscent action is completed with aplomb. To create a fake moustache (nearly as unattractive and unbelievable as John’s), he takes a pen from the maître d’ and quickly marks his face with a graceful flourish.[168] Cumberbatch plays the scene lightly, each movement quick and assured, physically showing Sherlock’s excitement and confidence that John will be happy to see him alive.
The comedy is tempered by Sherlock’s growing understanding that surprising his friend, especially through humour, may not be a good idea. At the end of the reunion, after being choked and head-butted by John, a dejected Sherlock, daubing blood from his nose, watches his friend leave him behind.
Throughout the third series, Cumberbatch transitions smoothly from comedy (at times almost farce) to drama suffused with sorrow, pain, and loss. He subtly adjusts Sherlock’s body language to fit the mood and dialogue. Cumberbatch makes Sherlock’s admission that he likes to dance, followed by a graceful twirl,[169] seem unself-conscious and in character with a Sherlock who, in the first two series, seems much more emotionally reserved. Emphasising the right beats in a scene to make it believable, especially in light of Sherlock’s wider emotional range, illustrates Cumberbatch’s precise acting skills.
What may concern fans most about William Sherlock Scott Holmes is that he does not seem as inherently brilliant as viewers expect Sherlock to be. He seems to make many mistakes, not only in dealing with Magnussen but in deducing Mary, who tells him that he has been “very slow” in learning about her past.[170] Mycroft seems far more involved with Sherlock’s life and, as examples from their childhood reveal throughout series three, is indeed smarter than his little brother and often takes responsibility for deciding what happens to him.
Although played for laughs, a telling scene about Sherlock’s difficulty in returning to his “job” as a consulting detective in London is set during John’s stag night. Drunk and interrupted playing a game, Sherlock nevertheless allows Mrs. Hudson to bring in a client. When Sherlock and John visit the potential crime scene, the detective makes a mockery of his usual precise observations. His deductions are obvious, his clumsiness appropriate to someone highly inebriated. He vomits when “clueing for looks”.[171] While funny because it is highly unlike Sherlock - and Cumberbatch knows when to exaggerate a movement or widen his eyes without going over the top - the scene is also appalling because Sherlock’s behaviour is so “common”; anyone could act this way. Sherlock Holmes should make brilliant, instantaneous deductions, and John’s best man during the stag night seems far more like William Sherlock Scott Holmes, who desperately wants to keep John’s friendship, than like Britain’s saviour.
As an acting challenge, series three Sherlock opens all kinds of new doors for Cumberbatch. His performance excels in making Sherlock and Sherlock at once familiar and new. Following the broad comedy within “The Sign of Three,” [172] Cumberbatch plays highly dramatic scenes in “His Last Vow” that deal with pain and betrayal. Critics seem to prefer the actor’s dramatic instead of comedic scenes, and Cumberbatch’s nominations for acting awards have resulted from his performance in the series three finale.
A complaint by many fans is that the scripts seem to lack continuity in characterisation. Sherlock, for example, says he is “high” for a case, requiring the actor to seem loose limbed and loopy one moment and completely in physical control after what seems to be too short a time for him to sober up.[173] Similarly, John acts very much like a doctor when he encounters a wounded man i
n “The Sign of Three” but ineffectually checks Sherlock for wounds in “His Last Vow”. Cumberbatch and Freeman, however, react appropriately “in the moment,” even when scenes in one episode may seem to contradict characters’ actions in previous episodes.
Series three requires Cumberbatch to play Sherlock differently than in previous years: playful to violent, beaten to murderous, less obsessed with the Work and more involved with friends and family. This series’ Sherlock is more touchy feely, less overtly brilliant, and more determined to live up to “his last vow” - and he may not be every viewer’s cup of tea. He is, however, an intriguingly new take on the BBC’s Sherlock and a further testament to Cumberbatch’s immense acting talent.
