Imperial and critical cosmopolitans: screening the multicultural city on Sherlock and Elementary

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dc.contributor.authorKustritz, Anne
dc.date.accessioned2018-05-10T10:47:33Z
dc.date.available2018-05-10T10:47:33Z
dc.date.issued2017
dc.description.abstractThis article argues that two modern reinterpretations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, that is the BBC’s Sherlock (2010–) and CBS’s Elementary (2012–), differ in their representations of the city in ways that bear significant political ramifications. In particular, Sherlock repeats many of the social structures of Conan Doyle’s stories that construct an imperial cosmopolitan vision of life in London, while Elementary offers an interpretation of Holmes’s life in modern New York with a critical cosmopolitan ethos. Building on the works of Craig Calhoun, Ann Stoler, Paul Gilroy, and Walter Mignolo, this article argues that imperial cosmopolitanism refers to a colonial node wherein the global circulation of goods and people leads to increases in segregation, social differentiation, and ethnocentrism, whereas critical cosmopolitanism refers to circumstances under which the arrangement of the global city creates increased contact between various kinds of people as well as decreased social differentiation, which may lead to mutual understanding, solidarity, and what Lauren Berlant calls political empathy. This article demonstrates these two divergent approaches by analysing the programmes’ aesthetic choices, depictions of social contact between Holmes and the diverse inhabitants of the city, and the representations of women, particularly with regard to the casting of Watson. As a result, the article finds that Sherlock depicts London from above as a space that must be strategically traversed to maintain social distance, while Elementary depicts New York from street level as a space wherein Holmes learns to encounter diverse others as co-equal citizens and the audience is invited to experience multiple perspectives. Consequently, Sherlock reiterates an imperial cosmopolitan view of urban globalisation, while Elementary includes key preconditions for the emergence of critical cosmopolitan mentalities.en
dc.description.statusPeer revieweden
dc.description.versionPublished Versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.citationKustritz, A. (2017) ‘Imperial and critical cosmopolitans: screening the multicultural city on Sherlock and Elementary’, Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media,14, pp. 143–159. https://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.14.08en
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.33178/alpha.14.08
dc.identifier.endpage159
dc.identifier.issn2009-4078
dc.identifier.issued14
dc.identifier.journalabbrevAlphaville
dc.identifier.journaltitleAlphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Mediaen
dc.identifier.startpage143
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10468/6066
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherFilm and Screen Media, University College Corken
dc.relation.urihttp://www.alphavillejournal.com/Issue14/ArticleKustritiz.pdf
dc.rights© 2017, The Author(s)en
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.subjectArthur Conan Doyleen
dc.subjectSherlock Holmesen
dc.subjectBBCen
dc.subjectCBSen
dc.subjectElementaryen
dc.subjectSherlocken
dc.subjectCityen
dc.subjectPolitical ramificationen
dc.subjectLondonen
dc.subjectImperialen
dc.subjectVisionen
dc.subjectNew Yorken
dc.subjectCosmopolitan ethosen
dc.subjectCraig Calhounen
dc.subjectAnn Stoleren
dc.subjectPaul Gilroyen
dc.subjectWalter Mignoloen
dc.subjectImperial cosmopolitanismen
dc.subjectSegregationen
dc.subjectSocial differentiationen
dc.subjectEthnocentrismen
dc.subjectCritical cosmopolitanismen
dc.subjectSolidarityen
dc.subjectPolitical empathyen
dc.subjectLauren Berlanten
dc.subjectSocial contacten
dc.subjectSocial distanceen
dc.subjectWomenen
dc.subjectStreet levelen
dc.titleImperial and critical cosmopolitans: screening the multicultural city on Sherlock and Elementaryen
dc.typeArticle (peer-reviewed)en
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Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media. Issue 14: For a Cosmopolitan Cinema