The stop-motion film, The Water Will Carry Us Home, showed me how the ocean is looked at and appreciated differently by different cultures. The film shows us how there is a long history of black mermaids which is not talked about often in modern culture. As mentioned in the description, the film tells the story of stolen Africans being thrown off a ship whilst sailing through the Middle Passage. They were then saved by the presence of Yoruba Orishas dwelling in the water. This shows how the ocean is not just a scary unknown place throughout history but also a saving grace for some cultures. While the stolen passengers might have been scared when they fell into the water, it was the creatures who resided in it who saved them. This led to an appreciation of the ocean for this culture that is still apparent today, as seen in the ending scene of the film. People are able to connect with the water in their own ways and have a strong appreciation for what it does. This brings me to the idea that each individual person is capable of creating their own relationship with the ocean. With the current climate crisis it is easy to take a step back and assume that “professionals” will handle healing our environment. If each individual person in this world can build a relationship and appreciation for the ocean, we can heal our environment faster as well as discover more about the unknown waters. When we as people take a step back and realize that the ocean is not so scary we can end the boundary that we have created between it.