We all know the story of the “Little Mermaid” and the live-action movie portraying a young-beautiful mermaid with long flowing red hair, a green tail, and purple seashell bra singing. But have you ever wondered if they are real and what they looked like?
In many fables and children’s stories, there has been a retelling of the story of a mermaid. Some depicting that they are gentle and have a mysterious beauty and others depicting them as not as beautiful and more vicious so to speak.
Mermaids: The Body Found (2012) was a scientific documentary that aired on Animal Planet and Discovery Channel where there was an investigative expedition led to discover and report the truth behind whether these creatures are real or not. Following a sequel with new evidence. The main scientist, Dr. Paul Robertson, who worked with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) believed that mermaids have somehow evolved and are alive to this day. This documentary was layered labeled as a mockumentary continuing that they were only talking about this subject in theory and not meant to be taken seriously. It was later removed from Animal Planet and Discovery Channel for misleading the public about its’ intentions. The scientist who led this investigation, practically disappeared well after the ordeal. Why make a big fuss out of something that is supposed to be a “mockumentary”?
The documentary follows him and his fellow team members recording a sound wave from a dark depth of the ocean where it picked up dolphin calling sounds. But among those whale calling sounds was something much different, another species making those same exact sounds. The team followed up on a lead where two teenage boys came upon a mysterious animal of the sort that has washed up on the beach and like any other teenager, they were recording the interaction. Curious to see what exactly the animal was, they took a closer look and one even tried poking it with a stick, causing the mysterious animal or creature to get up and hiss at them. Causing the boys to catch it on camera before running away scared and screaming. The scientist and his team went back to that beach because they have heard reports on multiple sightings of whales randomly washing up onshore. Something from the ocean causing them to not only bleed from their ears, but be this far up shore. Dr. Robertson wanted to get behind this and see why this was happening and when their team was trying to investigate, next thing you know there are men in giant yellow hazmat suits closing the beach to the public. Even kicking the scientist and his team off collecting anything they found away from them. Making them wonder if they were there for another purpose, they soon come to realize the hazmat individuals were actually there to collect the mysterious creature those two teens found earlier. Dr. Robertson wanted to know why they were trying to hide that creature from them.
He later tracked down those same teenage boys and asked them what exactly they found that day. The teens told him what they found and how they recorded it and how two men asked the same thing, official government men in black suits. The one thing they didn’t ask though, was if they caught it on video. Dr. Robertson continues his investigation digging further into this theory that mermaids like any species adapted and evolved to their surroundings. Creating a community who live, thrive, hunt, and take care of each other like any community. He leads an expedition to discover the darker parts of the ocean that require a submarine. There his team finds a mer-like creature put its webbed hand against the glass, almost like it was curious to see something like that this deep in the ocean. Once, it touched the glass it swam away as fast as it could, scared for its’ life, like any creature. After this, the scientist was determined to prove their existence discovering hunting spears piercing fish so far in the ocean where no one would be able to breathe.
The more he dug into this theory, the more he was uncovering, and the more he uncovered, the more people tried to disprove and hide his research. When all of his research was put together, it was broadcasted in two parts. Showing that mermaid we think of isn’t the one that’s really out there. That’s like us, they will protect and defend their community. Looking like not the pretty mermaid in children’s books, but have a curved skull where it emits sound waves only they can hear much like dolphins, and grey like skin tones. The Freeform TV series Siren depicts the closest thing to what a mermaid would really look like going off what Dr. Robertson’s research has shown.
Whether you chose to believe it or not if this program and Dr. Robertson’s research were such a hoax, why take so much time to try and cover it up? What do certain people in power do not want the public to know or find out about the ocean? Where has Dr. Robertson disappeared to and why has he stopped research that he was so passionate about? All these questions leave you wondering about what lengths people in power would go in order for something, like the existence of mermaids, to be known.
