While there were many aspects of this film project that stood out to me, the audio was the one thing I could not ignore. It was unsettling at times and loud, but there were times where it was also very peaceful. The sounds of the ocean and the waves lapping against the ice was a stark contrast to the high-pitched and occasionally distorted frequencies that would play soon after. This contrast signifies the unnaturalness of humans being so involved in the ocean. The more peaceful audio shown with the natural scenery of both the ocean and the land showcase how the environment is at peace when it is untouched by humans. When there are no buildings or roads placed into the natural formations of the land or sea, the environment is at equilibrium. However, when there are man-made satellites, ports, passageways, etc the audio becomes more uncomfortable to listen to, signifying that the environment is uncomfortable when humans start to interfere with it. Even though the base has been decommissioned and seems to be abandoned, the structures still exist and create a lasting mark on the environment. The ocean and the land surrounding it has been disrupted for human gain, so the audio forces viewers to be uncomfortable in the same way that the environment is after being altered.
The audio of this video project also reminds me of the discussion in class we had about what a siren song would sound like. The ending scene contained audio that was almost hypnotic. It was both a little unnerving but also peaceful at the same time which made me think about what would be in a mermaid or a siren’s song. The sample of the mermaid song we listened to in class was a bit more melodic and sounded a little more human but the audio here was a little more animalistic, in that it reminded me of whale calls. This reinforces the idea that the ocean is so vast and unexplored that we, as humans, cannot fathom all that exists in it and we cannot imagine what a mermaid song could sound like. Does it lean more towards the example we heard in class or does it sound more like the audio in this short film? I think the basis of a siren song would be that it makes humans uneasy and intrigued.
For this week’s reading I found it quite satisfying because we were finally able to understand and recognize the importance and history of the ocean, and how it is as important as what’s happening on land. Similar to what a classmate said during lecture last week, political individuals do not see the importance of the ocean because you cannot claim it or “stick a flag in it” and since; “The ocean can’t be plowed, paved, or shaped in ways the eye is able to discern … it is thus difficult for humans to think of the Ocean as a place” compared to land (Roorda, page 1). But individuals are starting to see the issue in this and have come to the enlightenment that history can be seen in the ocean and now Ocean is spelt with a capital O (as seen throughout this article) to recognize that the Ocean is a place and should be treated as such like anything on land. The article looks to change individuals’ ideals of terracentrism, where it “Refers to people’s tendency to consider the world and human activity mainly in the context of the land and events that take place on land” (Roorda, page 1). With trying to change these ideals the goal is for hopefully a “growing consensus that we need to take concerted action to avoid the devastating consequences of having ignored the Ocean for too long;” because we are able to see the oceans history for example by climate change and its effects of it on the coral reef and the longevity of it all (Roorda, page 1). As well I really liked the articles clarification on the Ocean and the term “The Seven Seas” and how that term is a mutable concept and “In reality, there is only on interconnected global Ocean, with currents that exchange water widely among its different regions, with the same molecules of H2O moving from one todays seven Oceans to another, and then another, over the course of ageless and endless cycles of circulation” (Roorda, page 1). Also, with having so little knowledge on the Ocean compared to what we have going on on land and space, the shift of mindset to realizing that the Ocean holds history and carries the same importance if not more from that of on land may be what we as a society need for understanding our earth even more and possibly with the issue of climate change.
What stood out to me was Cronon’s return to his main argument, “there is nothing natural about the concept of wilderness. It is entirely a creation of the culture that holds it dear, a product of the very history it seeks to deny.” (16) Cronon challenges the widely believed perception of wilderness as a natural, undisturbed state. He begins by claiming that the concept of wilderness is not natural or innate, but rather a product of human society. He challenges the notion that wilderness exists irrespective of human impact. He contends that wildness is a product of the society that values it, highlighting the importance of cultural values and views in creating our understanding of nature. Furthermore, Cronon emphasizes the contradictory character of wildness, claiming that it is “a product of the very history it seeks to deny.” He contends that the romantic idealization of wilderness as a clean and unspoiled landscape ignores the rich human history associated with these locations. By recognizing the historical context in which wilderness ideals developed, Cronon encourages readers to critically evaluate the cultural structures that impact our impressions of nature.
However, I am in partial agreement with his argument. I value Cronon’s critique, but I also believe that preserving select wilderness regions is beneficial to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem health. I agree that the distinction between wilderness and civilization is arbitrary, and that humans have influenced ecosystems throughout history. However, I appreciate the value of designated wilderness regions for conservation. Also recognizing both the cultural creation of wilderness and the significance of preserving specific landscapes for their biological value. But I believe it is critical to prioritize the preservation of wilderness regions as a means of conserving biodiversity and ecological health. I believe that wilderness is valuable in and of itself, regardless of human impact, and that rigorous protection measures should be implemented to keep these areas clean. I would argue that Cronon’s critique hinders efforts to protect wilderness and natural places from further degradation. What concerns me is that stressing human influence on wilderness may lead to complacency or a reduction in conservation efforts.
