I absolutely love the Sherlock Holmes BBC shows. Being the mother of a child who has been bullied because he is smart makes me see one continuous theme in these shows. Sherlock is a bullied adult. As I watch these shows I often think of all that you see in the media of trying to get children to stop bulling each other. What I find interesting is that we as adults seem to think we can go into schools and tell children to stop picking on each other and that somehow they are going to stop. And yet we refuse to see that we are their examples and we have yet to figure out how to stop picking on each other. And that we have examples of people being bullied in our TV shows and movies...
From the very beginning of the Sherlock shows you learn that Sherlock is no ordinary person. He seems to be able to figure things out that other people just don't... Some people say he is a high functioning sociopath...Others say that Sherlock is autistic...Perhaps he is a genius... John Watson is told by many who know him (Sherlock) to find a new friend. The police use him, and yet think, at some point, they will be faced with figuring out who Sherlock has murdered.
As you watch the shows, and read the original stories, you find that Sherlock has always been picked on. He was picked on by his peers and by his older brother who happens to be even smarter than he is. It seems that through out time really smart or unique people either make friends or get picked on. What I love is that Sherlock doesn't care...Sherlock is going to study and investigate crimes and do what he likes no matter what anyone else thinks of him. I think this is what we need to teach our children. We need to stop pretending we are going to stop bullying...And start teaching children that it's OK to be who you are, and to give them the support they need to survive being bullied. My son, as a child, was told that he needed to change, that how he acted was the reason he got bullied. He had to go to the school counselor to play games to learn how to leave the "Land of Loneliness"...He was the problem because he liked to read books kids his age didn't like.. He was the problem because he was really smart and the school wouldn't challenge him... As I listen to things Sherlock says in these shows I hear my young son...'My brain is like a computer and I only put what I want into it'...My Son reminds me of Sherlock Holmes sometimes...His passion is art and he is constantly looking for ways to express himself through this...I remember the school counselor calling me and saying your son seems lost in his own world sometimes...I thought...yes, he is bored and so he makes his own worlds up, then he draws them..
Like Sherlock my son decided not to care what the bullies thought.. He eventually figured out how to defend himself and now has a lot of friends. I think being bullied actually made him a stronger person. He doesn't look back and think 'poor me'.. He says that being bullied helped him become who he is today.
We as adults need to see that we also can be bullies. I know that there have been times that I have been unkind, and I have worked hard to think about how I treat others and if I become that unkind person I try to go back and make it right. There are also time where I have been treated unkindly and I have to decide to let it go. We all need to look around more and see how those around us are being treated. Do we stand up for those we know are being hurt or do we look the other way? Bullying doesn't just happen in schools, it happens to all ages, and if we think it doesn't then we are probably looking the other way.
As much as I like the Sherlock character if I could meet someone from this television series I would love to meet the person who made them...The mind that put together these TV series...This person I would think has to be pretty brilliant...The things that he puts into the Sherlock character are so cool.. I have told my husband I really like people with brilliant minds...I like to see how they see the world, because they see so much...
Here are a few other shows that I find have a bullying theme in them...And the wonderful thing of each is that the bullied person becomes the hero..That is what we need to teach our children who are bullied..Be who you are despite it all and you may just become the hero..The brilliant scientist..The celebrated writer..The greatest animator there ever was..The famous film maker...
This is about the bullied smart girl who gets her second chance at High School...And finally gets that first kiss...
The young weak boy who is beat up on every street corner but never gives up his dream.. becomes the super hero that saves the world...
The brilliant young boy who never quite connects with his dad, ends up realizing that saving people and peace are better than building the next best weapon (although his suit is a weapon, isn't it?)...I love all the things that they can build in these movies. Wouldn't it be great to be that smart? Well I think it would be... While I wish that we could get rid of bullies, I think what we really need to do is help those who are bullied see that they are good just the way they are and help them find happiness...
G.G.
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