[ SECRET POST #2519 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2519 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 049 secrets from Secret Submission Post #360.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

It's not that they have to struggle to make old stories palatable, it's that they have to struggle to drag them down to the level of modern people.

People dislike ACD Holmes because they don't like being reminded that people who are super-intelligent don't necessarily have to sacrifice their goodness and emotional awareness and niceness and morality for their intelligence. They enjoy the idea that people who are more intelligent than them are punished by being jerky enough to balance their intelligence out. People nowadays get extremely uncomfortable if someone is better than them and have a desperate need to be reassured that those grapes are sour anyway, because that person who is supposedly better than them is a vile douchebag in other respects.

This is why there's so many geniuses who are incredible arrogant douchebags in media today -- viewers need to pretend that the price for intelligence is douchebaggery, so that they have an excuse to not bother to improve themselves.

[(Anonymous)]

THIS all of this. OP's secret is exactly why I don't like most adaptations -- Granada's Holmes was the closest to Canon-compliant I've seen -- and they did include his "great heart."

[(Anonymous)]

I agree. In addition to all that, there's a tendency to romanticize the whole douchey genius archetype. Both the RDJ and the BBC versions do this, Elementary to a lesser extent.

[siofrabunnies]

God, thank you. ACD Sherlock Holmes was always someone I've looked up to, because he was successful, intelligent, and happy. He had his problems, but they didn't get in the way.

I grew up in a town where being smart meant you must think you're better than everyone else, and you should try to improve your station in life. Having someone be smart, fairly kind, and well-respected formed a huge part of my identity.

[blueonblue]

I think it's more of a fantasy for smart assholes who would like to believe that their intelligence excuses horrible behavior.

[(Anonymous)]

That's what I was thinking, too.

[intrigueing]

That too, but that's not the reason this trope exists. By the sort of fare it's common in, this trope comes from appealing to the lowest common denominator, which are mostly not smart people, since smart people, asshole or otherwise, are not a large segment of the population.

[(Anonymous)]

Did you mean anything Steven Moffat ever writes?

[(Anonymous)]

Thank you, I don't know why, but your comment made me laugh.

[(Anonymous)]

Or even better, the reverse--that if they're an asshole, it means they must be smart and above everyone else. (AKA The Ayn Rand Effect)

[(Anonymous)]

Yes, absolutely yes.

And I am pleasantly surprised by how many people understand and agree.

This is honestly one of the best comments I've seen on f/s in the longest time.

[(Anonymous)]

Except there are plenty of "smart" people who feel like they're better than everybody else and look down on people they deem less intelligent. I think these things just feed into their ego.

I've run into plenty of those both online and IRL (at universities).

[(Anonymous)]

Sure, but those people are a small segment of the population, and definitely not target television demographics and broad marketing bases.

[(Anonymous)]

Oh wow. I had never considered this.

I like your comment very much. This pinpoint exactly why I don't feel comfortable watching the latest adaptations, and why those Holmes feels kinda OOC to me. The only adaptation I can stand is the Granada version, I miss that version! :(

[(Anonymous)]

I think the Granada version is also a bit more extreme of a Holmes than canon -- his moods and childishness tend to be a lot more self-indulgent and explosive rather than passive-aggressive and bitchy, and unlike canon!Holmes, he never really puts anyone at ease or soothes them, nor does he seem to even have any idea how to (which is actually sort of adorable). On the other hand, he's a lot more demonstrably sweet and affectionate towards Watson than canon Holmes, and less mocking and sarcastic towards people in general.

Granada isn't really some perfect translation of canon, nor does it need to be -- perfect translations of canon are boring IMO, because why not just read canon if you're just going to watch someone parrot it line by line? But IA that it is a remarkably tasteful and thoughtful adaptation and I like it very much (although I like a lot of adaptations) :)