A point that stood out to me interesting and almost a reality check was, “It is a place of freedom in which we can recover the true selves we have lost to the corrupting influences of our artificial lives. Most of all, it is the ultimate landscape for authenticity. Combining the sacred grandeur of the sublime with the primitive simplicity of the frontier, is the place where we can see the world as it really is, and so know ourselves as we really are — or ought to be.” (16). This stood out to be as is makes me question how invested people are with their lives that we forget who we are. We live in this almost fake world where main priorities are how many likes you get on a post, how many people saw what you were doing, and where essentially capturing your entire life by phone defines who you are as an individual, when in reality it does not. As defined the wilderness is “a place of freedom” and that is something we lack in our day to day lives, it is something we aren’t able to reach because we are being consumed by so many other factors like relationships, family conflict, managing personal schedules and so many other things that pile on top of each other that we forget who we are. The ending of the sentence “ought to be” makes me wonder if it was intended to leave the reader question who they really are? Have they lost themselves? It’s a real reality check as to question if you are still the same person you thought you were.
I enjoyed the idea that nature is the only place “in which we can recover the true selves we have lost” as I believe it is true. Almost majority of the places in which you believe you are free to yourself is not entirely true as there can be interruptions, distractions, and ultimately feeling that there is a time clock on how much you can be to yourself before the constant worrying of getting back to day-to-day life comes into place. Compared to being in nature you purposely set that time apart for yourselves, to have a peace of mind, and reset yourself internally so you are not being consumed with the life you are constantly living and that is slowly taking over you each and every day.
In the reading this week, I think the author touched on a lot of important topics that I don’t really tend to think about. There was a quote that really stuck out to me that reads, “The removal of Indians to create an “uninhabited wilderness”-uninhabited as never before in the human history of the place-reminds us just how invented, just how constructed, the American wilderness really is” (pp 15). The idea that the American wilderness was viewed as “unhabited” is inaccurate because Indigenous people had created and built their lives in these areas long before the Europeans even arrived. The assumption of an untouched wilderness erases the history and presence of the Indigenous people who lived there for centuries. The concept of wilderness itself is socially constructed. It has made us view of nature as something separate from human influence or habitation. Western viewpoints were focused on the fact that nature existed for their own use and benefit. On the contrary, many Indigenous cultures have a strong connection with nature, spiritually and physically. They tend to view nature and humans as interconnected and they have the want to protect and preserve the land for their future generations. They often have more sustainable practices and a balanced relationship with nature, which could not be said the same for the Western world.
I hadn’t really thought a lot about how our relationship with nature has been constructed by the ideals our country was built on. The idea that we “dominate” the natural world has been passed on for generations and is the building blocks of how we have treated the nature around us. In many religious contexts, there are connections described between humans and nature, where humans are depicted as having been given dominion over the Earth. This can be interpreted as exploiting nature for human benefit and prioritizing human activities over nature. It makes me rethink how I view nature and how much we rely on it in our day to day lives without even realizing it. I think our society as a whole needs to appreciate our surroundings more and not take what nature has given us and continues to give for us for granted.
This week’s reading was interesting because of all the new context it gave me about what our perception of the wilderness is, and how it came to be. What I found most interesting was the part talking about Native Americans, dubbed ‘Indians’ in the text–which also reveals the environment in which this was written. What the people saw as wilderness, was also the homes of the Native Americans, and was their land first. Once the Native Americans were driven out of their land, the land was seen as safe and peaceful, and not dangerous and savage. This goes to show what they viewed as civilized–people don’t make it civilized; rather one’s own perception of what society should be is what makes something civilized. How we view the wilderness and its safety can be connected to the changing views on the ocean as we discover more and more about it. In some older tales we’ve reviewed in this class, the sea creatures were seen as dangerous (Sirens), but more current literature shows a more productive/romance based relationship between the humans and sea creatures (the Little Mermaid). Through artistic depictions in the Victorian age and current depictions of the sea, we can see the difference in mankind’s thoughts of the sea.
I also found it interesting how Cronon talked about how we lose sight of the importance of protecting where we live since we are so focused on environmental preservation in the ‘wilderness’. This isn’t something I have thought about much, but I see how it applies. In my hometown, there’s a lot of push for urban development (as there is in many towns and cities nowadays), but with that urban development comes the loss of nature and beauty. Perhaps this partially stems from our curiosity in things that are not like us, or not something that is part of our day to day, but there is value in what seems so ordinary to us.
During the latter half of the 19th century, Japan made the transition from a feudal military country to a colonial power under the Meiji Era. Along with the adoption of Western ideas came the industrialization of the country (“A Brief History”). The Meiji Era ushered in coal and chemical plants, mills, refineries, copper mines, and pollutants (Seagrove 2). These new technologies brought new language too–the coining of the word “kogai” which Seagrove (1) describes as “industrial pollution that damages human health and the environment” (p.1). Despite the awareness of the negative environmental costs of industrialization, Japan continued to prioritize economic development as they gained global power. In the Japanese tale The Mermaid, the middle-aged man’s decision to release the mermaid reflects this human-first attitude adopted during the industrial revolution in the 1890s.
