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{Idle Thoughts] Sherlock, Cal Lightman and mimicry
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I happened onto several episodes of two different TV programs which, by their proximity, led me to Vladimir Nabokov.
The first one was "Lie to Me" (2009) and the other "Sherlock" (2010) In both, the powers of the "observation of trifles", facial expressions and body movements were the decisive components, allied to deceptiveness, lies and (human) nature.
I don't know how much of Conan Doyle's "A study in Pink". has been preserved in this movie version for TV, but it was interesting to realize that Sherlock's attitudes and words reflected just what I'd been seeing in the independent "Lie to Me" episode, and what I recollected from various dispersed sentences by Nabokov in "Strong Opinions," about art and science, or his play about "the reversed footprints" in "Pale Fire."
It was more a feeling of closeness than anything more definite to explore qua Nabokov and revelatory gestures. I mean, there was something nabokovian, not in the actual words or plot, but.his "spirit"
Could Conan Doyle have foreseen Dr. Ekman's psychological theories concerning emotions and facial expressions#, could Nabokov have found inspiration in such a very patent denial of a Freudian verbal unconscious to favor the unconscious that is shaped by hidden complex emotional states?
There was a reference to Viceroy and Monarch butterflies in "Lie to Me," but it also bore no hint (that I know of) of any VN reference in it, except its context related to mimicry and lies*.
Involuntary associations between writers must abound - but they don't pertain to the certainties of academic research after intertextual references. However, I'm interested in them and thought that it might be worth sharing with the VN-L. Take one sentence by Conan Doyle (Watson on Sherlock): ."He [Holmes] loved to lie in the very centre of five millions of people, with his filaments stretching out and running through them, responsive to every little rumor or suspicion of unsolved crime. -The Resident Patient." Isn't it reminiscent of Humbert Humbert's spider filaments in "Lolita"?**
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# - Lie to Me: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Original channel Fox run January 21, 2009 - January 31, 2011
Lie to Me (stylized as Lie to me*) is an American crime drama television series. It originally ran on the Fox network from January 21, 2009 to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The Lightman Group accept assignments from third parties (commonly local and federal law enforcement), and assist in investigations, reaching the truth through applied psychology: interpreting microexpressions, through the Facial Action Coding System, and body language...The show is inspired by the work of Paul Ekman, the world's foremost expert on facial expressions and a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. Dr. Ekman has served as an advisor to police departments and anti-terrorism groups (including the Transportation Security Administration) and acted as a scientific consultant in the production of the series. He is also the author of 15 books, including "Telling Lies" and "Emotions Revealed".
* [ http://bigsole.blogspot.com.br/2010/10/lie-to-me-what-was-that-business-about.html ]
What Was that Business About Butterflies?
"Yes, I did see Tricia Helfer, who played Caprica Six on Battlestar Galactica, in her guest role on Fox's Lie to Me, Season 3, Episode 4, "Double Blind." While she is a talented actress, I was more curious about character Cal Lightman's reference to the Monarch and Viceroy butterflies. So, I looked up how butterflies use mimicry to confuse predators. (Tim Roth plays Lightman)Elizabeth SanFilippo explains at Gather how this butterfly issue relates to Lie to Me's "Double Blind" episode - (Tricia Helfer's character) Naomi (is) a Viceroy butterfly, mimicking the poisonous Monarch butterfly so predators stay away. Since Naomi is so skilled at deception and Lightman has difficulty reading her, he realizes it's in his best interests to stay away, too. Although that doesn't stop him from giving Naomi time to escape.
I don't get to watch this show the way I used to. I caught this episode via cable's On Demand."
**- Monday. Rainy morning. "Ces matins gris si doux..." My white pajamas have a lilac design on the back. I am like one of those inflated pale spiders you see in old gardens. Sitting in the middle of a luminous web and giving little jerks to this or that strand. My web is spread all over the house as I listen from my chair where I sit like a wily wizard. Is Lo in her room? Gently I tug on the silk. She is not.Just heard the toilet paper cylinder make its staccato sound as it is turned; and no footfalls has my outflung filament traced from the bathroom back to her room. Is she still brushing her teeth (the only sanitary act Lo performs with real zest)? No. [ ]Well, let us grope and hope. Ray-like, I glide in through to the parlor [ ]What I thought was a prismatic weave turns out to be but an old gray cobweb, the house is empty, is dead". (Lolita)
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The first one was "Lie to Me" (2009) and the other "Sherlock" (2010) In both, the powers of the "observation of trifles", facial expressions and body movements were the decisive components, allied to deceptiveness, lies and (human) nature.
