![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Overall I liked the new Sherlock Holmes series, here are my spoilery general thoughts.
And now a spoilery grumble about the portrayal of Watson's limp in Sherlock. I don't know enough about PTSD to say anything about the portrayal of that. They didn't seem to be going to much effort to show it at all, really, apart from him being generally down to start with.
Spoilers! Though not for the murderer or anything.
When we heard the limp was psychosomatic I thought "Oh that is totally going to vanish when it suits the plot" and sure enough we were clearly supposed (from the way it was framed and shot) to think "Oh poor Watson, he limps, how tragic" and his limp vanishing was directly correlated to him finding purpose and happiness. I'm not saying that sort of chronic pain never happens, and I don't know a lot about psychosomatic disorders (though looking them up they're related to stress related illness which I am prone to). But it was all too convenient, and the subtext was dodgy.
The fact that I've had people (including a doctor) tell me that if I go for a walk and cheer up maybe my own mobility problems will magically vanish does not endear me to this plot :/ It is possible to have a limp and be awesome at the same time! I was hoping we would get to see that but apparently not.
Oh, and in an unrelated grumble I didn't like that there was an "uptight negative black woman who is having an affair and being a killjoy" character, especially since there really weren't any good or relateable female characters to make up for it.
And now a spoilery grumble about the portrayal of Watson's limp in Sherlock. I don't know enough about PTSD to say anything about the portrayal of that. They didn't seem to be going to much effort to show it at all, really, apart from him being generally down to start with.
Spoilers! Though not for the murderer or anything.
When we heard the limp was psychosomatic I thought "Oh that is totally going to vanish when it suits the plot" and sure enough we were clearly supposed (from the way it was framed and shot) to think "Oh poor Watson, he limps, how tragic" and his limp vanishing was directly correlated to him finding purpose and happiness. I'm not saying that sort of chronic pain never happens, and I don't know a lot about psychosomatic disorders (though looking them up they're related to stress related illness which I am prone to). But it was all too convenient, and the subtext was dodgy.
The fact that I've had people (including a doctor) tell me that if I go for a walk and cheer up maybe my own mobility problems will magically vanish does not endear me to this plot :/ It is possible to have a limp and be awesome at the same time! I was hoping we would get to see that but apparently not.
Oh, and in an unrelated grumble I didn't like that there was an "uptight negative black woman who is having an affair and being a killjoy" character, especially since there really weren't any good or relateable female characters to make up for it.
Tags:
no subject
For me there's a difference between "This sends a message I can't support and I refuse to give them money" and "This sends a message which offends me and I can't enjoy it". Some fiction manages to entertain me despite it's incredibly horrible subtext and I don't see the point in pretending it doesn't, even if I sometimes refuse to financially support it. Other much less flawed fiction happens to hit my buttons and irritate me so much I can't enjoy it. Despite being horribly ableist Sherlock managed to entertain me and I want to know what happen next.
But by making this post I warn other disabled people that they might not want to watch it, or to prepare themselves if they do. Plus I hopefully open the minds of other people a little.