Author Archives: Jonah Mathewson

Industrialization Calls for the Final Siren Song

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Jonah Mathewson

Dr. Pressman 

ECL 305 

09 May 2024

Throughout the 4.6 billion year old history of the World, there have been 5 great extinctions all from natural causes such as volcanic eruptions, meteor strikes, temperature changes, etc. When the humans first arrived some seven million years ago, so did the 6th great extinction, named the “Anthropocene extinction” Except this time, it is not from natural causes and is due solely to the unsustainable practices of humans beginning around the inception of Britain’s Industrial Revolution in the eighteenth century. Though this is the first instance a species has been the culprit of this crisis, it is also the first time they are conscious of it, and awareness has been spreading rapidly through various mediums via contemporary art and literature regarding the environment. In “Sirenomelia” (2017), Emilija Škarnulytė utilizes vivid visual imagery and the symbolic title referencing a genetic disorder to starkly illuminate the damaging impact of industrialization on the environment. Through meticulously crafted snapshots of various settings and using unique sounds, the film compellingly underscores the urgent need to reassess our relationship with industry and prioritize environmental sustainability. Furthermore, “The Emergence of Environmental Humanities” (2017) by Robert S. Emmett and David E. Nye, provides additional support for this argument, revealing how industrialization has profoundly impacted the physical environment and the need to spread awareness.

Before we jump into the analysis, it is important to understand what industrialization and environment sustainability is. A few characteristics of industrialization are the mass production techniques, economic growth, technological advancement, and extraction/utilization of fossil fuels and natural resources. Though some of these traits may seem harmless and beneficial they often come with downsides to both the World and the human species directly. The second term, Environmental sustainability, is the ability to maintain an ecological balance in our planet’s natural environment and conserve natural resources to support the wellbeing of current and future generations. The key aspects of environmental sustainability are conserving biodiversity, using renewable energy, minimizing pollution, promoting recycling and reuse. These two traits work hand in hand because the detrimental effects of industrialization can be slowed or solved by implementing environmental sustainability practices, both of which are portrayed in these literature pieces.

Emilija Škarnulytė’s short art film “Sirenomelia” (2017) is named after a rare congenital deformity called Mermaid Syndrome (which we’ll discuss later) and takes place at a decommissioned NATO submarine base above the Arctic Circle. The beginning of the film opens with machinery and mechanical noises accompanied with scenic views of the surrounding natural environment. Then the mermaid takes us on a tour of the base swimming through its dark canals used for transporting the submarines and then finally escaping the fortress and into the open ocean. The film uses different noises that evoke certain emotions and implements sudden cutscenes to very distinct environments (arctic snow landscape, dark tunnels, open ocean) enabling the audience to critically think and analyze what is happening and the significance of every scene. Though there is a lot to digest throughout the six minute and eleven second video, there are several scenes that resonate with me and the topics they represent that we’ll dive in to.

The primary setting is a top-secret submarine military base that most likely housed nuclear material given the fact Western style submarines operate off nuclear power and certainly carry nuclear warheads onboard. This aligns with the technological advancement aspect of industrialization, as nuclear power remains relatively new and scientists are continually working to enhance its efficiency. However, we have seen its negative affects on the environment from disaster like Chernobyl where the people were forced to evacuate, and the animals forced to suffer the repercussions including genetic deformities. This ties in with the title of the film as well “Sirenomelia” is a genetic disorder where infants are born with partial or complete fusion of the legs suggesting the mermaid in this video represents the negative outcome of industrialization. Another note, the military interlinks with industrialism prior to nuclear fission because it’s readiness for war requires the mass production of guns, bullets, and uniforms.

One clip from the video (1:00-1:30) shows rotating satellite machinery and has a special effect where the satellite is spliced in to two and when it rotates becomes whole again. This is probably a reference of how mermaids have a partial split tail but are conjoined together at the legs. Throughout this clip you can’t ignore the loud whirring noise in the background. It sounds like its taken out of some alien horror movie and builds suspense up until the display of the film’s title (1:30) where it unleashes a piercing noise and the reveal of the conjoined satellite dish where it makes us judge these machines as scary and unfriendly. At (2:00) it cuts from an antenna to a still video of a body of water with blocks of ice melting away indicating that industrialization of the region with its outposts and satellites is the cause for the ice’s demise.

