Author Archives: Jackie Alcaide

Final Essay

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If the ocean could talk, it would tell many interesting stories, secrets and knowledge. To think about all the information humans do not know but yet still feel intrigued into creating and telling stories that connect with the ocean is an advancement that we have seen today. Whether it be fictional or factual, the creation allows humans to feel connected to the ocean without having to be close to the water. The impact that humans have through works of art and literature as a tool of representation has allowed this advancement to flourish. As Steve Mentz has created, Blue Humanities, the intersection of science and humanities, two fields that are filled with different materials but yet wouldn’t be the same without the other. 

The ocean used to be viewed as a tool for travel and/ or for a space to regroup in a relaxed form. While this is still true, the ocean has been greatly appreciated through the arts and humanities. Adding a mind and body in connection to the ocean, almost as if it was a person. John Gills in The Blue Humanities, touches on this stating “ Early modern science knew much more about the heavens than about the oceans; and more attention was paid to extracting the wealth of the seas, namely fish, than to the waters themselves.”(Gills) “Extracing” was the correct word for this, as humans only looked at the ocean as something profitable and beneficial to them. Not paying any mind to the lives in the ocean or the ocean itself. Gills explains that up until the 19th century, “The focus was almost entirely on the ships and the skills of the men who manned them, with the sea itself almost an afterthought.”(Gills) The ocean itself is the foundation for the ships and skills of the men, the men had to have to learn and study the science of the ocean in order to perfect their craft at work. So to think of the ocean as an afterthought was to reject the ocean as what it was— an archive that never stops growing. 

This came to be with the help of Blue Humanities, created by Steve Mentz. So what is Blue Humanities? On one hand we have science, very logical and factual driven, who meets humanities, artistic and full of creation, thus creating Blue Humanities. A question that could bounce from this idea is how can these two fields have anything to do with each other if they are quite the opposite? Perhaps the material is different but in order to connect to others on a level of understanding that produces creation and advancement in our world we need the numbers and empathy. John Gills, writer of article The Blue Humanities, explains this combination through the comparative literature department stating “Comparative literature scholars like Margaret Cohen have shown how sea stories, concerned originally with the mechanics of sailing, came in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to focus on the ocean itself, turning it into a space within which to imagine modernity.”(Gills) Gills acknowledges the mechanics of sailing that were center focused in comparative literature stories, this is the more logistic and factual side, and how the transition into an imaginative modernity has become what we now see today. When reflecting back on the change in standards, it is important to address what came before so that the past ideas are not lost and abandoned. Past ideas are to be used as a guidance into forming new ways of thinking. 

As an example of creation coming about from this advancement, Gabrielle Tesfaye created a short film titled The Water Will Carry Us Home, in which the story is about a group of female slaves that were thrown overboard on a boat and fall into the hands of mermaids that care for them. Throughout the film, there are images and passages of history of the slaves—perhaps history that was once forgotten or ignored, Tesfaye’s inclusion of this brings light to the real situations that human beings were once in. The slaves being pushed into the ocean to be forgotten was a way to replicate the concealment of history, as anything that is thrown in the ocean will be very hard to retrieve back out, thus being lost. Tesfaye uses her artistic ability to create a video with such detail in order to tell a story, including real images and stories of human beings. This is just what the Blue Humanities promotes, with the connection of science and the humanities as one would not be the same without the other. 

Human connection is very valuable especially when it is created through a human and their emotions towards a remembrance or present state, Bringing back this connection to John Gills he reflects on the symbol of eternity, “It became a symbol of eternity, a comfort to those who, having lost their faith in divine dispensation of everlasting life, came to see in its apparently timeless flows evidence of nature’s immortality and a secular promise of life everlasting.”(Gills) This comfort in faith can be very touching through humans as we crave a connection with something or someone bigger than us. To take away the worries and questions and to bring comfort and answers. The ocean has replicated that sensation for some, it has moved people in a way that they are able to go near a body of water and do some reflection. The serenity that makes humans sane can come from the ocean, which was once viewed as ugly and nonuseful besides for work purposes. The idea of an everlasting life that will continue on after the passing of all of us can bring peace to who we are and how small we are in this world.