Sexualising Sherlock
In early 2014, Empire magazine named Cumberbatch the “world’s sexiest man,” an honour that the actor’s fans would accept as his due. Not everyone feels the same way, as illustrated by a comment made during a Graham Norton Show episode (one without Cumberbatch as a guest). Three cast members promoting X-Men: Days of Future Past were asked to guess their ranking in Empire’s list. Hugh Jackman, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy humbly estimated their rankings within the top twenty, and host Graham Norton eventually told them their placements. The hierarchy might be somewhat skewed, Norton teased, revealing a photo of Cumberbatch as the magazine’s top choice.[174]
The public or critics may be divided about Cumberbatch’s personal sex appeal, but they seem to agree that the BBC’s Sherlock is a sexy incarnation of the character. In fact, Mark Gatiss claims that Sherlock Holmes has always been attractive because he is uninterested in sex: “He can’t be tamed... Those are the people we’re attracted to, the ones that aren’t interested”. Furthermore, the BBC’s current Sherlock is sexy because of Cumberbatch and the character’s styling on the series: “the combination of the Byronic looks that Benedict has - and the coat! - that’s made him into, possibly, the first sexy Sherlock Holmes”.[175]
Ironically, BBC executives did not share this vision when Cumberbatch was first cast. Similar to when Steven Moffat cast David Tennant in Casanova and was told that the actor was not sexy enough for the role, the showrunner has said “With Benedict Cumberbatch, we were told the same thing. ‘You promised us a sexy Sherlock, not him’“.[176] Yet in the years since Sherlock premiered, the character and actor have been inextricably linked to a sexy image, and the character and images of the actor have been increasingly sexualised by the media and fans.
One aspect of working on Sherlock that Cumberbatch cannot control is the sexualisation of Sherlock. Ever since Irene Adler proclaimed that “brainy is the new sexy,”[177] that line has been used to describe the actor as often as the character. However, the role of sex symbol is one that Cumberbatch did not willingly undertake.
In many ways, Cumberbatch is an atypical actor and celebrity. In an Independent article in 2011, for example, Cumberbatch was described as “the thinking woman’s crumpet,” and “’weirdly fanciable’ is the phrase most often associated with his physique - he doesn’t possess the obvious, symmetrical looks of a star”.[178] He is best known for his acting talent and his ability to play a wide range of roles. Cumberbatch the serious actor often shows up impeccably dressed on red carpets or at photo shoots. At formal public events, he accepts the female gaze as a well-dressed, classy actor, someone who can play the modern sexy Sherlock Holmes. When Cumberbatch playfully relaxes that image while in the public eye, he chooses to be seen as a sometimes silly “average guy” overwhelmed in his own fan moment - such as when he does a Wookiee impression in front of Harrison Ford or photobombs U2 at the Oscars. This is not the typical Hollywood sex symbol, and the image Cumberbatch crafts for himself is not deliberately sexualised.
Cumberbatch’s public persona is the opposite of what many Cumberbatch or Sherlock fans have recently done to focus the female gaze on the actor’s body by taking an image out of context, offering it on Tumblr in particular as evidence of Cumberbatch’s sex appeal, and deliberately and repeatedly inviting the female gaze.
Many of these images suggest or show nudity. The slippery sheet revealing a cheeky Sherlock (“A Scandal in Belgravia”) has joined the collection of animated .gifs and stills from Cumberbatch’s pre-Sherlock roles in which a character he plays is nude. Long-time fans have had several opportunities to see the actor completely or partially unclothed on screen, and images from To the Ends of the Earth and The Last Enemy, years before Sherlock brought the actor to such a high level of international fame, can still be found online. Once Cumberbatch became a television celebrity, however, the more recent scenes that show far less of either Sherlock’s or the actor’s body have become the best known and most often distributed clips.
If nudity is not the way the actor would have chosen to promote himself, its use in conjunction with his cultivated classy image keeps him in the public eye as a noteworthy actor while simultaneously within fans’ gaze as a sexy celebrity. In this chapter “female gaze” is defined as a single or multiple camera shots designed to provide a sexual emphasis on a male body, as well as still shots edited from a video to focus on a portion of the male anatomy. Of course, men also can appreciate and want to gaze upon a male body, but the simplified definition in this chapter limits the gaze to heterosexual females who follow the camera lens to focus on objects of sexual interest or desire. The camera thus encourages female viewers to objectify the male body.
