Neurodiversity in Holmes & Watson 2016 panel outline
Apologies once more for being extremely late on posting this after Sherlock Seattle/Watson Washington. Life, motivation, and executive functioning issues have been playing against me the past few months.
As such, the accounts may not include everything that was discussed during the panel.
Under the read more, the outline will be divided into two parts:
Part 1 covers my 15-minute uninterrupted infodump on Sherlock Holmes (Elementary), Fiona Helbron (Elementary), and Joan Watson (Elementary)
Part 2 covers @pennypaperbrain’s account that includes bipolar representation (BBC, Guy Ritchie, Granada), and common stereotypes shown in neurodivergent characters
PART ONE
The first thing that I did (because like Sherlock Holmes, I am at times a bit dramatic), was bring out my large ASIE binder (last seen at 221B Con 2015) and my small pile of papers on Fiona Helbron, and placed them side by side.
The point for that was to compare the work that falls to the fans for autistic coding (ASIE binder for seasons 1-3), to the work that falls to the fans for autistic representation (papers on Fiona Helbron).
I got about 2 minutes in to my infodump until I realized that I forgot to turn on the audio recorder that I brought with.
I didn’t freak out. Quite the opposite. Instead I turned on the recorder, and started from the beginning (including the dramatic “slamming” of the ASIE binder on the table, which earned some genuine laughs and applause).
Other topics I discussed included:
Autistic stereotypes in “Murder Ex Machina”.
Fiona’s self label of “neuroatypical” and why self-identifying is important.
Sherlock Holmes “passing” as NT via Fiona’s “I’m not sure what you are”.
My disagreeing with Fiona that Joan Watson is NT - while Joan’s PTSD (witnessing a loved one get murdered, her being kidnapped, etc.) is largely ignored in canon, Joan would be allistic, not neurotypical.
Fiona breaking down stereotypes in “A View With A Room” (ex. lying via cats).
The dynamics of social rules conversations between Fiona and Joan that occur at the same time (throughout S4E9, S4E12, and S4E18) -
Joan, the non-autistic character out of the pair, isn’t trying to change the way Fiona conducts conversations or change Fiona’s routine
I made sure to emphasize that fellow Elementary fans rightfully told me prior to the panel that these conversations are also racist - a white woman telling a Chinese-American woman about the importance of social norms
Autistic safe space between Sherlock and Fiona and seeing that blossom into a romance.
Fiona scripting the almost-breakup in “Ready or Not”.
Sherlock researching neuroatypical relationships (and how the writers really missed the ball by NOT having him talk with autistic people).
Sherlock’s “because I’m different” echolalia, and how some people, myself included, have read that as him saying that he’s just like Fiona (re: being autistic), but good luck with that being admitted canonically.
Lastly, I talked about the reveal from Rob Doherty at NYCC 2016 that Fiona Helbron was originally supposed to only be in one episode.
[Given the events of S5E6, which aired after the Neurodiversity panel, it’s no surprise that the fans cared about Fiona more than the writers did.]
PART TWO
[The following is a word-for-word recount provided by @pennypaperbrain who I thank very much for for sending this to me]
I know of three Sherlocks who are either canonically bipolar or quite strongly presented as so -
BBC Sherlock: Pronounced mood swings, arrogance, intensity, cocaine use, long periods of silence, downswings. He’s never definitely characterised as one thing, but it doesn’t take much to stretch him in your preferred direction
RDJ/Guy Ritchie: His Watson actually says he’s manic in Game of Shadows
Brett/Granada: Bipolar Holmes played by a bipolar actor
Interpretations
I’m a fan of giving BBC Sherlock every neuroatypicality under the sun. Make him yours. The lines between different forms of neurodivergence are fuzzy anyway.
Fic
One of the greatest joys of BBC Sherlock fandom in my experience is reading and writing fic of this kind. There are many hundreds of fics depicting him as bipolar, ADHD, autistic, or a number of other conditions, often highly sophisticated depictions written by neuroatypical fans. This community helped me immeasurably in dealing with my own diagnosis of bipolar, and periods of acute illness.
