Mer-Hagography: The Erasure, Return and Resonance of Splash’s Older Mermaid

• Authors: Philip Hayward

Abstracts

EN

The 1984 feature film Splash initially included a scene featuring an embittered, older mermaid (referred to as the “Merhag” or “Sea-Hag” by the production team) that was deleted before the final version premiered. Since that excision, the older mermaid and the scene she appeared in have been recreated by fans and the mer/sea-hag has come to comprise a minor element in contemporary online culture. The term “Merhag,” in particular, has also spread beyond the film, being taken up in fantasy fiction and being used-allusively and often pejoratively-to describe notional and actual female characters. Drawing on Mary Daly’s 1978 exploration of supressed female experiences and perspectives, this essay first examines Splash and associated texts with regard to the general figure of the hag in western culture (and with regard to negative, ageist perceptions of the ageing female), before discussing the use of “Merhag” and “Sea-Hag” as allusive pejoratives and the manner in which their negative connotations have been countered.

Keywords

EN

mermaids; merhags; sea-hags; hag-ography; Splash

• Publisher: Uniwersytet Łódzki. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
• Journal: Text Matters: A Journal of Literature, Theory and Culture
• Year: 2021
• Issue: 11
• Pages: 139-156

Dates

published

2021

Contributors

author

Philip Hayward

• University of Technology Sydney

• https://orcid.org/0000000200180174

References

• Andersen, Hans Christian. “The Little Mermaid.” HCA.Gilead.org.il, 13 Dec. 2007, http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html accessed 10 Feb. 2020.
• Bennett, Joe. “The Critical Problem of Cynical Irony Meaning What You Say and Ideologies of Class and Gender.” Social Semiotics, vol. 26, no. 3, 2016, pp. 250–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/10350330.2015.1134819
• Campbell, Debra. “Be-ing Is Be/Leaving.” Feminist Interpretations of Mary Daly, edited by Sarah Lucia Hoagland and Marilyn Faye, The Pennsylvania State UP, 2000, pp. 164–93.
• Cohen, Claire. “Hag, Harridan, Crone: 16 Words We Only Use to Describe Older Women.” The Telegraph, 20 Mar. 2018, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/hag-harridan-crone-16-words-use-describe-older-women/ accessed 20 Feb. 2020.
• Daly, Mary. Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism. Beacon, 1978.
• De La Rosa, Ian. “Sea Hag.” Urban Dictionary, 13 June 2013, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sea%20Hag accessed 22 Feb. 2020.
• Emery, Debbie. “Daryl Hannah Has Gone From Splash Siren To ‘Scary Fish Lips,’ Says Plastic Surgeon.” Radar, 2 Oct. 2012, https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2012/10/daryl-hannah-plastic-surgery-photos-trout-pout/ accessed 10 Feb. 2020.
• Fantasy Games Central. “Debra ‘Debbie’ ‘Merhag’ Beebe.” Tapatalk, 2009, https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/fgc/ accessed 2 May 2020.
• Ferguson, Susan J., and Carla Parry. “Identity, the Body, and the Menopause.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, vol. 19, no. 1, 1998, pp. 20–41. https://doi.org/10.2307/3347130
• Friedman, Bruce Jay, Lowell Ganz, and Babaloo Mandel. Splash (script). 1983.
• Grazer, Brian, and Charles Fishman. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. Simon and Schuster, 2015.
• Gums. Directed by Robert J. Kaplan, performances by Theodore Gottlieb and Terri Hall, Cum Laude Films, 1976.
• “Hag.” Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hag accessed 11 Apr. 2020.
• Harris, Jason Marc. “Perilous Shores: The Unfathomable Supernaturalism of Water in 19th-Century Scottish Folklore.” Mythlore: A Journal of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature, vol. 28, no. 1, 2009, pp. 5–25.
• Hayward, Philip. Making a Splash: Mermaids (and Mermen) in 20th and 21st Century Audiovisual Media. John Libbey/Indiana UP, 2017. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt200605w
• Inkol, Cecelia. “Melusine Machine: The Metal Mermaids of Jung, Deleuze and Guattari.” Shima, vol. 12, no. 2, 2018, pp. 52–65. https://doi.org/10.21463/shima.12.2.07