We are then cut to what appears to be the canal system the submarines use for transiting, it is extremely dark, our view is limited, and you hear the dull sound of metal grinding against each other, but at least we meet our beloved mermaid (2:50). The same body of water appears again but this time with less ice and with the environment appearing more lifeless (2:55), the back-and-forth cutscenes with the same body of water with a deteriorating state indicates that as we witness more industrialization from outposts (1:40) to underground submarine canal systems (2:50) we also witness its negative relationship with the ecosystem.

Further display of the military base with an outside point-of-view (3:35) and the mermaid’s tour of the submarine bay (4:13) reveal the base’s size and sophistication. This time, there is no cutscene to that previous body of water with the melting ice, instead it shows the mermaid leaving the base and swimming in an open ocean (5:00) showing that the damage has been done and all the ice is gone. During this time, the background noise switches up completely from eerie and loud to calm and peaceful because the mermaid is now fully surrounded by nature. However, we still hear the beeping of machines although it is more subtle, it is a reminder than even though the mermaid is not in the building, she is still experiencing its effects (5:00-5:10).

This artwork aims to bring awareness to the environmental crisis caused by industrialization by showing its effects on the environment and displaying that it can be stopped and even reversed. Although in the end there is an absence of ice, one scene shows that nature is beginning to heal by regrowing on what appears to be steel beams that are part of the base (3:15-3:25). Of course, in order for this to happen is for the base to become decommissioned or abandoned by humans. However, the absence of humans in the World doesn’t have to happen for nature to regrow, instead to be more mindful towards it. The film shows the human’s lack of mindfulness when we’re shown a very sophisticated facility capable of housing nuclear material only for it to be out-of-service. What a waste of resources… and taxpayer money. Additionally, the presence of a mermaid gives the audience emotion towards the crisis since mermaids are part human expanding the channel for sympathizing but is also animal bridging the gap between the two worlds of civilization and the wilderness.

In “The Emergence of Environmental Humanities” (2017), Robert S. Emmett and David E. Nye detail the negative impacts industrialization has brought on the World. They write, “industrialization and western imperialism, which together accelerated resource extraction, consumption, pollution, population growth, species extinction, and global warming” (Emmett and Nye pg.3).  Throughout the text Emmett and Nye give specific scenarios and statistics about these effects, but they explicitly say they do not have the solutions for them, rather they are set on spreading awareness of the issue, “we do not claim that we already know how to solve the many fundamental challenges to society. We seek, rather, to show how humanists are improving our understanding of the problems and contributing to their solution” (Emmett and Nye pg.2) It is known that the affects of the daily activities we partake in is not sustainable for the environment, if it was then there wouldn’t be, “…species extinction is occurring at an alarming rate…seas are overfished, the air is increasingly polluted, the oceans contain vast floating islands of plastic, and the amount of garbage produced by human consumption grows year by year” (Emmett and Nye pg.1). So to change our daily activities, which many people are reluctant to change their routine at all, then awareness of these issues must be spread effectively to capture the emotions of the population. Emmett and Nye make a great point of this when they say, “…scientists excel at identifying and explaining such problems, but they alone cannot solve them… One can build a self-sufficient solar house, for example, but that does not mean the average consumer will buy one” (Emmett and Nye pg.1). Meaning you can spread awareness of these issues, but if the message isn’t moving enough, how do you expect someone to willing move into a self-sufficient solar house.

In conclusion, for the first time in 4.6 billion years one species has become the conscious driver for mass extinction, humans. What is called the 6th great extinction or the Anthropocene extinction is cause by unsustainable practices of industrialization and threatens the global environment today. Emilija Škarnulytė’s art film “Sirenomelia” (2017) and the scholarly book, “The Emergence of Environmental Humanities” (2017) by Robert S. Emmett and David E. Nye are reminders of the need to not only improve the relationship between the industry and environmental sustainability, but to prioritize it. Through visual imagery and research these works highlight the detrimental impact of industrialization on the environment and stress the importance of spreading effective awareness. It is imperative that we acknowledge these issues and take steps to halt and reverse the negative effects of industrialization to ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.

