The Ocean, formerly deemed to be an empty abyss by rampant eurocentrism, is a realm of vast possibilities. It is unfamiliar space to the terracentric human world, and, in our neglect to explore, was gravely misunderstood. The Ocean was regarded by Eurocentric ideals as hell, a harbinger of death and chaos, but Gabrielle Tesfaye’s short film “The Water will carry us home” addresses this historically impressed belief as a misinterpretation. She depicts in her film the stark contrast between negative Eurocentric assertions about the Ocean and the beliefs silenced by the cultures they oppressed. In depicting the Ocean as a refuge, a place where spirits are given new birth, Tesfaye asks us to reevaluate our core beliefs, and decide whether or not they are true to ourselves, or impressed on us by a greater societal injustice.

The depiction of the violent European colonizers, abductors of African people, attempting to murder their victims serves as a representation of the Eurocentric belief of the Ocean being just as violent and deadly as they are. The slave traders threw their victims over the side of the boat, believing they would die by the Ocean’s hand, sinking to the bottom of the void. However, this short film contests this impression, and offers us the vision of the Ocean as a realm of benevolence. Instead of the Ocean drowning the victims and dragging their bodies to the bottom of the sea, Orishas come to save the spirits—turning them into mermaids.

The author states in her description of the film, “Upon crashing in the waves, a phenomena happens when the presence of Yoruba Orishas dwelling in the water saves these spirits.”. To my knowledge, Yoruba religion regards Orishas as spirits born from the spirit world sent to guide humanity and teach them how to live a fulfilling, gracious life on Earth. These Orisha bless the spirits endangered by oppressors with new life as part of the sea. These people were no long able to survive on land; the abducted persons home on land was forever tainted by the villainous institution of slavery. In this story, The Ocean itself becomes a new, safe home thanks to the Orisha’s protection. Their bodies are rebirthed into forms that can survive underwater, so that they may raise their children and live a free existence. In this way, the title “The Ocean will carry us home” is not referencing their past home on land, but a new home within the water.

The Orisha’s intervention contests the Eurocentric paradigm that the Ocean is an unkind, dangerous void. In this story, the Ocean is an expansive entity carrying endless possibilities, including housing spirits meant to bless humans with grace. The Ocean can even serve as a home. In this way, the film asks us to deconstruct the perspectives by which we judge the world around us—who instilled in us these ideas we hold as truth? The only way for us to protect ourselves from the folly of accepting skewed, archaic ideas, pedaled by oppressors is to explore the histories of other cultures and research beyond the paradigm by which we are taught. It is our responsibility to broaden our mindsets and step into the evolved people we could be if we led our discoveries with compassion and the hunger for understanding.