Chapter II

Chapter II: 

DISCUSSION

What reasons do people have for fabricating evidence about mermaids and how do these fabricated evidence affect people and society?

I. History and Definition

Michael Stewart wrote the article, "Mythical Beings: Sirens/Mermaids". The article talks about the history and mythologies of mermaids. Mermaids first appeared historically in Assyria, ca. 1000 BCE. A goddess named Atargatis, the mother of legendary Assyrian queen Semiramis, loved a mortal shepherd and in the process killed him. Because of her shamed, she jumped into a lake to take the form of fish, but the waters wouldn't hide her divine nature. Instead she took the form of a human above the waist, and fish-tailed below - which now we called a Mermaid.

A Mermaid is a legendary creature, who has a female human head, torso and has a fish tail. If it's a male, it is called a merman. In Greek Mythology, sirens were sea nymphs who lived on an island that is surrounded by cliffs and rocks. They approach the sailors using their enchanting singing voice. Because of their enchanting singing, sailors sails on the cliffs and drown (http://www.quicksilvermint.com/medallions/pages/siren.htm).

On the other hand, according to  Avia Venefica who wrote the article: "Mermaid Meaning and Symbolism", mermaids also deals love and also associated with the goddesses of love, like Aphrodite and Venus. They are matrons of enchantment, entreating sailors with beguiling beauty, grace and mesmerizing melodies. Seductive and charming, those who are in contact with mermaids are said that they are subject to their persuasion. Sexually tantalizing and devastatingly lovely, mermaids are perfect pinups for feminine power. It is said that, it's quite nice as mermaids also represent as wild, rebellious spirits and cruel independent.

Mermaids usually uses combs that are made of fish bones. It is an ancient nautical symbol of power over nature as sailors believed that fish bones divide and control storms at sea. Mermaids also hold mirrors that symbolizes the symbol of the moon which speaks as the reflective nature and also symbolizes self admiration too. Since mermaids are rarely seen, this could be taken for modesty. They know the heart of a man, and are legendary that they only appear to the true heart. When they are seen in the light of the moon between the hours of dawn and dusk, it is said that these the magical times when sight and perception becomes fuzzied in mellow whirlpools dawn/dusk glows. This is a symbolic of perfect timing to create magic in our lives by relaxing our vision. We come up to show ourselves in the glow of truly magical color (http://www.whats-your-sign.com/mermaid-meaning-and-symbolism.html).

 Most hoaxes on mermaids were inspired by these myths. The question the researcher is interested in is, "Why do people make mermaid hoaxes?"

II. The Mermaid as a Hoax - Mermaid Hoaxes in History

Mermaid hoaxes are not new, there are mermaid hoaxes before. The researcher found out that behind those mermaid hoaxes happened before, there are reasons behind it. People before have reasons why they created it.

Alex Boese wrote an article titled "The Feejee Mermaid, 1842". The article is all about the first mermaid hoax in history. It is said that in Feejee Islands in South Pacific, supposedly a real mermaid were caught. The press were expecting Dr. J. Griffin, since they had been receiving letters from Southern correspondents describing the doctor and his mermaid. The reporters were waiting for him. And what they saw totally convinced them of the creature's appearance. They use the Feejee Mermaid for advertisement. Technically, they use this fake mermaid for them to be able to make money and also for entertainment of other people. It was exhibited for a week at Concert Hall on Broadway. Several people showed up for the exhibit and Dr. Griffin lectured about his experiences as an explorer & described his theories of natural history. These theories are a bit odd. His main argument was that mermaids must be existed because all things in land have their counterpart in the ocean - sea-horses, sea-lions, sea-dogs, etc. So, therefore there must be also sea-humans.

The researcher analyzed that, people create hoaxes because they have their own beliefs. Beliefs that they want to prove that it's true or can be true. They create mermaid hoaxes because they think of their experiences with them, because of their studies about mermaids. And lastly, mermaids are in demand before. People will probably get interested with mermaids, describing them as a beautiful long haired woman and a half fish down. Because it is something unique for them.

Alex Boese says that,
"Throughout all this, the deception of the public had been three-fold. First, although advertisements had shown the mermaid to have the body of a young, beautiful woman, the creature itself was far less attractive. It had the withered body of a monkey and the dried tail of a fish. As a correspondent from the Charleston Courier put it: "Of one allusion... the sight of the wonder has forever robbed us — we shall never again discourse, even in poesy, of mermaid beauty, nor woo a mermaid even in our dreams — for the Feejee lady is the very incarnation of ugliness" (http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/archive/permalink/the_feejee_mermaid).