The Mermaid follows the story of a middle-aged man who lives by himself, having never married. When fishing one day, the man catches a mermaid. On page 206 of The Penguin Book of Mermaids, the passage reads: “ ‘Desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne.’ The mermaid’s face was tearful, for the hook was in her cheek, and there was also the shame of being forcibly dragged out of her native element; and the angler was a man of tender heart” (p. 206). The strong use of imagery in this quote, of the hook in the cheek and forcible dragging, represents the strong hand of the Japanese in trying to conquer the environment through technological advances. The usage of the phrase “native element” also reveals the use of a mermaid as a symbol for the environment, and the relationship between this man and mermaid represents interactions between Japanese and the environment. The Latin words, at the beginning of this quote, and presumably stated by the man, loosely translates to ‘the beautiful woman ends in a fish’s tail’. The structure of this sentence (and in the quotation) reveals how he sees the mermaid as a human first, and then secondly an element of nature, reflecting the human-first frame of mind this story was written in.
The man then contemplates what to do with the mermaid. The way that he ponders about what to do with her represents the commercialization of the environment that Japan was undergoing: “Gently extracting the hook from her jaws, he held her in his hands and meditatively speculated on the money which he could gain by selling her to an itinerant exhibition, or the long life which he might obtain by eating her flesh” (p.206) Many new technologies, such as power plants and mines were sources of economic gain from the environment in Japan. Not only does this quote represent commercialization and the commodification of nature, but it also illustrates the tensions in the transitional period that the Meiji Era brought. Choosing to sell the mermaid to an exhibition may have resulted from the newfound international trade brought in by the new era, while eating the mermaid comes from a Japanese belief involving immortality, and is more connected to the traditional eras of Japan. The man’s struggle between this choice represents the economic tug of war between an isolated, feudal Japan and the new, colonial Japan that was developing. In addition, the imagery of the man holding her in his hands contributes to the idea of Japan dominating and controlling nature, through how small and powerless it makes her appear.
Despite the two initial choices presented, the man decides to release the mermaid back into the water. However, his reasoning behind the release is not of respect for nature, or pity. The author states: “But his soul revolted at the thought of eating this fair creature, that whimpered and cried like a human being, and so after another long gaze he threw it back into the waves, when the mermaid, waving its grateful adieux, speedily dived out of sight” (p.206). The man does not choose to release the mermaid for any reason but that it reminds him of himself. This reflects the human-first attitude that the Meiji Era brought as it prioritized human advancement over preservation and respect for the environment. Had the mermaid not “whimpered and cried like a human being”, the man would not have returned her to the water, and would have made the choice between selling or eating her. Although the text describes the man as “a man of tender heart”, it seems his tenderness only extended to those who look and act like himself, not to all living beings in the world. This description of the mermaid also reflects how nature is at the mercy of the industrialization of Japan, since the man is the one in control. The mermaid’s gratefulness also contributes to this power dynamic.
Interestingly enough, this tale was published in English in a magazine in Tokyo. This decision to use the English language, as opposed to Japanese, may be another hint toward the Westernization of Japan at this time–as many citizens were sent to Europe to learn about how their country operated. Whether this story can be considered propaganda for the government and modernization, or perhaps a tale created from integration of European ideas and the story of Melusine, is unknown, but it does comment on many concepts of the Meiji Era–of modernization, power, transition. This developmental era in Japan’s history brought about much change for all of Japan, and this tale is an important representation of the attitudes toward nature in Japan during the Meiji Era.
Works Cited
Bacchilega, Cristina. Penguin Book of Mermaids. Penguin Publishing Group, 2019.
Japan, Heartland. “A Brief History of Japan from the Late 19th Century to the Early 20th
Century. – Heartland Japan.” Heartland Japan – Your Gateway to the Heartland of Japan.
Heartland Japan Offers Unforgettable Experiences for Walking, Cycling, Hiking, and
Dr. Antje Schmidt’s talk focused on close readings of the book written by Carla Cerda, which was filled with poems. These poems all related to each other, but stepped in and out of each other. Some of the main ideas in these poems were the effects of the lithium industry on the environment, the effects of the lithium industry on Chile, and human interaction with technology.
This talk relates to our course through the commentary on the environment. Our class is focused on “literature and the environment”, as it is named. This book, written by Carla Cerda, often discusses the interactions of humans with the environment, and being a collection of poems, it is literature. The poems speak on how humans have caused destruction in the environment through lithium mining (disturbing flamingo populations, local populations, indigenous populations), which is similar to how we discuss human interactions with the environment through use of the mermaid as a symbol of the environment. Also similar to our class, this book uses a story to make commentary about the environment. The poems loosely follow the story of a tour group on an elevator, which stops at different floors.
Another important part of this talk that is relevant to our class was how it exposes the current society. Often, in class, we talk about the influence of historical society or historical events on the writing (themes of Christianity, attitudes toward the environment, marriage). This collection of poems reflects the technological times of this decade through random inserts of technology related words or graphics. It also reflects current political times by making commentary on the lithium industry in Chile and its effects on the people and environment.