Granada
This is a canonically bipolar Sherlock played by a bipolar actor. This makes it both validating and disturbing to watch. Sometimes Brett’s illness informed his portrayal; other times it overshadowed it.
Stereotypes
Tormented Genius: The idea that a mental imbalance fuels genius hangs particularly strongly around Jeremy Brett’s portrayal. From Bending the Willow: Jeremy Brett as Sherlock Holmes, “After being in the Maudsley [hospital] for 10 weeks, Hardwicke [who played Watson] says: ‘I remember him saying a terrifying thing to me at this time. Terrifying for an actor. He told me one day that he was really frightened and I asked him why. He said, “Because by balancing me and subduing me, I may have lost it - lost the ability to act.” I understood that fear and it was very real for Jeremy.’” So the idea of mania giving him an edge was a real one to Brett.
The Weirdo: One thing common to all the adaptations I know is that Sherlock Holmes is loved and admired, by his Watson and by others, in spite of some very odd behaviour. This has a particular resonance for some neuroatypical people because we know we can be hard to live with at times; that certainly applies to me as bipolar. Interpreting the character this way gives us a model of someone who has those palpable downsides, but is still loved, and wanted, and useful.
The Special White Male: The one point where I feel uncomfortable about readings of Sherlock as neuroatypical is where that intersects with other identity issues. I’m thinking particularly of the BBC version, my home fandom. I feel that, for the benefit of the casual audience, Sherlock’s neuroatypicality - otherness - is presented simply as a stock element in a package demonstrating that he is the Special White Man who should be allowed to get away with bad behavious because of his specialness. That’s not representation, but appropriation of neuroatypicality to create a persecution fantasy for the dominant group.
Outside of Part 1 and Part 2, there was also discussion of PTSD present in Watson from the BBC adaptation, which was conducted by the very resourceful @ormondsacker.
It wasn’t until after I arrived back home after the convention that I realized that the audio recorder didn’t work at all. Hence, this outline. I hope this suffices, and again, I apologize for being this tardy.
As promised, in the near future I’ll be posting the (very, very late - and I do apologize again) outline of the Neurodiversity in Holmes and Watson panel from Sherlock Seattle/Watson Washington.
Other than that, posts here will be sporadic from now until “Be My Guest” (5x11) airs on January 8th, 2017.
Whatever you celebrate, or don’t celebrate, I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday season!
Before Sherlock Seattle/Watson Washington, I originally estimated that I would post the Neurodiversity in Sherlock & Watson panel transcript (which will now be just a written outline) by this week.
Additional personal matters have popped up, as well as preparing for a poetry performance tonight, and completing my application for a writing fellowship before December 1st.
A feasible timeline for me to post the NiS&W panel outline will be at some point before Christmas. That’s all I know at this point.
Apologies again for my tardiness. I strive to be punctual but that doesn’t always happen.
This is @musicmuse097, who was VERY sweet and so nice at Sherlock Seattle/Watson Washington! I haven’t had a chance to post this cute photo of them with a bunch of my Morse Code necklaces because work has been so crazy @^@ But thank you, dear!! You were lovely to meet and I hope you enjoyed your first convention uwu
Thanks so much to everyone at Sherlock Seattle for a wonderful weekend. It was an incredible experience to meet so many talented and passionate people, and I was blown away by how welcoming everyone was. Love you all!
Now, on to the rec list: I asked people about their favorite fics at the con, and this list is the result of those fantastic conversations. Thanks to everyone who contributed! I’d love to pass the baton to all of you, now: if you have a favorite fic (or multiple), reblog this rec list and let us all know your favorites!
(As a side note: feel free to follow my non-rec blog at @brilliantlyburning! I mostly reblog Sherlock fics and meta, with a smattering of fanart and aesthetics.)
Saving Sherlock Holmes by earlgreytea68: The classic school fic. So lovely and wonderful (as are all fics by EGT, of course). If you love teenlock and haven’t read it–well, what are you waiting for? Go read it!
