Sherlock Holmes discussion topics that are pointless
...and other little rants.
Yes. I’m going there.
I guess all fandoms have their topics that are guaranteed to generate heated debate but, in my experience, Sherlock Holmes seems to do it more than most.
Which Holmes actor is definitive? Is Holmes gay? Does Holmes have bi-polar disorder etc. etc. etc. I really wish people would stop having these, and other, discussions. All they do is create dislike within the community and there’s enough of that in the world as it is.*
*Yes, I know I’m wasting my time with that plea.
Can we also give the term “gatekeeping” a rest? It has always irked me. Perhaps, appropriately, I have never seen a definitive definition of the term but, based on how I’ve seen it used, it seems to be defined as follows:
The attempt, by an individual or minority, to dictate, without a mandate, what is acceptable in a group, fandom, topic etc.
What I find absurd about this is that when someone asserts that something is unacceptable in the Sherlock Holmes world, sooner or later, they will be accused of gatekeeping and the accuser will say that the thing in question is perfectly acceptable.
But is that not also gatekeeping? By adopting the contrary position, you are also attempting to say what is acceptable. Is it just considered okay because it is inclusive gatekeeping rather than exclusive? You are still endeavouring to dictate to the majority without a mandate. Whether your position is inclusive or exclusive it will almost certainly have its opponents upon whose behalf you don’t speak. It’s one hell of a rabbit hole.
I tend to see it like this. In the Sherlock Holmes world (and, I guess, in any other) there are going to be opinions, books, films, actors, perspectives etc. that you don’t like. You have no choice but to accept that they exist (because they do) but you have the freedom to curate your own corner of that world. You are under no obligation to regard someone else’s view as valid (no matter how much they insist it is). Equally, everyone else is entitled to see any or all of your view as invalid or wrong.
The main thing is that we should all try and stop telling each other how to, metaphorically, furnish our own house. You may not like someone’s curtains or carpets but there’s no need to ram it down their throat and, at the end of the day, you’re not the one who has to look at them.
I know I am shouting into the void and nothing will change but hope springs…