Dracula themes and references in Sherlock: series 1
AS I began to write about my favourite scene in TGG: The Golem, planetarium fight, what I consider to be the emotional climax of series 1, I began to realise that the theme of Dracula/Nosferatu was not just in this scene but that it ran through the show. At the planetarium the scene turns around on Sherlock and he goes from Dracula to Harker and must face his own seduction.
This is why there’s such a change from Sherlock’s look in series 1 to series 2. In ASiB, we see Sherlock eating in the first third of the episode. He seems healthy and robust and there are a lot of scenes in sunny daytime.
I have come to see the Golem/planetarium fight scene as the climax of the Dracula theme, as well as the emotional climax. For that is a story about seduction and giving in to forbidden, frightening pleasures. About the incredible seductive power of a lonely, mysterious man, who will take your will and make you his slave.
Dracula shows us a piece of the Victorian psyche. Its themes show us the sexual anxieties of the time. Including but not limited to:
*homosexual fear (Harker)
*fear of unbridled sexuality
*fear of blood-bourne illness
*xenophobia, fear of foreigners, ‘from the East’
*fear of the loss of the maternal instinct in women (Lucy)
*fear of female sexuality (Nina)
In Series 1, in John’s interaction with Sherlock we see him as Jonathan Harker arriving at a strange and mysterious man’s home. We see him eat while Sherlock does not. We see that a significant portion of the plot occurs after nightfall. Sherlock’s makeup is very pale and ghostly, a marked change from the original pilot where he looked much more accessible and less other-wordly. The way that his coat collar is turned up is reminiscent of Dracula’s cape collar.
The lighting and camera work are often suggestive of being in a spell or trance. Throughout ASiP, especially we see Sherlock lit in a very soft and cool lightning emphasising his facial beauty and also giving him an ethereal quality. The camera work when Sherlock explains his first set of deductions about John is very spinny. It’s dizzying in its focus, it’s almost like an early version of the TBB, ‘spinny kiss’, it has the effect of two men mesmerised by looking at each other. But, always the emphasis is on Sherlock’s ‘otherness’. John, here, looks very handsome but very everymanish. Sherlock, looks as otherworldly and dapper as we’ve ever seen him.
Note: the movie Nosferatu has changed the names of the characters because they could not get permission to use them. Hence, Dracula becomes Orlok, Harker becomes Hutter (which reminds me of Hudders) and Nina becomes Ellen.
First parallel to Nosferatu: John bolts up in bed, awoken from a dream. He has not yet met Sherlock. In the Dracula subtext, this is John being called to Sherlock, whom he will soon meet,
Ellen bolts up in bed, awoken from a dream about Dracula. She has not yet met Dracula. This is Dracula summoning her from a dream,
HLV, John bolts up from a dream about Sherlock, looking like Dracula, things are becoming more explicit,
Introduction to Sherlock as supernaturally omnipresent:
Our first look at Sherlock. Note his first interaction, here, is with a dead body,
Classic Bela Lugosi as Dracula,
(source: http://spinoff.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/dracula.jpg)
Hutter, eating dinner at Dracula’s,
Orlok, not eating/doesn’t need to eat. Trying to act normal, reading,
Sherlock, not eating/doesn’t need to eat,
Nosferatu Parallel, at the Roland-Kerr Further Education College. What sort of, ‘further’, education might Sherlock and John require?
Sherlock still not eating,
This spin is disorienting and hypnotic. Dracula puts you under a spell that you cannot combat,
Not sleeping/doesn’t need to sleep,
In TGG, the Dracula tables are about to turn on Sherlock. Note that in this episode John wears his coat collar turned up.
This symbolizes reciprocity: Sherlock cannot be only the seducer without eventually acknowledging that he’s also the seduced. He is under John’s spell, too,
Sherlock is still not eating,
The most iconic reference to Nosferatu is his shadow. Here is the Golem as Nosferatu,
Here we have Sherlock as the Nosferatu and John as Hutter,
And then, the opposite: John as Orlok and Sherlock as Hutter. This is the meaning of the Golem scene: Sherlock faces that he’s fallen for John as well,
Now, here we have two Hutters vs The Golem. Fear of feelings and fear of sex. With far away melancholy look of fear and already-panting look of fear. Exit sign shows urge to flee due to these fears,
Feeling concerned about his body: 'where’s my penis symbol?’
“Don’t worry I brought it and will give it to you”,
Note this happens again in HLV. "Do you have your phallic symbol/boner? Here I will give it to you",
Ever notice how much professor Cairns (caring?) looks like Sherlock? She is the person that the Golem is there to kill. She is looking for information, knowledge. Here, she looks particularly, 'illuminated’. She’s looking for knowledge of the solar system, Sherlock’s code for, 'feelings’, and while she could have googled this on her phone in like 5 seconds, she’s here, dramatically engaging with some 20th century technology,
Note that she also looks like John. She’s wearing a grey open sweater vest, and has blonde hair. She is a visual mash-up of our protagonists,
Here come Sherlock, armed with feelings and a boner. Notice how John is specifically not inside the feelings circle. John’s okay with his feelings,
Golem’s shadow, once again, contrasted with the exit. The urge to flee is strong when it comes to facing the Golem,
No other scene in Sherlock is as disorienting and chaotic as this fight scene. This is one of the most vulnerable moments for Sherlock, since he’s entirely out of his element. In the realm of feelings, fighting an man symbolic of male seduction and loss of control.
Rendered helpless from behind,
Such a romantic moment, here. "Save me, Janus! Do you see what’s going on?“
'Don’t worry, baby, I got this. Look at me, I’m smiling’,
Immediately the Golem’s like, 'you’re not afraid? You’re next, bro!’ And John’s like, 'ahhh! I am afraid, dammit!’
Hey, Sherlock, the Golem’s going to throw John at you. You ready? (With intense pink between-his-legs feelings)
The editing does a beautiful nod to old films in this obvious instance. It brings me great pleasure. Sherlock falls to our left with what looks like a film burn mark on the bottom of the screen,
Yet, he gets up and is directly in front of the Golem. This is a purposeful break in continuity as homage to early films,
Sherlocks gets knocked down to our left for a second time,
John jumps on the Golem, symbolizing that he is the Golem. He’s the one seducing him, like Dracula would,
The emotional climax: John 'saves’ him from the Golem. But, when his hands pull away from Sherlock’s face, his reaction is unusual. He looks relaxed, surprised, and a bit wistful, is he sad to see the hands go away? Maybe it’s a matter of, 'you don’t know what you got 'til it’s gone’?
We must remember that when Dracula attacks you, he does not overpower you with force but with his magical charms. By the time he’s on you, you want him to be there. He makes you want it,
Notice the unusual gesture of the hands. They, too, look relaxed and not threatening or tense,
Notice the size and shape of the hands is much more suggestive of John’s hands than of the Golem’s hands. When they are near his heart, more light orbs appear, symbolising Sherlock’s feelings. This is Sherlock under John’s spell,
Stay tuned for some other Dracula themes in the rest of the story.
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