Watching this video reminded me of one of the terms we discussed last week, distortion. This ocean centric language proposal in Deterritorializing: Preface mentioned switching from clarity to distortion, as many things underwater are distorted and how this distortion should be a baseline condition. I saw this distortion in the video we watched this week, as there were both visual and auditory distortions when the camera was underwater. Looking up at the land, one could not see as clearly as one should be able to, and there were light distortions through the water. When an audio clip of someone talking played, it was muffled and incomprehensible. It was interesting to see the world from what a mermaid’s perspective might be, and how separated from the human world this perspective is. When the camera was underwater and pointed up at the surface, the land beyond seemed so far away. If we did switch our language from clarity to distortion, it would allow us to consider other perspectives, and perhaps understand that our personal perspective is not truly clear; rather that it is distorted, as is everyone else’s. 

I also thought the locations chosen by the director were interesting. There was a sharp contrast between the snowy land, that was just nature for miles and miles, untouched by man. Then, where the mermaid was swimming, there was concrete and industrialization. As it states in the description, the mermaid is exploring an old, decommissioned NATO base, which also goes to show that even when humans think they need land, they are willing to just abandon it after it has served its purpose. Perhaps this contrast is making commentary on mankind’s effects on the environment. While some parts are unscathed, others are dominated by the effects of industrialization and humans’ need for land. And by changing the raw environment, it makes it more difficult for the natural world to navigate. Instead of this mermaid having the ability to roam in an open space (as shown in the video at 4:53), the mermaid is confined to tunnels and canals. As humans, we are able to manipulate the world in a way that affects many more species than just our own.