Works Cited

Emmett, Robert and Nye, David. “The Emergence of Environmental Humanities” The Environemental Humanities: A Critical Introduction, eds. Robert S. Emmett and David E. Nye (MIT Press, 2017) (pgs. 1-21)

Škarnulytė, Emilija. “Video Art Visions: Sirenomelia.” Youtube, uploaded by NOWNESS, 02 August 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foH0QGuC3kY.

We are Mermaids

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Right away at the beginning of this poem I get a bittersweet feeling. The first stanza says that the salt comes from tears and is melancholy yet it is the producer of life. The poem begins to describe humans as a tragedy by the following line, “The beginning of a tragedy, when what would become us was just trying to get through the day” maybe because the daily activites of humans causes harm to the environment in forms of carbon emission, dumping, over fishing, etc.

The poem then mentions thermophiles feeding off fumaroles and how they love it at the depths. My interpretation of this is that these organisms love it there because it is far away from humans as that environment alone would kill them with the crushing pressure and the deadly sulfur exposure from the fumaroles.

One interesting part in the end is that the poem changes from using “they” to “you”. Though I am a bit confused on what the ending is trying to say. It talks about living in a deep or salty environment exploring different bodies of water “exploring the estuary, the submerged lip and the congeries of overlapping shores on the green-black water, the harbor, the bay”. Then it mention how we can live with doubt. My interpretation of this is we will all go through different adventures in life and experience tough times and times of doubt, but what matters is that we have the strength to live with or through it. if we can do that then we will be okay.

Thesis Proposal

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Thesis: The concepts displayed in William Cronon’s “The Trouble With Wilderness“, mythical tales such as Andre Lebey’s “The Romance of the Faery Melusine“, and contemporary art of Emilija Skarnulyte’s “Sironemelia” highlight the continuous actions taken by Man to separate itself from the natural world-despite its significant historical role to the human species- arguing the cruciality to accept and expand an already tightened, but inevitable connection to the natural world for the preservation of our own well-being and more importantly the planet.

Seems broad, trying to find ways to add more specificity.

The Deep Ch 5-7

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While reading through this week’s chapters, many thoughts went through my head with even some personal reflection on my life. Yetu’s responsibility and role of being a historian is obviously a huge task to take on especially at such a young age and personally, I don’t blame her from swimming away from that duty. I view the Wajinru’s “Remembrance” ceremony pretty selfish of them where they have a desire to remember their history and suffer the pain like Yetu has only for them to wipe their hands after a few days of pain and dump everything back on that poor girl. When Yetu was conversating with Oori about her past, Oori said, “All dead I’m am the last of the Oshuben” (pg92) I feel like this brings out a similarity between the two because Yetu is the only historian as the previous one Basha has already died. I think this is good for Yetu because she can sort of relate to someone for once when she couldn’t even relate to her Amaba. On page 99 Amaba asks Yetu what about the History could be so maddeing. When Yetu says the part about three children exploding Amaba replies, “Why are you telling me these horrible things” indicating that Amaba had barely any effort to understand where Yetu is feeling. Looking from a broader view, I believe history should be available to everyone (and not for a limited time) so people can learn from previous mistakes and understand their culture, values, and traditions. Leaving history to one person allows the opportunity to manipulate it to one own’s advantage, not saying that Yetu will do this, but we see this being done in today’s education system.

Discovery on Starbucks

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Jonah Mathewson

Jessica Pressman

ECL 305:Literature in the Environment

14 April 2024

Starbucks

The history of the Starbucks, its name, and logo (the mermaid) serve as a reflection of Western ideologies embodying themes of exploration, misogyny/feminism, capitalism, and contemporary environmental issues. Created and designed by three men, the history is heavily based on maritime themes including its opening location in Pikes Place Seattle (big seaport), the world-famous logo of a mermaid, and even the name is a reference to a Moby-Dick character named “Starbuck” which correlates to our studies over the duration of this English course.

The theme of exploration is represented through its maritime background and success. Often the ocean serves as a means of transit and travel facilitating exploration. Obvious examples of this are the voyages undertaken by famous explorers Christopher Columbus, Magellan, and Vespucci to name a few. Its extreme success and expansion has acted as an explorer itself by establishing its presence overseas in many countries leaving and imposing its influence and western culture in vast foreign cities big and small which can be compared to that of colonialism where another foreign entity gains a foothold in a foreign territory. As of today the company operates over 38,000 stores in 80 countries.

