The life of a Sherlock Superfan: Devoted or Deluded?

In our media-saturated generation, it’s hard to avoid people telling you to watch the newest TV show, or tweeting about their Netflix binge of True Detective. So what happens when someone loves a TV show so much, they get national news coverage because of it?

I had this experience when my friend from college, the shy yet chirpy Irene-Elisabeth Ellis tweeted an image of herself in a national newspaper, and then in a BBC program, and then when she revealed to me that she’d gained over four thousand followers on Tumblr who were eager to watch her spend thousands of pounds on trains, coaches and cosplay.

Compared to other internet personas, this may not seem impressive. But Irene is famous amongst a very specific set of people: the mostly-online fandom for one of the BBC’s most popular shows: Sherlock. Played by cheekbone-enthusiast Benedict Cumberbatch and the jaw-clenchingly inoffensive Martin Freeman, the series, which draws in on average eight million views per episode and is the UK’s most watched drama series since 2001, tells the classic tale of stroppy detective Sherlock Holmes and even stroppier sidekick Dr John Watson set in 21^st Century London. It has won multiple awards and has gained recent media coverage because of fans turning up in their hundreds to watch the new series being filmed, in London and other parts of the UK. Dubbed as ‘Setlock’, a quick search of the word on Twitter brings up hundreds of images of cold yet optimistic fans standing behind barriers, eager to catch a glimpse of their favourite actors recording scenes which won’t be on TV for another six months.

For Irene, this became a regular excursion for her and a few other die-hard Sherlock enthusiasts. She told me over the phone about her first ‘Setlock’ experience.

“We got there about seven in the morning, there was about five or six girls there. We waited around with the crew who were setting up.” Eight hours later, the cast arrive. “By then there was a good six hundred of us.” She had been lucky enough to meet cast member and co-creator Mark Gatiss after the filming had finished. “He asked us what we were doing, in school and stuff. He was lovely.” Irene visited so many sets, the cast and crew began to recognise her. “By the third or fourth time they started to recognise me, and then they looked at me and kind of nodded, or gave me a knowing smile.”

 

For many other fans, like Irene, it’s not just the experience of seeing the actors in the flesh that draws them into fandom culture. “It felt like a little family at first, about two, three years ago, just creative people, making fan art. When I moved to university, if I didn’t make any friends I knew I had this whole online community who would back me up.”

So is this phenomenon exclusive to the Sherlock fandom? I spoke to Dr Lynn Zubernis, Associate Professor at West Chester University and co-author of Fangasm: Supernatural Fangirls. She referred to her own experiences meeting Supernatural fans across the US.

“The dynamics of fandom and the reasons people become fans generalizes across other similar media properties that draw a significant fan following. I’ve had some discussions with researchers who study sports fandom, and we agree that even those fan dynamics are similar.” As a fangirl herself, she sees first-hand the benefits of being involved in the fan community. “I’ve talked to fans who ‘gave up’ drawing or writing or photography a decade ago, and then rediscovered that ability and passion through fandom. I doubt I would have published five books over the past five years if I hadn’t boosted my confidence with fanfiction.”

Those of you who are members – or ex-members – of fandom will know that it’s not always so peachy. The Sherlock fandom, alongside many others, has a tense undercurrent which can be rocked by even the smallest tweet, image or sentence in an article. “You realise that there is a hierarchy within your fandom and you can put yourself in that hierarchy if you take enough pictures, if you become involved enough. I became as involved as I could be and I had a little bit of online fame - it was nice. It’s a fraction of what [the actors] are feeling, I’m sure.” She would still have people at Sherlock-themed events coming up and asking for pictures. “It’s quite overwhelming, and one of the reasons why I took a step back from the fandom.” 

“This is a part of the ‘Setlock’ phenomenon, but also a part of social media in general.” Lynn explains. “The pull to be ‘seen’ by so many ‘followers’ is a strong one, and some people will go to great lengths to be ‘popular’. This isn’t a new idea, it’s just playing out on a new arena. It’s far from limited to fandom, but is related since it’s a substantial part of the celebrity worship that is so widespread in our culture. The time spent on social media can itself have a negative impact on relationships, work or academics – and the psychological impact of constantly being exposed to others’ fictionalized ‘best lives’ can be depressing.”

