Wow, there is so much to unpack from this video. The first time I watched it was before I read the description and so I was mostly trying to understand what I was looking at. That first watch made me uncomfortable and anxious. I was thinking of the barrenness of the arctic as if the lack of humans is what made it scary and uncomfortable. Then to see the presence of the mermaid does little to make me comfortable because seeing them swimming in freezing temperatures still distances her from my ingrained concept of humanity. She still feels otherworldly and therefore something to be scared of. After the video ended I did read the description which helped in directing my train of thought throughout the second watch. When I understood that the mermaid is exploring this structure made by humans it occurred to me that it must be a scary experience for her too. It occurred to me that if this mermaid is present in this environment, then it negates the idea that the arctic is a barren place. I remembered that actually, plenty of wildlife is capable of surviving the conditions of the arctic including many mammals. The presence of human structures in this video further proves that even humans, under certain conditions, can live in this environment. My perspective changes and the sense of anxiety discomfort is replaced by a sense of curiosity. I start examining this creature as they examine humanity. I noted that we do not get a sense of the skin color of the mermaid. The mermaid simply blends in with their surroundings. The last shot was particularly interesting. As we see the mermaid swimming away the rippling effect and the sound gives me the sense that there are more mermaids, they are simply not visible. At the very end the mermaid turns onto their belly and reveals to us that it has been observing us just as we have been observing them.

It’s interesting to see this coming together of the human and the natural world especially when considering the narrative that we are just as much a part of the natural world as the mermaid. It challenges the thought that humans have of superiority over the natural world. I imagine that it is this cultural through ingrained in me that led me to forget that life can exist in the arctic and imagine it as something barren and devoid of life. The second watch allowed me to apply frames of thinking that we have been studying this semester and rendered me humbled.