The logo itself and its meaning is a representation of misogyny and feminism all throughout its history of logo modifications. Its first image depicted a topless mermaid with short hair opening its split tail up and apart with its hands. The second modification to the logo changes its color from brown to green and covers the mermaid exposed breast with long wavy hair but maintains the action of the mermaid holding her legs up. The third and fourth image modifications are relatively similar depicting a closeup face shot of the mermaid with a slight view of its raised forked tail. The intentions of mermaids as we know is to entice, attract, and seduce men leading to their demise which from a business perspective can be to fulfills a customer’s strong desire for caffeine possibly leading to the detrimental affect of developing an addiction. However, the modifications of its logo with each iteration showcasing a more conservative image of the mermaid shows empowerment to women by covering her parts up and eliminating the need to blast a naked woman on their business to attract customers. One thing I found interesting was the heavy presence of male figures with the company including the creators and even the name “Starbucks” which was a reference to a male character, yet they placed a nameless seductive female entity as the face of the business. This structure of men using the image of a female mermaid (who already symbolizes lust and temptation to bring in customers and revenue) can be compared to the relationship between pimps and prostitutes highlighting the concept of misogyny and the control over women.

Before we knew the name Starbucks as it is today, it was initially named “Starbucks Coffee Tea and Spices” giving off the theme of capitalism. During the early days of trade coffee, tea, and spices were all extremely popular commodities that often brough wealth as well as bloodshed. Nevertheless, the trade of these goods facilitated the emergence of global capitalism evident with the historical Spice Trade, Silk road, and large trading companies such as the East India Trading Company. In today’s world, Starbucks is participating in global capitalism by having a presence in foreign markets whether its establishing new locations abroad or sourcing coffee beans from foreign entities.

Our recent readings in class have brought up environmental issues and humanity’s lack of attention towards the ocean. Over the last decade many companies began promoting their sustainable practices whether it’s them using recycled material in their clothing or using energy efficient methods such as solar panels. Starbucks has become a big advocate for promoting sustainable practices as seen with the replacement of plastic straws to paper straws. However, many people were not satisfied with the change as it did not suit their needs (the straws would dissolve) and Starbucks later rolled out the new sippy cup lids to solve this. Starbucks’ continued effort to implement sustainable practices in their business model regardless of the initial backfire of the paper straw indicates its dedicated mission to promoting awareness on ocean pollution and emphasizing the importance of being ecofriendly.

So how does all of this relate to our course? We have learned about the world environment throughout history using the mermaid as a symbol to symbolize different themes including the ones mentioned above: exploration, misogyny/feminism, capitalism, and contemporary environmental issues. In this case I have used Starbucks to symbolize these same exact themes by using its history and modifications to the company to show its adaptation to the constantly shifting environment whether that’s creating a less revealing logo or to implementing green practices.

Week 12: Water Will Carry Us Home

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The video “The Water Will Carry Us Home” by Gabriella Tesfaye invoked several emotions throughout the film. At first, I felt a sense of calmness and purification with the ladies singing in harmony and the sight of incense and candles burning. It reminded me of some sort of holistic chakra/reiki ceremony. Then, when the film cut to a drawing of a man (1:40) with no mouth and with two eyes tattooed on his hands I felt a little eerie because it seemed like the man was staring through my soul. One thing I did notice in this video was the Egyptian symbolism, the eyes tattooed on his hands is similar to the Egyptian god “Ra” and as well in the beginning (00:08 and 00:17) there are depictions of what might be Egyptian Pharaohs or figures. I assume this symbolism has something to do with the water spirit Omambala who is an ancient goddess whose power resides on both Earth and the “underworld” which is a popular setting in Egyptian culture. The scenes where the African slaves are thrown overboard and turn in to mermaids (4:15 and 4:50) is possibly a reference of Omambala taking them to the underworld where they can have eternal life. The ending where the lady wears seashells like headphones and plugs it into the sand could mean she is trying to reconnect with the African slaves Omambala took to the underworld (5:45).

