Karina Garcia
Jessica Pressman
ECL 301
14 April 2024
Hidden Stories
In the short film The Water Will Carry Us Home by Gabrielle Tesfaye shows the demonstration of how selected stories portray what is known to be history. Tesfaye conveys this message through the use of stop motion art which is able to produce a story. This is significant as it shows a side of history that is not told or paid more attention to and it also shapes viewers thinking about the history that is already known.
One of the first scenes that sets up for more thinking to take place is at 2 minutes and continues until 2 minutes and 20 seconds. In this section there is a man who is entrusted with the key almost as if he’s the only beholder in this story, and with this key he is able to unlock a never before seen or heard of story. The man seems to be portrayed as someone important or a powerful being to be trusted with this key, dressed in all white with two eyes on his hands, accompanied by only a rooster instead of a human, the key is able to jump and move around his body in order to unlock a singular story from the many that were portrayed on the wall. The key shows a way in which there are beings that are able to hide or make visible stories about the ocean but it’s a “pick and choose” which they believe should be told. The man in this story is Yoruba Orishas and in the southwest Nigerian culture orishas are “other more minor”gods ” or”spirits ” (Ogunniyi, 2022). This plays a significant role in knowing who this man is as he is now serving a purpose to the storytelling as he is presented to have great authority and power for those who are listening.
Another section in which goes to show how stories are being portrayed is at 1 minute and 30 seconds when Yoruba Orisha is first being presented and behind him there is a wall of locks in which can be assumed to be untold stories. On the wall behind him there are multiple locks of all shapes and sizes and are spread out all across the wall; it’s hard to say how many locks there are if the viewer was only able to see a selected amount. The main lock that is being unlocked is to show the story of the Middle Passage with African American slaves being transported by ship to show the origin of how African American mermaids came to be. A single story is being told which can only leave curiosity to peak and wonder if there are more stories like such. Discovering these singular stories lets more questions arise as to what other stories are not being told today, it opens and pushes for new questions and further curiosity to be asked as to which stories have not been told yet? Which stories are credible or not? Which stories are being hidden away from society? And why does this happen?
Finally as the story is coming to an end at 5 minutes and 57 seconds, the door is closing and the lock is coming into play to close up the story for good the key is back in play but has never left Yoruba Orisha. After the entire story being told about the origin of African American mermaids is one of the first times in history that these kinds of mermaids are presented, Tesfaye is able to do so with the use of stop motion animation to attract the attention of viewers. The key continues to be a significant factor into this story that is being told and shows which are still being concealed. The ending of the film also leaves a sense of mystery as to now know what’s the next story that will be told and have the question of how many stories are still out there that are not being told. Tesfaye is able to spark the curiosity of viewers into questioning the history that they learned and to be more open about learning new history that will be able to change what they already know.
Many cultures today around the world all have stories that define and make up their society, but not all are being told due to a number of reasons. Without these stories being told it is shaping history to be portrayed one way, shaping minds to think one way, and to also conceal controversial aspects of history. This film by Gabrielle Tesfaye is clearly depicting otherwise, it is showing the hidden part of history that is being neglected and not taken into account as it is going against what fits the criteria for “history”. The Water Will Carry Us Home is able to convey the otherwise of what has already been taught of history, the ugly and more brutal part that shows the original “heroes” as doing more harm than good.
Work Cited
https://guardian.ng/life/yoruba-mythology-the-orishas-of-the-yoruba-race