Give Me Fuel, Give Me Fire, Give Me That Which I Desire by gigglesbatch: A great post-season three fic that weaves jealousy, intrigue, and whump together to create a very satisfying story.
Masked Ball by Waid: A clever ACD case fic involving tricksters–if you’re partial to ACD or case fic, I definitely recommend this one.
Who satisfies your desires with good things by Chryse: This a fantastic Bible AU based on David and Jonathan. Even if this doesn’t sound like your thing, read it–you won’t regret it. Someone else recommended all of Chryse’s fics, an opinion that I second.
adventures in adolescence by Vera (Vera_DragonMuse): Another great teenlock fic in which Sherlock and John solve John’s father’s murder. Angsty but wonderful, and brilliantly characterized as well.
Buthal by JessamyGriffith: A twisted fairy tale involving monsters and hearts. Gorgeously done, but mind the pseudo-cannibalism.
My Heart Is As True As Steel by prettysailorsoldier: This a wonderful teenlock story. Angsty and fluffy at turns, this is easily one of my favorites of the genre.
The Men Who Talked Between the Words by Odamaki: This is a masterful slow burn. Set after season three, Sherlock and John end up raising John’s daughter together. Intricate and realistic, this is one of the best parentlock stories out there.
The Gilded Cage by BeautfulFiction: This A/B/O fic has my favorite worldbuilding within the category–this author subverts the norms of the Omegaverse to create a brilliantly plotted fic with excellent characterization. Seriously, this is a classic.
The Unlikely Death, Vol.1 (The Adventures of the Late Sherlock Holmes) by Niko Ford: Sherlock Holmes in space! A brilliant story in which John is suspected of having murdered Sherlock Holmes, and as part of the rehabilitation process must spend time with Sherlock’s hologram, who is only too happy to solve the mystery of his own murder. Go buy this right now!
The Burning Heart of Molly Hooper by PinkGlitterMasturbation: A slow burn fic that ends with Sherlock, Molly, and Irene in a polyamorous relationship. Great for fans of Sherlock/Molly or Sherlock/Irene.
How the mouth changes its shape by breathedout: Genderswapped Sherlock and John investigate a murder in a lesbian club in the 1950s–in other words, everything I never knew I desperately wanted.
Pure By Night by crimson_adder: A spooky ACD story with werewolves and supernatural elements: perfect for Halloween!
The Edinburgh Problem by snorklepie: Absolutely one of my favorite case fics. A masterful slow burn complete with shady art students, beautifully imagined original characters, and everything else you could ever want–read it immediately.
His Heavenly Cradle by BashfulBunny: A soft Omegaverse story chock-full of hurt and comfort. Lovely, but heed the tags: it deals with abuse and miscarriage.
A Land so Wild and Savage by doctornerdington: A Victorian AU in which John is an explorer and Sherlock is a botanist, and they explore the northwest passage. Currently a WIP.
The Paradox Series by wordstrings: Absolutely one of my favorites. Dark, disturbing, and absolutely fascinating, this series shows how a relationship between a sociopathic Sherlock and John might go. Simply stunning–if you haven’t already, read it now!
The Moonlight and the Frost by CaitlinFairchild: A classic post-season three case fic, this story deals with all of the tension between Sherlock and John beautifully. It’s never easy, but it’s masterfully done. Read it immediately if you haven't already!
Naked, Stripped, and Raw by Nikoshinigami: This series won awards for characterization, and it’s easy to see why. Eerily similar to series three (although it was written prior), these stories get to the heart of the characters.
At Night In the Floating World by PoppyAlexander: This is quite possibly the most immersive alternate universe I’ve ever read: a dystopian world in which John is an assassin and Sherlock is a geisha. Gorgeously done, and nothing short of brilliant.
Thank you all so much for a wonderful weekend! It was incredible to meet so many insanely talented people. Thank you for sharing your talent, your joy, and your recs!