Through Steve Mentz creation of Blue Humanities and the open and transformative minds of humans, the ocean has gained a new sense of appreciation. It has become an outlet for many in regards to faith, comfort and artistic creation, all while not removing the science behind the ocean. The Blue Humanities does not remove or take away the factors of both science and art but enhances both of them in order to make sense that on cannot be the same without the other. 

Works Cited

Gillis, John R., et al. “The Blue Humanities.” National Endowment for the Humanities, www.neh.gov/humanities/2013/mayjune/feature/the-blue-humanities. Accessed 15 Dec. 2025. 

Tesfaye, Gabrielle. “The Water Will Carry Us Home.” YouTube, youtu.be/dGlhXhIiax8?si=rcc7BYSc9I-XQHmP. Accessed 15 Dec. 2025. 

Final Thoughts

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Hands down, this class and the Moby Dick class (also with professor Pressman) has been my favorite classes this semester. Learning the relationship with humans and the environment and being faced with the impact that we, as humans, have had in our own space was honestly not what I was expecting from this class. At least not to this extent. However, I’m so glad we went in the direction that we did as it made this class sooo interesting. I enjoyed the reading and the class discussions.

Learning from other people from their ideas and thoughts added to the experience so much. Thank you all for making this class what it was.

Weightless

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In chapter 5, Yetu goes through the motions of something that she has been wanting— to be free of holding all the memories. She describes going through the water and feeling “weightless” a feeling that is out of the ordinary for her as the weight of the memories not only dragged her down emotionally but also took a toll on her physically. Showing just how much our mental state also affects our physical state, that in order to be happy and feel free within out means we must be mentally okay to transition this feeling into the rest of our body.

Even during after her deep she reflects on what she is feeling stating, “Rememberings didn’t haunt her. She was just Yetu. She wasn’t quite sure who that was, but she didn’t mind the unknowing because it came with such calm, such freedom from the pain.”(70) Although she didn’t know who she was, the relief of not being consumed with the memories of others was freeing. The memories of others had overtaken her physically and mentally and now she is in the privilege to be left alone, away from the memories. It is a privilege to not have to hold the dark information of history, and it is a privilege to move along the day without recalling that information. It is not something that most people do anyways, we do not spend much time learning the depths of our countries history unless it is required of us.

Final

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To be honest, I’m not sure on what I want to write about for this final. So far I have been enjoying “The Deep” so maybe I might write about that. Perhaps after getting further into the book I will know more about what I want to base my essay on. After that, i definitely need to look into scholarly articles for the essay.

So far, I have an interest in the trauma and memories revived the body. “Rememory” as well.

What A Powerful Women!

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Ti Jeanne was a super interesting read, especially because Maman Dlo is woman who cares so much about the environment and about women. For instance she enchanted Ti Jeanne into living with her and serving her forever after with the benefit of “…a fishtail…was to become one of the most beautiful of the fairy maids, playing with the other river spirits and protecting the forest, its waters and pools for a long time to come.”(276) Very much like Maman Dlo, her purpose in life will be to protect the environment. That was the ultimate gift that she could receive, her grace towards the natural world was expressed in her newfound beauty as well. As Ti Jeanne’s “…chemise fell from her, her hair grew long, covering her round shoulders and her bare breasts…” She was left in her natural state, naked, only to be covered with her now long hair. Hair holds a lot of power on its own, especially long hair as it is can be seen as a form of dedication and divinity in spirituality. Maman Dlo has not only brought a new purpose of life for Ti Jeanne but she replicated it in her physical attributes as well. This shows the level of trust she has in Ti Jeanne to take her under her wing, truly an empowering moment.

