Contreras 1 Soledad Contreras Professor Lynda Haas Writing 37 February 20, 2014 The Sidekick: A Modern-day Text Genre

Convention The mystery genre is a style of writing that involves a detective investigating and solving a crime. This genre of writing began during the English Industrial Revolution, when people migrated into cities making them crowded and thus increasing crime rates. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, one of the most influential authors created Sherlock Holmes in 1877, along with a variety of genre conventions that he established for the mystery genre. Some of the genre conventions include: locked room mystery, red hearing, clues used as evidence, and deduction along with many others. One of the most important genre conventions that Conan Doyle established was the convention of a Sidekick, which in his stories was portrayed by Dr. Watson and that up to this day is portrayed in modern day films like, Burton Gus Guster who is the sidekick in the television series Psych. In the television series House MD, Dr. Lisa Cuddy is the sidekick. In the modern day film, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, the use of the convention of the sidekick stands out throughout the movie showing us how it has changed since the Conan Doyle stories by proving a more personal relationship between detective and sidekick. A Game of Shadows is a PG- 13 2011 British-American film that involves Sherlock Holmes taking down Professor Mortiary and with the unconditional help of his sidekick Doctor

Contreras 2 Watson and a gypsy named Simza. A Game of Shadows is a modern-day revision of Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, updating genre conventions for its 21st century audience; in particular, the convention of the Sidekick is an update of Conan Doyle's, The sigh of the Four, with specific revisions such as the emotional side of the relationship between Holmes and Watson. In A Game of Shadows, we see a more closely related relationship between Holmes and Watson where they are seen more as brothers than just two men who work together to solve a mystery. In the scene where Watson is about to marry Miss Morstan, Holmes is Watsons best man and not only do they arrive just on time for the wedding, but they arrive unprepared, with dirty clothes and extremely tired because they had recently been working on solving the mystery which shows how Watson was there for Holmes and now Holmes is there for Watson on the day of his wedding. After the wedding, Holmes follows Watson and Miss Morstan to protect them and ends up throwing Miss Morstan off the train to protect her. In The Sign of the Four by Conan Doyle, we see how the relationship between the sidekick and the detective is more professional and less personal. When trying to locate Jonathan Smalls, Holmes sends Watson to get a dog to help him trace the culprit when he says, Sherman is the name. You will see a weasel holding a young rabbit in the window. Knock old Sherman up, and tell him with my compliments, that I want Toby at once. You will bring Toby back in the cab with you .(43) In the scene of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, where Holmes is Watsons best man, as the man are arriving to the wedding from Watsons Bachelors party , Holmes is riding

Contreras 3 the carriage while Watson is passed out in the back looking almost dead because he had gotten very intoxicated and had gotten in a fight. The camera zooms into Watsons face to let the viewers see how unprepared he was for his wedding, with scratches and dirt on his face. Holmes wakes him up and helps him get cleaned up a little as Watson seems lost and incapable of doing it on his own. The camera focuses on the moment where Holmes holds Watsons hands which is a symbol of saying I am here for you. Holmes drags Watson into the ceremony and they walk with a limp as though they had gotten a beat down. They dont speak at all, because the images show what is going on and the music in the background, which is the sound of bagpipes, creates a mood of this is it. Once they are inside, Holmes is sitting next to Watson falling asleep. Once Watson puts the ring on the brides finger, the people present clap, except for Holmes who seems a little sad because he know that with his sidekick married, he is no longer going to have a companion by his side to help him solve mysteries every time. This scene of A Game of Shadow, not only shows how Holmes was there for Watson when he needed him the most but it also shows how he was a little sad that his sidekick was no longer going to be by his side solving mysteries. In the other hand, The Sign of the Four, we see how Holmes is almost telling him what to do, as in a relationship of a boss and the assistant. Although the convention of the sidekick is still there very present in both Conan Doyles The Sigh of the Four and in the modern day film, A game of shadows, it is noticeable how the convention has change to make the role of the sidekick seem less professional as if it were a job and more personal as it is seen in the film to let us notice that Sherlock and Watson are best

Contreras 4 friends and that they are not only there for each other solving mysteries but also during important times of their lives like the wedding of Watson. To conclude, the mystery genre continues to amuse todays audience because It continues to show many of the Genre conventions that were established by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Most importantly, the convention of the sidekick is still portrayed in many television series and movies like in Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadow with a few revisions of making Holmes and Watson have a more personal relationship than professional like it was seen in The Sign of the Four. This convention has changed the way it has because emotion appeals to people. Todays movies show sympathy and emotion and love, because that is what people want to see. Holmes and Watson in this film were the perfect detective and sidekick.

Works Cited Doyle, Arthur Conan, and Christopher Roden. The Sign of the Four. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1993. Print. "Mystery Fiction." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Feb. 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. "troperville." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014.