I don't know how much of Conan Doyle's "A study in Pink". has been preserved in this movie version for TV, but it was interesting to realize that Sherlock's attitudes and words reflected just what I'd been seeing in the independent "Lie to Me" episode, and what I recollected from various dispersed sentences by Nabokov in "Strong Opinions," about art and science, or his play about "the reversed footprints" in "Pale Fire."
It was more a feeling of closeness than anything more definite to explore qua Nabokov and revelatory gestures. I mean, there was something nabokovian, not in the actual words or plot, but.his "spirit"
Could Conan Doyle have foreseen Dr. Ekman's psychological theories concerning emotions and facial expressions#, could Nabokov have found inspiration in such a very patent denial of a Freudian verbal unconscious to favor the unconscious that is shaped by hidden complex emotional states?
There was a reference to Viceroy and Monarch butterflies in "Lie to Me," but it also bore no hint (that I know of) of any VN reference in it, except its context related to mimicry and lies*.
Involuntary associations between writers must abound - but they don't pertain to the certainties of academic research after intertextual references. However, I'm interested in them and thought that it might be worth sharing with the VN-L. Take one sentence by Conan Doyle (Watson on Sherlock): ."He [Holmes] loved to lie in the very centre of five millions of people, with his filaments stretching out and running through them, responsive to every little rumor or suspicion of unsolved crime. -The Resident Patient." Isn't it reminiscent of Humbert Humbert's spider filaments in "Lolita"?**
.............................................................................................................................
# - Lie to Me: (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) Original channel Fox run January 21, 2009 - January 31, 2011
Lie to Me (stylized as Lie to me*) is an American crime drama television series. It originally ran on the Fox network from January 21, 2009 to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The Lightman Group accept assignments from third parties (commonly local and federal law enforcement), and assist in investigations, reaching the truth through applied psychology: interpreting microexpressions, through the Facial Action Coding System, and body language...The show is inspired by the work of Paul Ekman, the world's foremost expert on facial expressions and a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. Dr. Ekman has served as an advisor to police departments and anti-terrorism groups (including the Transportation Security Administration) and acted as a scientific consultant in the production of the series. He is also the author of 15 books, including "Telling Lies" and "Emotions Revealed".
* [ http://bigsole.blogspot.com.br/2010/10/lie-to-me-what-was-that-business-about.html ]
What Was that Business About Butterflies?
"Yes, I did see Tricia Helfer, who played Caprica Six on Battlestar Galactica, in her guest role on Fox's Lie to Me, Season 3, Episode 4, "Double Blind." While she is a talented actress, I was more curious about character Cal Lightman's reference to the Monarch and Viceroy butterflies. So, I looked up how butterflies use mimicry to confuse predators. (Tim Roth plays Lightman)Elizabeth SanFilippo explains at Gather how this butterfly issue relates to Lie to Me's "Double Blind" episode - (Tricia Helfer's character) Naomi (is) a Viceroy butterfly, mimicking the poisonous Monarch butterfly so predators stay away. Since Naomi is so skilled at deception and Lightman has difficulty reading her, he realizes it's in his best interests to stay away, too. Although that doesn't stop him from giving Naomi time to escape.
I don't get to watch this show the way I used to. I caught this episode via cable's On Demand."
**- Monday. Rainy morning. "Ces matins gris si doux..." My white pajamas have a lilac design on the back. I am like one of those inflated pale spiders you see in old gardens. Sitting in the middle of a luminous web and giving little jerks to this or that strand. My web is spread all over the house as I listen from my chair where I sit like a wily wizard. Is Lo in her room? Gently I tug on the silk. She is not.Just heard the toilet paper cylinder make its staccato sound as it is turned; and no footfalls has my outflung filament traced from the bathroom back to her room. Is she still brushing her teeth (the only sanitary act Lo performs with real zest)? No. [ ]Well, let us grope and hope. Ray-like, I glide in through to the parlor [ ]What I thought was a prismatic weave turns out to be but an old gray cobweb, the house is empty, is dead". (Lolita)
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/