In the end, we learn that being with her for the rest of her life is not always a gift. Considering, “Mortal men who commit crimes against the forest, like burning down trees or indiscriminately putting animals to death or fouling the rivers, could find themselves married to her for life, both this one and the one to follow.”(277) There is a mention of the after like as it states “both this one and the one to follow.” If I’m understanding correctly, that would mean that Maman Dlo will be apart of the after life with the human being. Very different from other mermaid stories that we have read where mermaids are not part of the after life and become one with the water. This is an example of the strength that comes from an angry woman, not in a “women’s emotions are hard to control” kind of way but a form of power. Especially coming from a non-human being that is surpassing the after life just to continue punishing the human being for their lack of compassion to anyone or anything else but their kind.

Essay 2

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Emilija Škarnulytė’s short film Sirenomelia, captures a mermaid in an area that was once a NATO base. The film captures different angles of not only the area but also of the water, satellite and the mermaid herself. The audio is listed as “white noise”, that’s it. No additives. Just white noise. Implying that that is the sound for the whole film. Interestingly enough there is a moment in which the mermaid is in frame that the audio sounds like sirens— just like a siren/mermaid sound would sound like. The inclusion of the siren sound into the natural noises that make up white noise is an example of the inclusion for non-human beings, thus resembling the disruption of non-human beings into the world of humans and vice versa. 

For definition, white noise is defined as audible frequencies played at equal intensity and is made up of natural sounds. Sounds are often used as a form of communication, words from a human voice and non verbal sounds like that of a different being communicating to other beings of the same kind. In Sirenomelia, there is a change in audio as soon as the camera is underwater  (TIME 3:10), there is an audible siren coming from underwater coming from a different being, a non human. This moment is the introduction to what viewers later realize in a mermaid or siren. 

Once the mermaid is present (TIME 3:54), the siren sound is more audible. From the moments of sounds from the air, the emptiness is audible, up until the camera is underwater and the mermaid comes into camera. The audio does not change to just sounds of water but it allows the audio of the mermaid to go through. It is an inclusive moment that does not conceal the unknown from life in water. It invites questions and interest beyond what humans know already about the water. Had it been covered up by just the noise of water, it would lack authenticity. The natural world is authentic and when it is unaltered by humans, there comes sounds and creation beyond humans knowledge and understanding. 

Moving onto another disruption in audio (TIME 4:10), there is a sound of static and radio—quite out of the normality that would be classified as “natural sounds.” At this moment the mermaid has her head above water and is directly at the camera. This moment is symbolic as a mesh between two distinct lives on the same land. Humans and non human beings are in the moment looking right at each other, the mermaid is looking right at the viewer. Almost haunting when the unimaginable is right in front of view, just as mermaids are beings that humans don’t understand and know much about. Humans are the strange beings in the mind of a mermaid, humans are the beings that are out of the ordinary, which is amplified through the static. 

Even though this world is a shared space with human beings and the non-human beings, Sirenomelia shows the reality where both species mesh together and what it would sound like through the frequency of white noise. 

week 12

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In the short film The Water Will Carry Us Home , slaves are thrown off a slave ship and their sprints are saved by mermaids. Something that I noticed before the story began was the hand drawn on a woman’s hand approaching the camera before the screen goes blank. The spiritual eye could mean a transition to higher consciousness and insight. Tesfayes inclusion of the hand with the eye right before the story begins is like a point of relaxation and focus.

After the story is over, after everything is revealed through the journey that the slaves went through and the meeting with the mermaid, there is a blank screen again at the end of the video with the sound of the rooster. What do we know about the sound of the rooster? That it usually means it is time to wake up. This is an awakening! An awakening for the slaves that were left to be forgotten, their lives and stories that were almost forgotten through the concealment of others. Not only was the video a video of awareness of history that has been attempted to be hidden but it’s a transition of the progression towards a different life.

Sirenomelia

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In the short film Sirenomelia, there is a mermaid that is seen swimming in a decommissioned NATO base. The part that I particularly found interesting was the noise and camera angles of when the mermaid was in vision. The beginning of the video states the sound is “white noise” but I noticed that when the mermaid was in frame it sounded like a disruption in audio. Exemplifying a disruption in reasoning and belief of the reality that mermaids could exist.