• “J.” “Splash From Script to Screen: Script to Move comparison: Part 1.” Splash Blogspot, 24 Apr. 2013, http://themoviesplash.blogspot.com/2013/04/script-to-movie-comparison-part-i.html accessed 18 Feb. 2020.
• Jackson, John G. Aradithia: Rise of the Goblin King. iUniverse, 2009.
• Koblin, John. “Survivor Defies Gravity to Hang On as CBS Ratings Stalwart.” The New York Times, 30 Sept. 2015, https://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/01/business/media/survivor-defies-gravity-to-hang-on-as-cbs-ratings-stalwart.html accessed 28 Apr. 2020.
• Mamula (a.k.a. Killer Mermaid). Directed by Milan Todorovic, performances by Kristina Klebe and Franco Nero, Viktorija Film, 2014.
• Matria_mods. “Beach Creatures [Merhag].” Matria_mods Livejournal, 7 Dec. 2008, https://matria-mods.livejournal.com/1703.html accessed 10 Feb. 2020.
• Mayo, Michael. “Splash.” Cinefantastique, vol. 14, no. 3, 1984, pp. 92–99. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0002021400007854
• Mermaid Miracles. Directed by Brett Mazurek, YouTube.com, uploaded by Mermaid Miracles Reuploaded, 2014–15, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJcsj6A1Zgruz-7YYoIAPFA/featured accessed 1 May 2020.
• Mermaids and Unicorns. Directed by Madison Young, performances by Ela Darling and Madison Young, 2014.
• Miranda. Directed by Ken Annakin, performances by Glynis Johns and Googie Withers, Sydney Box Productions, 1948.
• Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid. Directed by Irving Pichel, performances by Ann Blyth and William Powell, Inter-John Productions, 1948.
• National Enquirer. “Daryl Hannah: From Hot to Haggard!” National Enquirer, 1 Oct. 2015, https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:ZEbhpxE-IJEJ:https://www.nationalenquirer.com/celebrity/daryl-hannah-hot-haggard/+&cd=2&hl=pl&ct=clnk&gl=pl accessed 27 Feb. 2020.
• Nuessel, Frank H. Jr. “The Language of Ageism.” The Gerontologist, vol. 22, no. 3, 1982, pp. 273–76. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/22.3.273
• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Directed by Rob Marshall, performances by Penélope Cruz and Johnny Depp, Walt Disney Pictures, 2011.
• Schmordon, Schmichael. “Merhag.” Urban Dictionary, 15 Mar. 2009, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=merhag accessed 22 Feb. 2020.
• Scott, Lauren. “Scotty’s Sketches.” Scotty’s Sketches, http://scottysketches.blogspot.com/ accessed 22 Feb. 2020.
• Scriptshadow. “Screenplay Review-The Mermaid.” Scriptshadow, 20 Feb. 2013, http://scriptshadow.net/screenplay-review-the-mermaid/ accessed 18 Feb. 2020.
• Sea Hags. Sea Hags. Chrysalis, 1989.
• Sea hag victim. “Sea Hag.” Urban Dictionary, 26 Feb. 2009, https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sea%20Hag accessed 11 Feb. 2020.
• Silveira, Jeanette. “Generic Masculine Words and Thinking.” The Voices and Words of Women and Men, edited by Ed Cheris Kramarae, Pergamon, 1980, pp. 165–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0148-0685(80)92113-2
• Spender, Dale. Man Made Language. Pandora, 1980.
• Splash. Directed by Ron Howard, performances by Tom Hanks and Daryl Hannah, Touchstone Pictures, 1984.
• Splash Blogspot. “The Sea-Hag.” Splash Blogspot, 19 Feb. 2010, http://themoviesplash.blogspot.com/2010/02/sea-hag.html accessed 18 Feb. 2020.
• Splash-La Bruja del Mar. Directed by Quihoma Isaac and Mario Escoto. YouTube.com, uploaded by SplashTheSeaHag, 5 Oct. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JMkRej7zLk accessed 2 Apr. 2020.
• “Splash (1984)-The Sea hag (fan scene).” YouTube.com, uploaded by Mermaidsworld, 19 Jan. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRfsASgdChQ accessed 11 Mar. 2020.
• Stuckey-French, Elizabeth. Mermaids on the Moon. Anchor, 2002.
• Sundén, Jenny, and Susanna Paasonen. “Shameless Hags and Tolerance Whores: Feminist Resistance and the Affective Circuits of Online Hate.” Feminist Media Studies, vol. 18, no. 4, 2020, pp. 634–65. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2018.1447427
• Survivor: Tocantins. Season 18, CBS, 2009.
• The Little Mermaid. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, Walt Disney Pictures, 1989.
• The Thirteenth Year. Directed by Duwayne Dunham, performances by Justin Jon Ross and Chez Starbuck, Dream City Films, 1999.

Identifiers

DOI

10.18778/2083-2931.11.10

Biblioteka Nauki

2032744