Week 11: Sirenomelia

Posted on by
1

This week’s Sirenomelia left me a bit confused. What stood out to me is the connection between humans and sirens that we have talked about in class. The portrayal of advanced technology in the form of satellite systems can be seen as the representation of “man made” things. Next there is the deep ocean with the representation of a siren that swimming around. When looking at those two representations the viewers have been confronted with a threshold/ liminal state between the two “different” worlds. But what is the real meaning behind the video? I came up with two different analyses about the core message of the video. The first is, that through technology, humans have learnt to find a way to conduct research on oceans and thus also on mermaids. The second analysis could be that the liminal state between humans and mermaids can never be crossed as long as humans are irritated by wrong narratives. What I mean by wrong narratives is the discussion we had about STEM and STEAM. As long as humans tend to believe in STEM instead of STEAM, the liminal state will never be crossed again. Humans will see mermaids as this indistinctive figure that only exist in a world of fairytales, whereas the siren (as shown in the video) is accepting the world of the humans, as she looking at human inventions like the bridge.

I am eager to hear more about that in class! My analysis might be wrong.

Week 11: Sirenomelia

Posted on by
1

This was a very interesting short film, Sirenomelia, by Emilija Skarnulyte, but left me confused as to what it was trying to convey. The first thing that caught my attention was the strange background noise. The first, and only text, in the video states the location is a classified, decommissioned NATO submarine base above the Arctic Circle. The setting reminded me of last weeks discussion of how we see the ocean, and how those views changed after submarines were introduced to modern warfare, and the ocean becoming a battleground. The water temperature is 2 degrees Celsius, and the white noise sound was recorded at the Norwegian Mapping Authority Geodetic Observatory in Spitsbergen. The short film included beautiful shots of the Arctic, white snow covered mountains, and glaciers in the water. These shots of nature were often contrasted with shots of the white machinery at the decommissioned NATO base. We see the stark difference between nature and machine. In the final scene, the mermaid, dressed in a tail, wetsuit, and goggles, swims between a channel, trapped between two concrete sides. Finally, it appears she makes it to the open sea. After watching the film, I read the description. Sirenomlia is a rare congenital deformity called Mermaid Syndrome where newborns are born with legs joined together creating a mermaid like appearance. Based on what I read, it is extremely rare (1 in 100,000 births), and most cases die shortly after birth. Could this be commenting on the harshness of nature, or conversely, the harshness of human nature? Still, I’m unsure of the meaning, I am excited to hear about what others made of this short film.

Sirenomelia

Posted on by
Reply

Sirenomelia left me with many questions.
The video was a bit strange, but the first things that came to mind were the following:

What does NATO do? Why is that operation “decommissioned”? What were they doing there? Is this video real or staged?

So according to google, NATO’s purpose is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. Security in the ocean… from what??

This video made it more apparent to me that we really don’t know what’s going on in the ocean , but also politically. Politics are also part of the environment, but our access to information is very limited. There are many classified things that isn’t revealed to the public and this video is sending me down a conspiracy rabbit-hole. 😭

Mermaids are probably real and the government probably knows this too…

week 11? Sirenomelia

Posted on by
1

professor where did you even find this

anyways it was really uncanny, with all of those shots from under the surface of the water. And then the mermaid(?) swimming amongst the human structures, and then later in the middle of the ocean… it felt so out of place and yet so natural..

I think it speaks to how humans are somewhat out of place in nature, just as the mermaid was out of place amongst the structures. All of the shots of the quiet stillness in the ocean and in that tundra area sort of spoke to how nature sort of coexists with itself. That mermaids are a sort of extension of nature in a way, because we see the mermaid in the water almost all the time (naturally).
the film kind of implies that mermaids are indeed the link between humans and the ocean because the mermaid interacts with bare, isolated nature and the equally empty human structures. There’s also a bit of curiosity as the mermaid explores the structures, it could be a nod to how humans are curious about the ocean and explore it slowly.

Post-human Mythologies

Posted on by
1

Like most of my peers, the noises and sounds in the background of this short film caught my attention. While I was watching it surprised me how it felt strangely peaceful instead of the eerie or haunting feeling. It reminded me of whale sounds and how people use these to help them fall asleep. Aside from the noises, I enjoyed the scene right before the last clip of the mermaid swimming in the open ocean—the one where the mermaid creature is swimming in a sort of canal-looking thing. I think the contrast between the two scenes was fascinating, one moment the mermaid is swimming in a confined man-made space with water in between allowing the mermaid to inhabit and live in this area. This interested me because it shows the duality between “nature,” humans, and man-made objects. While it shows this balance between entities, the next clip is a lot more freeing. Comparing these two clips to each other in my perspective allowed me to appreciate both realities. The one in the canal was a reminder of the world and environment we live in today, where nature and creatures have sort of adapted to all our man-made creations. On the other hand, the last scene in the film felt captivating, because the mermaid was in a big open space, and in my eyes, it looked more natural, but also led me back to the discussions we have had in class about what is versus what is not natural.