Ocean Lingo

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I found the reading, “Deterritorializing Preface” interesting as it tries to shift our perspective of life by changing commonly used “ground” words and metaphors in to ocean related vocabulary. I was surprised to see that the seven words Steve Mentz provided were quite similar to the words he replaced them with and how he managed to relate them to modern day events. For example, he replaced the word “state” with “ship” and explaining how both can be related to the political environment as ship-to-ship encounters comprise of trading, fighting, hailing, and sighting similar to the activities “state” governments conduct (xvi). I think the idea behind changing our vocabulary from land to sea terminology is neat given that it is something we don’t use as often. Even though we will most likely spend our life on land and are fortunate enough to live on the coast, we or at least I sometimes forget that the ocean takes up the majority of the surface area on Earth. What I think Mentz was trying to say was we should be more considerate towards the ocean and can start with simple changes like tweaking our vocabulary.

CRA Odysseus and the Sirens

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Odysseus and the Sirens

The tale of Odysseus and the Sirens portrays a message that is still relevant today. Through Ulysses’ encounter with the Sirens, the tale illustrates the human relationship between desire and self-control, arguing that pursuing your desires and curiosities with lack of self-discipline may come with consequences in order to persuade the audience to be weary of temptation and reconsider giving in. A close reading will be conducted on the following text to support this argument, “In flowery meads the sportive Sirens play, Touch the soft lyre, and tine the vocal lay; Me, me alone, with fetters firmly bound, The gods allow to hear the dangerous sound. Hear and obey; if freedom I demand, Be every fetter strain’d, be added band to band. While yet I speak the winged galley flies, And lo! the Siren shores like mists arise. Sunk were at once the winds; the air above, And waves below, at once forgot to move; Some demon calm’d the air and smooth’d the deep, Hush’d the loud winds, and charm’d the waves to sleep.” (Penguin 10,11)           

The passage begins with describing the Sirens as being “sportive” or lighthearted beings that play soothing music in flowery meadows, depicting them as being quite the opposite of evil and rather innocent and peaceful. The next line immediately changes tone where the peaceful scene of flowery meadows abruptly switches to Ulysses himself alone being “fettered” or shackled firmly in exchange for the Gods to allow him to discover the “dangerous” sound, highlighting Ulysses’ strong desire to hear the Siren’s music which even the Gods acknowledge as perilous.

Next, Ulysses commands his men, that if he demands to be freed from his shackles, to instead tighten them and add more restraints. The reasoning behind this is the men know that the Siren’s song influences them to act irrational, the Siren’s influence on other objects is described later in the excerpt. Ulysses knows that when he hears the “dangerous” sound he will lack self-control that can potentially be fatal; forcing him to rely more on physical restraints than his own words.

The remaining text displays the scene when the “galley” or ship “flies” through the waterway and when the men finally encounter the Sirens. The word “flies” in the text indicates the ship was moving at an incredibly fast pace suggesting there were high and powerful winds at this exact place and time. When the men are met with the Sirens, the weather is described as calm, forgetting, sunk, quiet, and sleeping. These adjectives personify nature by giving it descriptions as “forgot to move” and “charm’d the waves to sleep” emphasizing the strength of merely the Sirens’ presence. The description of the Sirens written as, “Some demon calm’d the air and smooth’d the deep, Hush’d the loud winds, and charm’d the waves to sleep” solidifies their image that these beings have no good intentions, which no “demon” has. Beings that were earlier described as playing in the flowery meadows is now described as unhuman evil entities that possess power strong enough to alter the forces of nature. Yet, Ulysses knew what he and his men were up against and still, his eagerness to satisfy his curiosities was greater than his fear of facing death.

 Although this story suggests that the mortals, Ulysses and his men, outsmarted these powerful demons, they had received the advice to restrain Ulysses and plug their ears with wax to avoid the Siren’s melody, from the goddess Circe. It is almost certain that without the help from the goddess, this voyage would have been the end for them. However, even though the end of this chapter of Homer’s Odyssey is positive, it can leave the audience skeptical to pursue their own curiosities and to think twice about surrendering to temptation, probably because they wouldn’t be as fortunate to receive advice from a god like Ulysses did.

