Casey Meyer

14 April 2024

Professor Pressman

Literature and the Environment: Mermaids

Changing the Narrative Around Sharks

Following the publication of the movie ‘Jaws’ in 1975 directed by Steven Spielberg, sharks have been notoriously known for their bloody, gruesome, and intimidating presence in the ocean. In recent years, scientific and statistical research has proven quite the contrary, with one beautiful piece of media by Hannah Fraser standing as one of the most influential works of art on the topic. The short film, Tigress, released in 2020 on YouTube and various news channels, depicts a mermaid dancing and swimming alongside the most deadly sharks in the world. This video was released in an attempt to bring an end to shark hunting and convince scared ocean-goers that sharks are not the threat that they have been made out to be through the use of costume choice, setting, and physical movements. This video encourages viewers that sharks can be friendly and in some cases, even cuddly and attention-hungry. 

Being that sharks can’t speak the human language, Hannah Fraser and her team have taken it upon themselves to fight on their behalf to protest shark culling in their community. Dressed like a mermaid and painted blue with an airbrush, Hannah demonstrates a respectful infiltration to the sharks home and habitat while maintaining a peaceful energy towards and from the sharks. In a setting unnatural to humans, Hannah demonstrates a lighthearted and positive attitude. This is done with the intention of demonstrating harmony with these beasts, and her sense of coolness simply reinforces the fact that they do not aspire to kill and hunt humans, and that shark attacks are rare and truly are unfortunate accidents. Another interesting aspect pertaining to clothing choice is the fact that she is wearing a black wig, airbrushed blue, and possessing mermaid paint strokes prompts the idea to step away from a terracentric perspective. This embodies a hybrid view, that although underwater it is still half-human which makes it more relatable to humans while still giving half of the respect to the ocean, and more importantly the sharks. Combined, the overall clothing choice was strategically selected to invoke feelings of unity and relatability in the viewers, ultimately with the hopes of swaying consumers into the concept that sharks are not as scary as they have been portrayed previously. 

With the use of six pound leaded boots, she dances alongside these great beasts. Had Hannah even wanted to, she would not be able to swim towards the surface, demonstrating her undoubted faith and belief that they were not attempting to hunt and eat her. To further reinforce that point, she is without a mask nor any protective gear, relying entirely on her team and trust in the process running smoothly as can be–without being bitten. In ABC news’s behind the scenes video, they mention that even one small nudging bite would result in death before they could even make it back to the boat. With such intense repercussions following one slight error, it makes the viewer wonder whether it was calculated beyond belief, or if sharks just might not be the human frenzy-eating monsters they have been depicted as for so many years in the past. Another important aspect of the setting in this video is that it could have been filmed in an aquarium or more controlled atmosphere where they could ensure full safety and have amenities for a bite had something gone wrong. Instead it is filmed at the bottom of the ocean in an area in which they chummed to draw as many sharks as possible. This means that the amount of sharks that showed up that day was unknown until they started filming, and that these sharks are as real as it gets. These aspects combined translate the idea that Hannah and her team’s faith in the sharks being harmless should be translated to the viewers as to lessen their fears around these animals. 

Another important aspect of this video is that Hannah Fraser–who on stage name is Hannah Mermaid–is underwater performing various dancing maneuvers. When one typically thinks of humans and sharks interacting, the humans are normally in full dive gear and very brief in their contact if they even touch the sharks at all. Another common way humans interact with sharks is with the utilization of cages or tanks, something the shark would not be able to penetrate with if a shark indeed were to attack. To further this, humans rarely interact with sharks at the bottom of the ocean floor, and especially not while they are dancing. Both chum and humans float, meaning that to perform this protest dance both would need to be weighted as to sink to the bottom of the ocean. To further this, the way that Hannah performed would not be possible on the surface nor somewhere in between the seafloor and surface. This again reinforces that she is in shark territory, and has full faith in not being attacked. Another important aspect of her doing an underwater dance performance is that sharks sense movement through their lateral line, and dance movements similar to hers would most certainly be detected by all of the sharks. Originally, Hannah had intended to wear a mermaid fin, but the day of the shoot decided against it as to not appear like shark prey and make an excuse for the sharks to eat her, ultimately disproving their overarching goal. Although lacking a tail, Hannah still resembled a mermaid, again proving that this was methodical and done with the intent of being fair to the sharks and proving that humans should have little to no fear of their presence in the Ocean that we share together. 

In conclusion, Hannah Fraser and her team have gone to extreme lengths to stop the misinformation being spread around sharks. Through the use of costumes, location, and dance routines, Hannah and her team have used the video ‘Tigress’ to convince consumers that sharks are not the threat they are perceived as, and to put an end to shark culling across the globe. In the years to come, it is important that sharks are treated with a new level of respect and appreciation in our oceans, similar to the way mindsets around whales have been shifted. Without sharks in our ecosystems, the entire balance could be thrown off, resulting in consequences mankind does not have the technology or ability to deal with.