Esteban Aceves Dr.

Lynda Haas Writing 37 18 February 2014 A Dream Team Most of the mystery movies or shows we see today are very similar to one another. The mystery genre was created in the late 18th century and perfected by the author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who wrote the Sherlock Holmes series, which was considered the father of the mystery genre (PBS). The mystery genre follows many guidelines such as, there must a detective in the story or that the detective cannot be the criminal. (Dine). The job of the detective is to use his expertise to solve what most investigators, policeman, and the average person could not solve. One of the most important mystery genre conventions is that the detective has a partner. The partner or friend of the detective is usually someone who serves as a foil to emphasize the outstanding qualities of the detective (Weaver). However, the sidekick mustnt be more intelligent than the detective, [H]is intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader(PBS). Sherlock Holmes sidekick was Watson. Although the sidekick isnt the most intelligent, the sidekick and the detective work well with each other, and are needed to solve the case. Interestingly enough, although the guidelines were made in the 18th century, over time the role of the sidekick has changed to fit more modern audiences such as social equality and a more intelligent sidekick. The convention of the sidekick can be seen in the modern-mystery television show, Psych. Psych is a mystery series where a man named Shawn claims to be a psychic, but in reality he just has amazing observation skills. Shawn fools

Aceves 2 everyone into thinking he is psychic and begins solving cases with the help of his childhood best friend Gus. In season six, episode thirteen, Lets Doo-Wop It Again, Shawn is hospitalized after his appendix burst. Right after Shawn is put into the hospital, a long-time friend of theirs named Deacon is shot. Shawn is unable to investigate and sends Gus to investigate. Although Gus is very logical and capable of using deduction, he still needs Shawns expertise. Shawn and Gus devise a plan so that Shawn can help; their plan is to have Shawn FaceTime via an iPad while he is in the hospital. Gus investigates while recording with an iPad so Shawn can also see via FaceTime. Together Shawn and Gus work to solve the crime. (Shorter Summary) There were many updates to the genre convention that were made over time that fit the modern day audience. For example, the sidekick in the show is African-American, which was not something commonly seen in the 18th century. This is something that has evolved over time. The leads to the next update in the convention, the sidekick is also very capable of taking the lead and putting pieces together that are crucial to solving the case. (Included this update to show the race equality seen nowadays, something one wouldnt see in the 18th century.) In one specific scene, Gus is investigating a gang members home and mentions that the gang called The Rolling Ones, were called that because they control drug trafficking from streets one hundred to one-ninety. When Shawn hears Gus mention that he recalls earlier when Gus said that the gang cars license plate ended with 2190, Shawn makes the connection and says that the license plate must be 1002190, which was a reference to which streets the gang controlled. In this scene, the only person the camera was fixed on was Gus. Usually the focus is set to Shawn and sometimes Gus, but given Shawns circumstances, Gus had to take charge and solve the case. The scene was shot in what is called shallow focus, which refers to the film

Aceves 3 term meaning: shooting a scene only focusing on one object or person. This usually implies the subject is oblivious to his or her surroundings. In this case, as Gus is investigating he is not using his detective skills to the fullest and is still oblivious to the clues around him. When Gus feels as if he cannot find anything, Shawn asks him to let him explore the room. The scene changes and the audience begins to see the scene through the point-of-view of Gus. As Gus looks around the room, the audience sees exactly what Gus would see. This limited view puts the viewer in the shoes of Gus. Another important aspect of this scene, is the dcor and lighting. The dcor in the room Gus is investigating is clustered. The dcor in a scene usually amplifies the mood of the scene or of the character. Gus mind reflects the dcor of the scene, very much the like the room, Guss mind is jumbled and confused. Another important aspect to notice during this scene is the lighting. The lighting in this scene is an example of low-key lighting. The lighting in the room is very dim besides the lighting on Gus. The point of low-key lighting is to contrasts the important objects from the unimportant objects. Since the lighting on Gus is very dominant, it shows that Gus, the sidekick, is the important object in this scene. As far as dialogue goes in this specific scene, most of the dialogue was spoken to or by Gus; Gus was the center of attention for this episode. The scene is edited in such a way where the sidekick is the main character and not only is he the person the audience sees most, but the editing, lighting, dcor, and camera angles are all made for the audience to feel and see what Gus is feeling or seeing. (Analysis includes film analysis aspects) In Sir Arthur Conan Doyles novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick John Watson are introduced into a case where there is believed to be a supernatural hound killing off the Baskerville family. When given the case, Holmes tells Watson to go off to Baskerville Hall and investigate the case and that he will stay in London working on other

Aceves 4 things. The only way Holmes knew of the case was through letters. By the end of the story, Holmes and Watson find each other tying together their leads and solving the case. Although the case was solved with the help of Holmes, Watson had some of the missing pieces Holmes needed to solve the case. This is very similar to the Psych episode. Gus had to go on and solve a case by himself and would tell Shawn of the leads through FaceTime via iPad as compared to writing letters. This comical modernization of using the iPad was made to appeal to modern day audiences. Although the plot twist is very similar, the idea is not the same. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Watson still isnt capable of solving the case without the help of Holmes, this is because at the time, the detective was never to be smarter than the average reader, meaning, that Watson could never solve the case on his own. In Psych, Gus did have the capability of solving the crime. Gus had more deductive skills and did a finer job at solving the case with minimum help from Shawn. Also, Gus solves the case at the end of the episode without the help of Shawn. This is an update made to the sidekick over time, the sidekick is no longer just someone who helps the detective, but also someone who has the capabilities of taking charge in order to solve a case. There are also other changes to the role of the sidekick that have been made over time. Compared to Gus relation with Shawn, Holmes and Watson had a more serious and professional friendship, while in the show, Shawn and Gus had a more comical and relatable friendship to modern day audiences. This being that gentleman in the 18th century were to behave like men and were very well spoken. Using higher level vocabulary and speaking very politely to each other makes the friendship between Holmes and Watson very professional. In todays society, close male friends rarely talk to each other in the same manner that Holmes and Watson would speak to each other. Because of this, the sidekicks Shawn and Gus speak to each other in a more familiar and informal manner. Shawn and Gus refer to each other as brothers, or

Aceves 5 best friends, and call each other dude, and insult each other only to show that they care, a trend that was not seen very often in the 18th century. This change was made to fit a more modern audience. (Fixed paragraph to include the differences between 18th century gentleman and men today) Although the idea of the sidekick is still the same, it has been modernized to appeal to modern-day audiences. Both the detective and the sidekick are great with each other and bring out the best qualities in each other, but the way they express it has changed over time. In Sherlock Holmes, Holmes and Watson have a very professional relationship, while the Psych duo Shawn and Gus have a more relaxed and relatable friendship to people today. They are like brothers and make numerous jokes with each other and genuinely care about each other. Many of the mystery genre conventions seen in the past can be seen in many modern day mysteries but have adapted to better suit the trends of modern time. (Fixed the conclusion)

Changes made to the essay My comments

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Work Cited: Doyle, Arthur Conan. Sherlock Holmes - The Hound of the Baskervilles. New York: Dell, 1964. Print. Frank, Steve. "Let's Doo-Wop It Again." Psych. USA. 21 Mar. 2012. Television. Weaver, Sarah. "How Smart Is Watson?" Weblog post. How Smart Is Watson? Web. 20 Feb. 2014. Dine, S.S Van. ""Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories"" Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories. American Magazine. Web. 19 Feb. 2014. "The Mystery Genre." PBS. PBS. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. "Yale Film Studies." Film Analysis Web Site 2.0. Yale University, 27 Aug. 2002. Web. 12 March. 2014.