This definition follows along the lines of many texts that describe the male gaze in similar ways. Author Isabelle Fol, for example, wrote that “In film practice, this objectification results in close-ups of different, fragmented female body parts... In their visual perfection, women become beautiful and mystic cinematic spectacles”.[179] Fol cited Laura Mulvey’s earlier definition of this image masquerading “’as the perfect to-be-looked-at image’“.[180] For the purposes of a brief discussion in this chapter, I exchange “female” for “male” in the definition, although a discussion of “female gaze” should be more complex.
As Graeme Burton noted in Media and Society, “readings of fan magazines and discussion with female fans makes it clear that there is a female gaze of desire”.[181] Although Burton was discussing the film The Full Monty, some fan websites, forums, and social-media communities make it clear that the images procured for and shared among these sites also indicate a “female gaze of desire”.
Just as important as the ways Cumberbatch’s image has been used online as a reflection of his celebrity, his nudity has been used to “balance” nude or nearly nude scenes in which female co-stars (i.e., Lara Pulver in Sherlock, Alice Eve in Star Trek) are placed in a much more sexually explicit context that generated audience complaints about the way their characters are portrayed. (See Chapter 2 for a discussion of Khan’s shower scene.) Perhaps, in part, Cumberbatch’s nudity is considered acceptable and worthy of fan promotion not only because he is male but because his (and his characters’) sex appeal is primarily linked to intelligence instead of conventional handsomeness or specifically beefcake.
Sherlock’s brief hint of nudity is greatly overshadowed later in “A Scandal in Belgravia” by the more controversial nudity of Pulver, playing dominatrix Irene Adler,[182] but, as Pulver mentioned in an interview, “You saw more of Benedict [Cumberbatch] when his sheet fell down than you did of me”.[183]
In “A Scandal in Belgravia,” the nudity is an inherent part of the characterisation and integral to the scene. It is not gratuitous, much less prurient, but the BBC received about a hundred complaints about inappropriate watershed content.[184] Sherlock’s brief almost-nudity - a swath of pale chest and hint of cheekiness - is appropriate in the context of this episode as yet another way to illustrate that Sherlock Holmes and Irene Adler are equals. They see each other as they truly are, and they eventually become “bared” to each other - but not in a sexual way. “We like our nudity plot-driven, and Lara Pulver’s starkers entrance as dominat
rix Irene Adler has no more to do with exploitation than Cumberbatch’s nudity at the palace,” Digital Spy[185] reported, and several critics agreed. Although the actors may not have been clothed during filming, the television audience watching this episode most often thinks of the characters, not the actors, as being in the nude.
In Sherlock, the limited nudity of the male lead character does not equal the carefully filmed total nudity of a female guest character; however, at least the lead male actor is briefly glimpsed in a way that thrilled female fans - a tease of a female gaze - although the more extensive nudity of a female character was really not designed to invite the male gaze and, despite viewer complaints to the BBC about inappropriate watershed content,[186] was not unduly sexualised. Seeing the normally suit-clad Sherlock in a sheet that slipped enough to tease a derriere shot provided fodder for some Sherlock fans to fantasise about what they glimpsed all too briefly and seemed outside the “normal” depiction of Sherlock provided during previous episodes.
In the context provided by the episode, the nudity is not Cumberbatch’s but Sherlock’s. The role requires professional, “actorly” nudity, which invites audiences to view the actor’s body. Those who created an animated .gif of Sherlock, however, have taken the image out of context and sexualised it far more than the episode does. As a result of Sherlock’s popularity and Cumberbatch’s celebrity, such an effect might be expected from fans eager to share an image within a context specifically to encourage the female gaze. When taken out of context and displayed on Cumberbatch fan sites, the image seems far less about Sherlock Holmes and far more about the actor who portrays him. The nudity becomes, in this perception, Cumberbatch’s as much as, if not more than, Sherlock’s. Interestingly enough, Cumberbatch’s nudity, not Pulver’s, has been the focus of more fan blogging and photo manipulation.
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