The changes in audio and video quality was evident throughout the whole film, another notable change was when the camera was closer to the water/ in the water the video quality was blurrier or not as clear and the audio was stronger—in a almost eerie kind of way. Where as the beginning and the end of the film, once the camera was panned out or in aerial view the video quality was more clear and the audio was more of tranquillity. This detail in the film definitely ties into the description of the film stating that the creators wanted to show “The Future is Certain; It’s The Past Which is Unpredictable…history can both be rewritten and imprint itself on the future.”

The contrast of blurrier images and sounds replicate the past that was something the present could only understand through the lenses of others that show unclarity. Where as the clearer images show the future and the progression that future is advancing in.

Value

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A particular line that stood out to me In The Blue Humanities by John Gills was “The focus was almost entirely on the ships and the skills of the men who manned them.” Gills explains the acknowledgement that the ships and skillful men received while there was a disregard for the foundation— the sea. The sea is the foundation for the ships and the sea is what the skillful men had to not only work with but obtain some knowledge about in order to be successful in their travel. So why was the sea undervalued?

Tracing this back to what our discussions about mermaids/sirens being considered dangerous and unfit for society, there is a similarity considering the sea was was also considered “…as dangerous and repellant, ugly and unfit for literary or artistic representation.” The value of mermaids have had a similar value that the sea had at one point. Gills explains “…and more attention was paid to extracting the wealth of the seas…” Humans extract the parts of the sea that is of importance to them because it is benefiting to them. There is a lack of empathy towards the sea, the only value that the sea held was in a form of travel, whaling, etc. Much like the mermaids, who offered knowledge, their beauty, etc. Ignoring the fact that there is more knowledge that was missed out on to understand the depth of the sea, much like the mermaids as a being.

The Little Mermaid

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In The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen, he writes the main character as a young ambitious mermaid that has taken an interest in life on land. Anderson uses the little mermaids ambition to symbolize the desire for self-improvement regardless of the length and sacrifice one must go through by his demonstration of symbolism and character development.

Having only seen a glimpse of life on land from underwater, the little mermaid finds herself enamored by it and decides to replicate what she sees. “…she never claimed anything— with the exception of the red flowers that resembled the sun above—but a pretty stature, representing a handsome youth…”(109) Anderson uses symbolism in this recreation of life on land as a form of manifestation for the little mermaid. To visualize something that you desire everyday can create the reality that you wish for as if it were a vision board. Another point of view comes from her admiration for the flowers and statue can also serve as an altar—used for religious or ritual purposes while performing prayers or sacrifice. After every view in her garden, she romanticized life on land and her praises gave her hope that she would one day bring this to life. Plus  later on in the story we learn that she does end up making a sacrifice in order to be able to walk on land. 

What really picked the little mermaid’s interest came from the discussion with her grandmother. Her grandmother is a strong character in her life because she does not shield information from  the little mermaid and answers her questions, “She was always asking her grandmother to tell her all she knew about ships, towns, people and animals.”(109) This helps the development of the little mermaid’s character and confidence by the encouragement of new information instead of the fear of it. It is noticeable that the little mermaid has a good head on her shoulders and that is why she was able to deal with the disappointment of her outcome in the end of the story as gracefully as she did. 

Going back the the discussion with her grandmother in which she reveals that, “Human beings, on the contrary, have a soul that lives eternally—yea even after the body has been committed to the earth…”(118) The revelation draws the little mermaid in even more thus making her say  “I would willingly give all the hundreds of years I may have to live, to be a human being but for one day, and to have the hope of sharing in the joys of the heavenly world”(118) For her the removal of years of her life is worth bargaining for to have a soul. Anderson uses foreshadowing of the bargain to show the lengths that someone would go just to achieve the life that they desire, even if it means permanent alteration of your current life. 

The little mermaids decision serves a purpose to represent the strong aspiration to change your life into something that can  affect you tremendously. However, after much thought and consideration and through the support of your family you can achieve the goal you aspire to complete.