parents: i want the truth
me: *tells truth*
parents: nope youre lying wrong answer
Someone asked me what I make of John’s office at the surgery. Aside from the teddy bear (which is probably there to soothe small children with earaches- dull) there isn’t much there, is there? INCLUDING COLOR. Everything is blue. All of it. Except Mary. Orange. Complimentary color. We can presume John’s headed for Sherlock’s grave with Mary’s support. Does he look like somebody who’s moved on? He’s moved on. It’s a good life. But not a vibrant one.
#SherlockNeverBoresJohn
It’s called using complementary colors to make a scene visually nice. Also, to make her stick more on the scene…don’t try to search for a deeper meaning when there’s none.
Don’t search for deeper meaning?!? You’ve evoked the wrong blog my friend… Lol.
I’m afraid this hit a nerve. Everything that happens in front of the camera happens that way for a reason - if for no other reason than putting things in front of a camera costs money, so there’s an economic incentive to make everything there count. Sometimes the reason is “we needed a lamp and that one was just over there.” But if you spend any time - any time at all - reading interviews from production staff - set dressers, costumers, cinematographers, etc. - you discover that a lot of the time the choices are very deliberate. Even if it’s “to make it look nice,” that desire to make something look nice is motivated (i.e., a Merchant Ivory film - say, Howard’s End. Pure visual porn, and it got me in the theater. Titanic - silly movie, gorgeous visuals).
In the case of Sherlock, a cursory read of Arwel Wyn Jones’s Twitter account alone suggests that they’re quite aware of what they’re doing with the set design, color inclusive (mise en scene. It’s called mise en scene). What is blue? Sadness, perhaps. Calm. It depends on the shade and hue and context, but to dismiss it out of hand is to close off a whole world of potential meaning. Is that meaning necessary to the story? Does every viewer have to appreciate it? Of course not; but for some of us it’s a palpable pleasure.
You want absurd ‘deeper meaning’ theories? Watch Room 237, which is what people often think film analysis is (they’re wrong). And then do yourself a favor and have a look at David Bordwell's blog, in which he dissects film frames within an inch of their lives and comes away with some really rich interpretations - which, it should be noted, have been confirmed by many of the filmmakers he has studied over a long career.
**in the case of the above shots, I would just mention that it’s harder to shoot in a dimly lit room than not. And you don’t normally see a lot of dark blue and/or moodily-lit doctor’s offices (assuming this is where he is), so verisimilitude is out. So, then, why so blue and moody? We won’t know till the episode has aired, but my money is on John being a bit torn here. Mary’s light and brightness, and John’s (apparently) attracted to that. But. He was also attracted to Sherlock’s (blue-tinged) darkness. Hmmm.
Yeah, given the density of visual metaphor and allusions to other movies that Sherlock is packed with, there is just no way to argue that every single shot isn’t 100% deliberate in every way. If it were some random police procedural or sitcom then yeah, maybe they’re just using colors they like or that work together, but on this show? No.
Of course, there are definitely multiple ways to interpret this, especially before we see the context. To me, it looks like it’s showing John’s life as a bit drab, with Mary as the only bright spot. (Also: The lack of mustache plus Mary’s coat makes me wonder where in the episode this fits and when the mustache comes off, exactly.)
Yeah— I was obviously wrong about the context cause I block out the Johnstache— my mind refuses to see it! But look here at this bedroom shot. Blues, grays again with that blink of orange light. The watch on the stand next to the phone, mug, pocket change. Wide awake and looking up and old. The first time we’ve seen John in bed since the amber-greens of Pink and just as haunted.
And then there the fact that this bed shot with Mary spins.
It’s a blatant way (never been my favorite shot— not since it was done to death in Malcolm X) to spin Mary out of the shot (since the shadow of his face eclipses her anyway) and underscore that we’re in John’s disoriented head now. She is near, grounding him you could say— I think the fact that there’s a giant black shadow between them is Highly Symbolic but to each their own interpretation.
Fact is John is having big dark manly emotions. And in these scenes they have nothing to do with his feelings (however deep, however loving) towards Mary.
What or who keeps you up at night, wide awake in the darkness while your lover sleeps soundly by your side, unawares?
This says a lot about people
It took me so long to realise it was the same girl each time hahah shit
I love how the forth lady reacts like ‘hey! This chick is asleep on me….seems like a good idea actually *has a nap too*’
2# Magazines Covers → My Chemical Romance.
I only have like 1 of these which is weird because I actually have a lot of my chem posters
bettercalllacho