Another thing worth pointing out, when doing some research on the director of the film, I found the description of Sirenomelia which included, “Sirenomelia links man, nature and machine and posits possible post-human mythologies.” I thought the post-human aspect was interesting since I was watching with the lens of humans and mermaids co-existing in this universe, but it seems as if it was made in the vision of a post-human environment. I related this posthumanism idea with our climate crisis and the notion that with global warming and climate change, our planet independently will survive, humans on the other hand, may not. On top of this, I thought the concept of this film being directed in a post-human reality was really interesting and I definitely would not have thought about this if I hadn’t read the description from the director.

Sirenomelia

Posted on by
2

Wow, there is so much to unpack from this video. The first time I watched it was before I read the description and so I was mostly trying to understand what I was looking at. That first watch made me uncomfortable and anxious. I was thinking of the barrenness of the arctic as if the lack of humans is what made it scary and uncomfortable. Then to see the presence of the mermaid does little to make me comfortable because seeing them swimming in freezing temperatures still distances her from my ingrained concept of humanity. She still feels otherworldly and therefore something to be scared of. After the video ended I did read the description which helped in directing my train of thought throughout the second watch. When I understood that the mermaid is exploring this structure made by humans it occurred to me that it must be a scary experience for her too. It occurred to me that if this mermaid is present in this environment, then it negates the idea that the arctic is a barren place. I remembered that actually, plenty of wildlife is capable of surviving the conditions of the arctic including many mammals. The presence of human structures in this video further proves that even humans, under certain conditions, can live in this environment. My perspective changes and the sense of anxiety discomfort is replaced by a sense of curiosity. I start examining this creature as they examine humanity. I noted that we do not get a sense of the skin color of the mermaid. The mermaid simply blends in with their surroundings. The last shot was particularly interesting. As we see the mermaid swimming away the rippling effect and the sound gives me the sense that there are more mermaids, they are simply not visible. At the very end the mermaid turns onto their belly and reveals to us that it has been observing us just as we have been observing them.

It’s interesting to see this coming together of the human and the natural world especially when considering the narrative that we are just as much a part of the natural world as the mermaid. It challenges the thought that humans have of superiority over the natural world. I imagine that it is this cultural through ingrained in me that led me to forget that life can exist in the arctic and imagine it as something barren and devoid of life. The second watch allowed me to apply frames of thinking that we have been studying this semester and rendered me humbled.

Week 11: Sirenomelia

Posted on by
1

This week’s video left me confused, interested but also a bit scared in a way. It was hard to forget about the audio because it sounded like screeching noises but it had taken me back to a certain day in class in which we listened to the theme song for a mermaid tv show. I thought it was interesting to use that noise as the history of sirens that I have learned showed that these mythical beings used their song to lure sailors which made it feel almost intentional to use as it would lure in viewers to continue watching. The opening scenes were a bit confusing as I didn’t know what I was supposed to be seeing from the kaleidoscope scene but what really caught my attention was the amount of snow and ice there was. It makes me think about how this is also a different form of nature that is a bit more neglected and ultimately doesn’t get the attention needed, the area in which this was filmed in has most likely changed as global warming continues to be an issue but it continues to not be a public issue as it is a place that is out of our nature element and seems extraordinary. There was a scene in which the mermaid was swimming between two pieces of land and it kept taking me back to last week’s class in which the big topic that was talked about was not being able to claim the Ocean. In a way for me it continued to show the idea of flow and flexibility that the Ocean has as it is a constant moving place that is touched by so many things but yet there is no clear indication that countries have full claim over parts of the water. The closing scene in which the mermaid was swimming through the Ocean also resinated with me as it showed how small humans are in comparison to the Ocean but yet there’s this belief in humans that they are the most “powerful” being on Earth, so if we’re this “big” and “powerful” why don’t we take up 71% of the planet? Why is it that the Ocean does? And why is it that the Ocean is continued to be portrayed as a small part of our world when in fact it is something huge?