Inevitably, with any large gathering of young people – be in online, or in real life - the newspapers will report on the less favourable aspects. The Radio Times has written a handful of articles about the disruption that Setlock causes. Most of the cast, including fandom-dividing co-creator Steven Moffatt have been openly appreciative of fans – a wise PR move – but Martin Freeman’s comment that he “didn’t love” fans visiting the set is endlessly quoted by those who are anti-Setlock. “If you look at the photos between last year and this year, you can see they don’t particularly want the fans, but they’re used to it now.” Irene tells me. And that’s not the only negative press they’ve received. 

 

I asked Irene if she thought that the critics picked on Sherlock fans because they are mostly female. “People are quicker to judge young girls because they think, ‘they need something to obsess over, and they’re probably quite troubled as they grow up’. But if you spoke to each and every one of them they were perfectly normal human beings. They just wanted a chance like anyone else to see something that they loved.”

“Football fans, they would go to their matches every week, and they’re never called obsessed. They wear the shirts, they have the scarves, but if I went to go and see my favourite show or went to see people whom I idolised, I was being called obsessed.”

Sadly, Lynn sees this with many female-led fan communities. “‘Female’ fandoms tend to draw more criticism – the first time Twilight came to Comic Con, there were scathing articles about the female fans even in the midst of an entire convention celebrating geek culture. Some of this attitude flows from a misogynistic culture in general, and some perhaps from a discomfort with any expression of female sexuality – hence the articles about the ‘screaming hysterical fans’ of Benedict Cumberbatch or the ‘Twihard moms’.” There are also benefits to being involved in a mostly female fandom amongst a geek culture still dominated by men. “Some media fan communities are largely communities of women, and can be the first places in which women feel free to be themselves. That openness leads to psychological growth, a sense of belonging, and a validation that can be powerful.”

I then asked Irene a question for which I didn’t think I’d get an answer: Was she addicted to fandom?

“I wasn’t sure if I’d be happy with admitting it to too many people, but it became obvious. It became my whole life this Sherlock thing, I loved it. I had to step away from it for a few weeks and I thought, this is hard, this is horrible, who am I? I didn’t really know who I could describe myself as if it wasn’t as a Sherlock fan.” 

“Within fandom, fans joke about being addicted, but it’s an in-group joke that’s understood to be less negative than the mainstream definition.” Dr. Zubernis explains. “On the other hand, being “in fandom” can be an important part of someone’s life, and the thought of giving it up is threatening.” 

It’s not just the external aspects of life that are affected by such involvement. “I became so involved in every aspect, I just couldn’t enjoy the show itself.” Irene tells me.

But are the fans – like the critics would have us believe – ‘unhinged’? “We didn’t run into any more ‘unhinged’ fans in our travels than I run into ‘unhinged’ academics at a conference.” Lynn says. “Are there fans who don’t know what the word ‘boundary’ means? Sure. There are accountants who don’t know either.”

For most fans, the pros of being involved in a worldwide internet TV fandom outweigh the cons.

“Probably our most positive finding was the psychological benefits of the sense of community that people find in fandom. Especially for anyone who has ever felt marginalized, finding a community that is accepting is powerful.” Lynn tells me. “I think we all tend to be a bit uncomfortable around strong passion of any kind, but for the most part, we’ve found that passion and creativity – in fandom and in general -- are a good thing.”

And Irene? “I met a guy through Sherlock which was surprising. I met him at stage door, Martin Freeman was doing a play, and in the end it’s made me a way more sociable person than I’ve ever been.”

Finally, I asked Irene: What advice would you give someone who was planning on visiting Setlock?

“I would think about it a lot, before you decide to go. It’s not necessarily a good way to meet your idols. Oh, and don’t bring giant cardboard cut outs of Benedict’s face and expect him to sign them.”