Diving even deeper, although this story was composed in the 8th century B.C. it has been translated, passed down through generations, and depicted in several artworks possibly to impose religious influence on the audience. Aside from its mention of gods (Circe) and demons (Sirens), it reveals Ulysses’ temptation to seek out knowledge which is a prominent theme in religious stories including the Christian story of Adam and Eve and the Greek mythology of Prometheus stealing God’s fire for humankind, both resulting in serious consequences or punishments. Sirens having the reputation of singing ethereal songs filled with knowledge and accompanied by death could’ve discouraged the audience at the time from pursuing advanced knowledge (possibly science) in general. Why is this important? Throughout history religion has played a major role and even had its place of power in some governments, with the obtaining of advanced knowledge, works of nature once credited to God could now be given a logical explanation, ruling God out as a factor.

Obviously in today’s world, religion is not as “hardcore” as it was before. Now that we live in a society of advanced technology and logic, we rarely if not at all attribute works of nature or unknown explanations to God, and our hunger for knowledge is only expanding. One could argue that a prominent topic throughout the world now are natural resources and with our advanced technology we have learned to use these natural resources to our advantage in forms of paper, oil, lithium, coal, etc. When influencing natural forces was depicted as an unhuman power in Ulysses and the Sirens, society now seems to slightly possess the ability to do that as shown through the exploitation of natural resources. However, the desire and temptation to harvest these resources for our advantage may result in consequences in the form of pollution having a detrimental affect on climate change which poses a severe risk to all living organisms. Except unlike Ulysses, we don’t have a Circe to grant us some lifesaving wisdom.

Works Cited:

Odysseus and the Sirens, The Penguin Book of Mermaids, Penguin Books, 2019

The Little Foundling

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I found the story of The Little Mermaid by Han Chistian Anderson very intriguing, although I cannot compare it to the Disney film because I have never watched it. While reading through the story, I found it had some religious and environmental relevance.

A major religious connection was towards the ending when Ariel became an air entity. At first, I thought she may have been turned in to a Siren, but after reading, “…your own good works may obtain you an immortal soul…thus we shall glide into the Kingdom of Heaven…” I though different (Anderson 130). Although, the “daughters of the air” do not possess an immortal soul like humans, they can obtain one and enter heaven by doing good deeds, similar to what we are taught in Christianity. The story describes the daughters of the air by the following, “Their language was melody, but too ethereal to be heard by human ears, just as no human eye can discern their forms. Though without wings, their lightness poised them into the air.” (129). This description is comparable to that of a ghost’s and given she is in neither heaven nor hell can mean Ariel may be in Purgatory which is present in Catholicism.

The connection I made from the story to the environment is also towards the end. One line that caught my attention was, “We fly to warm countries, and fan the burning atmosphere, laden with pestilence, that destroys the sons of man.” (129). During the 19th century, when The Little Mermaid was published (1837), there were many deaths caused by illnesses including Smallpox, Typhus, and Yellow Fever, I’m assessing this would be connected to the “pestilence” mentioned in the quote. Also, the Industrial Revolution was in motion during the time of this publication and had harsh effects on the environment due to the pollution which can be connected to the “burning atmosphere” description. If my assessments are correct, I wonder why Anderson decided to include this in his story, where these wingless air entities that can neither be seen nor heard seems very different than that of a mermaid and human.

Week 6: Thoughts about Undine

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I found the story of Undine entertaining. I am starting to notice some similarities between these mermaid tales, especially between this one and Melusine. First, both stories mention that the mermaids are under some spell or evil, for Undine it was having no soul and Melusine a serpents tail. Second, both women are required to find a man to marry them in order to break the “curse”. Third, both stories end in some tragedy stemming from the man betraying the woman in some way, haven’t read a tale where the woman betrays the man, yet. Fourth, both women lead the man to a body of water. I find the requirement of a man marrying a woman to save her quite interesting because it kind of shows that a woman is dependent and needs to be saved. I can see how this relates to Christianity because I know marriage is a big thing in religion, (weddings are often held in churches with a pastor) not to mention that Undine was written by Christian minister, George Macdonald. In Undine, a part that caught my attention was Huldbrand’s foreshadowing dream, “…disguise themselves as beautiful women, and from beautiful women, they all at once assumed the faces of dragons…” (pg102). I get that this piece was a foreshadow to Undine’s true nature, what I don’t get is why in every one of these tales it’s beautiful women who are seen as evil. I’ve never read a woman who’s described as “unappealing” of committing these acts of deceit. If I were to live in those days, these tales would have me question every beautiful woman’s intentions/nature, I wonder what the reasoning behind this is.