RIP Script Intro to class Presenter: Amber I would like to welcome everyone to our seminar, we are Writing 37 and

our focus for writing this quarter has been the mystery genre. The four stages of genre development include: the primitive, classical, parodic, and revisionist stage. The primitive stage is when the conventions of the genre are just developing, and the audience has yet to develop set expectations for the genre. During the classical stage, the genre is at its peak of popularity, the conventions of the genre receive their fullest expression, and the audience knows what to expect. By the parodic stage, the conventions of the genre have become so well-known, that they are laughable and ripe for parody. Then finally during the revisionist stage, genre films intentionally question and/or reverse the established conventions of the classical stage of the genre. We decided to focus on the Classical stage with Conan Doyle and the Revisionist stage with the modern-day texts. So we will be going over a short introduction of the basics we covered this quarter and then we have a murder mystery that we would like you guys to help solve. So I hope you guys enjoy our presentation and lets get started. 1. Late Victorian Era (1837-1901) Presenters: Sandra, Julien During the Victorian Era, when Conan Doyle was alive, people were drawn to cities because of job opportunities that were created by the Industrial Revolution, a shift from hand production to machines that started in Great Britain during the 1800s. Families from the rural areas migrated to London causing overpopulation. Once they realized there was not enough space or jobs for everyone, they had no option but to stay because they had sold all of their land to get there. The overpopulation increased the rates of death, disease, poverty, and, most importantly, crime. Poverty became more apparent because there was a discrepancy between the lower class and the upper middle class. In the early Victorian Era people were more religious than scientific whereas in the late Victorian Era the popular attitude was shifting toward a scientific explanation. The Age of Reason began to overtake the Age of Religion/Superstition. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a firm believer that there was always a scientific explanation behind everything. 2. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Presenter: Mossab Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author and creator of the Sherlock Holmes stories attended the University of Edinburgh. While there, Conan Doyle met Professor Joseph Bell, who was the inspiration of the Sherlock Holmes character. He was a man of deductive reasoning, close observation, logic, and diagnosis. As for the character of Dr. John Watson, Conan Doyle himself was originally pursuing a medical career at Edinburgh which is why he portrays himself as Watson. He was an average man with medical knowledge and the ability to learn investigative skills.

3. Mystery Genre Conventions Presenters: Meghan, Tyler, Dakari 1. The Stock Characters o 1. Sherlock Holmes believes that there are three things that every detective needs: observation, knowledge, and deduction. Sherlock Holmes uses logical deductions to get through his cases. He tries to think of every possibility that a crime was performed and narrows it down as he gathers evidence to a final conclusion. For Holmes, he needs to have his brain stimulated at all times. Besides solving cases, another way for him to stimulate his brain is by drugs like injecting cocaine once in a while. Next to Sherlock Holmes is his sidekick Dr. Watson. Watson is always inferior to Holmes when it comes to solving cases, but still tries to express his opinions. Even though that he knows that Holmes is stubborn at times, at the end he still praises him for his talent. Watson is also the narrator of the story. We see everything from his perspective. The client in each story is the one that gives Sherlock and Watson their cases. Sherlock does whatever he can to try and help each client. The villain in each story is the one that commits the crime. The crime usually consists of a big theft or a murder. Their motives are hidden until the end when Sherlock comes to his final conclusion. The police investigators in each story are the ones who blame the most obvious person. They often doubt Holmess abilities and seem to jump to their own conclusions. 2. The Basic Plot o There is a very strict formula that the mystery genre follows, our murder mystery will also follow this formula so please look out for these elements. The basic plot of all Sherlock Holmes stories is: It starts off at the 221B Baker St. Apartment, where a client arrives. Holmes deduces things about the client based on an object or the client him or herself and then the client proceeds to tell Holmes the details of the case. After the client leaves, Holmes and Watson discuss the case. They are then off to their investigation, usually heading to the scene of the crime to gather clues. After investigating, Holmes solves the case and justice is met. Later, Holmes and Watson are back in 221B Baker St. where Holmes explains to Watson what happened. 3. Clues o One of the vital components of a crime scene is the evidence within it. During the Victorian Era there was no crime scene. The Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes stories changed the way crime scenes were observed. The evidence play a vital role in solving the case because it allows the audience to piece it together. The evidence and clues found, act as puzzle pieces for the audience. Piecing together a

mystery is one of the many enjoyable aspects of the mystery genre and this is why many people enjoy it.

Revisionist stage: Modern Day Holmes Texts Presenter: Amber So that concludes our focus on the classical Conan Doyle, now we will be moving onto the modern-day revisionist texts, where you will notice how Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes stories have shaped today's texts and adapted to its new audience.

4. Modern-Day Texts 1. House M.D. Presenter: Julien o House M.D. is the first modern-day interpretation of Sherlock Holmes. It is a medical drama set in 21st century New Jersey that ran for 8 seasons from 2004-2012. The show is about a doctor named Gregory House who fights disease instead of crime. He and his medical team try to diagnose mysterious illnesses. Just like Holmes, House is addicted to drugs, but brilliant in his own right, and has a Watson named Dr. Wilson. Unlike Holmes, however, Houses first diagnosis in an episode is almost never correct.The show adds a medical twist to Conan Doyles original stories as well as a bit of dark comedy. 2. Psych
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Psych is a detective mystery television series based at Santa Barbara, California - Theyre filming the last 3 episodes right now actually. Its still a detective mystery genre, but a fusion with comedy. In this case, Shawn Spencer is Sherlock Holmes and hes just as observant as Sherlock - but hes filled with more sarcasm and jokes. For example, hes a Psychic detective and they would show that by making the objects he observes glow. He has a sidekick like Watson, and they share more of a friendship than a professional relationship. Gus is a significant character because he is black - characters in Victorian London were classified more through their social classes and main characters were white.

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Sherlock Holmes Films

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Sherlock BBC Presenter: Mossab

In Sherlock, Benedict Cumberbatch plays Holmes and Martin Freeman plays Watson. The show follows the novels closely but with slight differences. Most of the characters are identical to those in the novels and some episodes titles are after the novels. It became the most popular show in the UK although the stories behind it were written in the late 1800s. The show is heavily modernized, set in the 21st century. The update led to a positive critique from the audience. Also, Benedict Cumberbatch was voted the sexiest man in the UK.

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Elementary Presenter: Amber o Elementary is an American crime drama series that aired in 2012 created due to the popularity of the BBC Sherlock series. The show is set in modern day New York where Sherlock Holmes, a recovering heroin addict, has fled to escape his problems in London. Compared to Conan Doyles Sherlock Holmes character, the Holmes in Elementary is much more emotional and sexually active. He lives with a sober companion, Dr. Joan Watson, who is also an ex-surgeon. Joan Watson is an important interpretation because she is the first Asian female to ever play the role of Watson, and she happens to be smarter as well. This shows that our attitude towards women have drastically changed, and this series has changed to adapt to our new culture. All of these modifications to Elementary allow its audience to relate to more modern day aspects of the original Sherlock Holmes stories.