III. Why hoaxes are created?

A lot of hoaxes are spread in the internet. G. Wiesen wrote the article "What are internet hoaxes?". It talks about the reasons behind people's mind why they make hoaxes. It is said that, people do hoaxes because they try to trick a person into believing something that is not true. They enjoy tricking other people, and some hoax are made to cover criminal purposes. Some of internet hoaxes attained the level of popularity but didn't last, it quickly fade away or die out in the light of popularity. There are more impressive hoaxes, however, can last much longer  and may continue for years while still being passed around on the internet.

In the article, Wiesen says that,
"...These types of hoaxes can be merely innocuous tales spread in order to play on people’s inherent willingness to believe in the outrageous when presented in a realistic way or can be more malicious efforts to crash servers and spread viruses. Internet hoaxes have existed just about as long as the Internet itself, and many of them have become parts of modern urban legendry" (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-internet-hoaxes.htm).

If we are going to talk about mermaids hoaxes, if we'll search on the internet, you'll see several of it. And the most popular mermaid hoaxes are the two videos of Animal Planet that are in a documentary format.

Namely, "Mermaids: The Body Found" and "Mermaids: The Evidence". Gerri Miller wrote the article "Are Mermaids Real?", that article talks about the interview of Charlie Foley,  “Mermaids” creator, writer, and executive producer and senior vice president of development for Animal Planet. Charlie Foley gave some insights about the videos. Based on the interview, Charlie Foley created this sci-fi video wanted the story to appeal to a sense of genuine possibility and incorporating real science and evolutionary theory and real-world scientific examples. He also thinks that the story works because it's possible to believe that mermaids might have an evolutionary. It works because we can believe that they are real.

Charlie Foley says that,
" Using a straight, documentarian approach made the story more persuasive by appealing more to a sense of intellectual possibility as well as emotional possibility" (http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/are-mermaids-real)


IV. How Mermaid Hoaxes Achieve the Goals of Hoaxing?

Publishing a fake evidence or anything, will let people have violent reactions, opinions, etc.. Some probably will be disappointed. Jim Vorel wrote the article "Mermaid body found? No,bad TV". In the article he talks about the effect of the hoax videos of mermaids: "Mermaids: Body Found" and the "Mermaids: The Evidence" to people who have watch it. According to him, shows like this can be damaging to an overall public perception of reality. Those people who watch these programs, in the near future when they meet other people, they might tell that "mermaids are totally real, I saw it on Discovery channel". There are people who easily believe to what they hear or see. There are still people that are foolish. Examples of it, there are still people debating an 11-year-old moon landing hoax special that aired on FOX, even thought it was nonsense. There are people who believes that our planet earth is flat.

The problem is people, can't be bothered to verify any of the information in the video, and just take it simply. They take it seriously. On the internet, you'll find people looking for reasons to believe the two-hour television on the existence of mermaids. There are people will appear suddenly and try to explain why mermaids are real and the others will try to explain why mermaids are not real, and that's when a debate is happened.

Jim Vorel says that,
"...That’s the nature of rumors about secret knowledge—we really want to believe them, because they confirm our biases and make us feel informed" (http://qctimes.com/entertainment/mermaid-body-found-no-bad-tv/article_5037b13c-d040-11e1-953f-0019bb2963f4.html).

Since the researcher found out that, people create fake evidences about mermaids, it is because, people can make money and can entertain other people by using it.

Patrick Kevin Day wrote the article "Animal Planet's mermaid hoax special draws record ratings", it's about the two documentary films regarding mermaids that were published by Animal Planet.  In the article it is said that, the first documentary film which is the "Mermaid: The Body Found" has the strongest ratings in channel since the "Death of Steve Irwin" in 2006. After the first documentary film was released, it was followed up by its sequel the "Mermaid: The Evidence
" and it has the largest audience ever.

People create fake evidences about mermaids, just to make money of it or to entertain other people. Example of it are said above. Media created hoax videos about mermaids to create money and at the same time to give entertainment to us. They create those hoax videos of it, because they knew that people will. be interested to watch it, because its a creature that is something unique and never seen by many. They knew that several people will be convince that mermaids are true, because many of them are fascinated by mermaids.

Patrick Kevin Day says that,
"About 3.6 million viewers tuned in to watch the special, which claimed to have never-before-seen footage taken of the mermaids in the Greenland Sea. Both "Mermaids" specials were hoaxes, designed to look like real documentaries. But that didn't stop people tuning in en masse to witness a fake investigation into a mythical creature" (http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/30/entertainment/la-et-st-animal-planet-mermaid-hoax-special-record-ratings-20130530).