To be quite frank I totally blanked on work coming out of break but more importantly I wanted to still be able to understand what was happening in class tomorrow and I am glad I still decided to watch the video. Although I lack complete understanding of the short story, I thought that it was brilliantly put together and tells one incredibly powerful and dark story of our history. The eye displayed on the hand of the man with the key is a typical sign of wisdom, and the fact that he has a key attached to it (which unlocks the door) resembles the concept of unlocking hidden wisdom. In my personal opinion, I believe that knowledge is power, and the man with the hat possesses much of it. Furthermore, merpeople (and more specifically sirens) have been known to hold the secrets of the world, which tend to lead sailors off course. The idea that Omambala, the water spirit, will still serve as a guide and source of hope along this horrific journey is something to take note of. I am not sure if Omambala represents an afterlife, and an afterlife of wisdom, power, and understanding due to being killed along the journey or if instead, she resembles a choice to subject oneself to that alternative lifestyle, and as other merpeople convince others of the same fate that might have been better than what was waiting on the other side. In a nutshell I really have no idea but I am very fascinated by the entire video all around and am excited to hear other people’s opinions. Something else I found that spoke to me was the quote at 1 minute and 21 seconds, “[t]he water spirit Omambala brought us here. The water spirit Omambala will bring us home” (Tesfaye). I find this to be beautiful because it resembles something huge of hope. It seems to me like a resounding, unquestionable sense of faith and hope, something that I think I personally lack and envy; and the pure fact that it is a water goddess with wisdom and power makes it that much more attractive to me. I think I am probably at a similar level of confusion as the Sirenomelia video, but after having learned so much I have high hopes for the discussions we have about this one. Lastly, I think it was super cool that when the music stopped, the lady (maybe Omambala?), started building an earthy headset, and the second she put it on the music continued.
Hi Casey,
I strongly agree with your position on knowledge being power. This film was incredibly hard to understand (even after class I still wasn’t sure if I understood) but reading your reply gave me a lot of insight on what to look for while watching the film. The all seeing eye on the hand makes a lot more sense after reading your response because now I see that the hand-eye holds the wisdom that can grant us a new perspective. History is biased, but by having the knowledge of what truly conspired, you take back a sense of power.