Week 11: The Sounds of Sirenomelia

Posted on by
2

While there were many aspects of this film project that stood out to me, the audio was the one thing I could not ignore. It was unsettling at times and loud, but there were times where it was also very peaceful. The sounds of the ocean and the waves lapping against the ice was a stark contrast to the high-pitched and occasionally distorted frequencies that would play soon after. This contrast signifies the unnaturalness of humans being so involved in the ocean. The more peaceful audio shown with the natural scenery of both the ocean and the land showcase how the environment is at peace when it is untouched by humans. When there are no buildings or roads placed into the natural formations of the land or sea, the environment is at equilibrium. However, when there are man-made satellites, ports, passageways, etc the audio becomes more uncomfortable to listen to, signifying that the environment is uncomfortable when humans start to interfere with it. Even though the base has been decommissioned and seems to be abandoned, the structures still exist and create a lasting mark on the environment. The ocean and the land surrounding it has been disrupted for human gain, so the audio forces viewers to be uncomfortable in the same way that the environment is after being altered. 

The audio of this video project also reminds me of the discussion in class we had about what a siren song would sound like. The ending scene contained audio that was almost hypnotic. It was both a little unnerving but also peaceful at the same time which made me think about what would be in a mermaid or a siren’s song. The sample of the mermaid song we listened to in class was a bit more melodic and sounded a little more human but the audio here was a little more animalistic, in that it reminded me of whale calls. This reinforces the idea that the ocean is so vast and unexplored that we, as humans, cannot fathom all that exists in it and we cannot imagine what a mermaid song could sound like. Does it lean more towards the example we heard in class or does it sound more like the audio in this short film? I think the basis of a siren song would be that it makes humans uneasy and intrigued. 

Week 11: Sirenomelia

Posted on by
1

The short film assigned for this week’s blog and in class discussion was honestly quite confusing at first but the word I would use to describe the film is eerie and/or haunting. I think that this film shines light on the idea that the human population truly does not know what lies in the depths of the ocean. The idea that there could be something possibly there in the water with you and you not knowing is something that frightens many individuals, I included at times, and I think that the film only displaying murky unclear water emphasizes this fear. As well, aids in enhancing the fear that many individuals can have about the ocean because our senses are being stripped away when being under the water, when out in the open ocean an individual can neither touch, smell, taste, anything and the only sense available is sight but even then it is affected by the salt water. So the only sense present under the water is hearing, which honestly is the worst of all because the idea of being in the middle of the ocean and randomly hearing sounds like in the video would send chills down anyone’s spine. I think this aids in answering the idea and question as to which scientists are not exploring the deep ocean and why we do not know as much about the ocean compared to everything else we know about this planet and even space. It’s the idea and fear of the unknown, the idea that you are going into “new territory” and not knowing what is there. I think this video displays that humans will truly never understand the complexity that is of the ocean whether that is because they choose not to because they physically cannot or whether fear is hindering them, but I find it amusing because humans are so “territorial” and want to claim everything so that makes me wonder why they choose not to explore the ocean. Or even question if maybe there is something in the water that they do not want to discover out of fear because after all NASA’s original purpose was to discover the ocean, so it make me wonder if maybe there is something hiding in the deep murky water. 

Week 11 — Sirenomelia

Posted on by
1

After watching Sirernomelia for the first time I was thoroughly confused and remotely scared to be honest. I had a wide variety of mixed feelings and was surprised it didn’t show a mermaid until the latter half of the video. I wasn’t quite sure what I was looking at during the kaleidoscope scene, but I would imagine it was a satellite or a telescope of some sorts. This made me question what it has to do with mermaids or the video in general, which made me realize that the same level of fear and confusion I am feeling about these above-water shots of manmade structures is similar to how many people feel about the ocean. This goes back to what we were talking about last week in that so much of the ocean is unexplored and unknown, it is a foreign entity in our backyard that we don’t know much about. I believe this video was trying to instill this same mindset in the viewers, while at the same time relating that feeling to random man made structures that are above water; simply because it is unknown does not mean that it has to be intimidating. On the other hand, I felt like the ocean was portrayed as a bit scary, especially with the scene where all the water went black and looked like oil spilled (although I believe it was just editing). This reminds me of some of the old and original paintings we saw in class of the ocean being a scary mess that did not appear inviting. Being that I try to get in the water everyday I like to think of the ocean in a bit different light, but all things considered I am normally in much warmer water with more people and more marine life around me. Another thing to consider too is that although it’s cold, dark, and scary, there is obviously plant life existing along the structures there. I can’t confidently say whether it’s kelp or a type of algae, but either of those typically serve as the bottom of the food chain for larger fish and animals. This means that as barren as this undisclosed location seems, there is probably a much larger ecosystem at play that is not being captured in the film.