When Mermaid Characters (Unintentionally) Represent Autism
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- So my lighter-hearted #AutismRepresentation video will be touching on unintentional representation.
Maybe it's the 'fish out of water' narrative. Maybe it's a character having to pretend to be 'normal' against their nature. Whatever the case, more than one autistic viewer has seen themselves in various mermaid characters throughout pop culture.
#AutismAcceptanceMonth #actuallyautistic #autistictalent #autisticartist
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Oh, so that's why I was so obsessed with H2O mermaids when I was a kid and then mermaids in general...
This might explain where my mermaids/mermaiding special interest comes from lol! I defo want to write some mermaid tv shows at some point :)
Oh how exciting :D the mythology has many great possibilities to explore :)
There’s actually the TV show “H20 Just Add Water” and its sequel “Mako Mermaids” DEFO rewatch!
I do think that the mermaid allegory fits the autistic stereotype.. we’re seen as uncanny and “somewhat human, but not quite normal” due to the half fish theme and neurodivergent aspect, and the inability to “get” land people and functioning and blending into society smoothly.. we still function, but we are still seen as “off”..
I really like the ambiguity in your comment.
I think it’s interesting to point out, too, that Darryl Hannah, the actor who played the mermaid in Splash, is autistic herself. I wonder how that could have contributed to the relatability of that performance for other ND women.
Edit: He included that part! 🧜🏻♀️
This was a very thoughtful analysis. Most discussions I've seen surrounding the intersection of mermaid cannon and disability have only touched on neurodivergence very lightly. I think most of that work tends to fixate on the more obvious physical aspects of those stories, which is perfectly valid! But I think this video proves that how we connect with the fantastical is often a deeply personal, nuanced, and layered experience. Cheers!
That's a very good point about physical disability, since in both Miranda and the book Aquamarine is adapted from, the mermaids hide their tails and just pretend they're wheelchair bound. It would be interesting to see a modern film explore that, especially since there's now a bigger push to include wheelchair users in significant roles.
Mermaids are my favorite thing in the world! I love seeing all the connections people make between neurodiversity, gender and mermaids. I have had severe recurrent depression and anxiety since I was 11 which sometimes makes me feel like I'm a bit less connected to the world and other people. It's easy to see myself in mermaids and a lot of the stories they appear in. Not quite being able to fit in, and wanting to yet sometimes feeling a bit of freedom that comes from being different. Mermaids are allowed to be weird, dark, silly, sexual, obsessed with collecting and particular interests. They're the best. The part about being open-minded and very interested in social justice rings true as well. Finally, thank you so much for bringing up Aquamarine!! It's such a sweet, fun and positive movie.
Over the last year, I've found myself connecting to it more and more. I can even be moved to happy tears with the line "starfish may be big suckups, but they never lie".
As an autistic woman, I definitely latched onto Twilight and Pinkie, mainly because Pinkie reminds me of my childlike curiosity for the world and Twilight reminds me of my thirst for knowledge. Aquamarine and Ariel were my absolute favorite mermaids growing up and I'm glad to have friends like theirs who accept me, quirks and all
That's awesome :) There's a bit of Twilight in me, although I'm probably still in denial about how much lol
I would like to point out that in the original TLM story by Hans C. Andersen, the Prince is explicitly in-text referred to as loving the Mermaid “as one would a child”, possibly drawing a connection to the fact that autistic people are infantalized/Autism is thought of as a “children’s condition” when it’s actually not. Also in the story every step the mermaid takes is mentioned as feeling like she’s treading on knives (sensory issues?) and the mermaid dies at the end of the story (possibly drawing a connection to the fact that lord of Autistic people apparently die early?). There’s also something to be said about gender intersectionality; more autistic people are trans and/or gender-nonconforming than the neurotypical population and Andersen supposedly wrote the story because he had unrequited romantic feelings for a male friend of his who was getting married to a woman.
Interesting. I only remembered reading it as him loving her like a sister, but that's another great point. And the point about gender - I'm not trans but I'm definitely not exactly a conforming dude and in fact the first trans person I ever got to know (I had a somewhat sheltered upbringing and never knew about that until a few years ago) was indeed autistic.
It's highly suspected Hans Christian Anderson was autistic too. Ugly Duckling was a metaphore for finding like minded people.
The actress in Splash is diagnosed with ASD in real life. It's funny you brought up Data. I've watched TNG (The Next Generation) through several times and never thought that until you brought it up. I definitely see it now. I am slightly neuro-atypical but more along the lines of ADD. My husband and daughter, though, are more ASD. I can see my daughter a little in some of the characters you brought up.
It's quite eye opening once you become aware of all these parallels. Like a parade of eureka moments (for me anyway).
Ariel is my fav disney princess and I make it a point to tell everyone that Aquamarine is one of my favorite movies. This video helped me realize why I had such a deep love of mermaids from I was a child. For most of my life I remember feeling 'different', 'not normal', asking my self stuff like 'why does everyone else seem to know how to act in certain situations and I don't?'. I felt like I had to pretend to be a certain way a lot of the time (and still have to do it now) and it just left me feeling abnormal and constantly being down on myself. It was nice seeing these characters being loved and accepted despite their differences.
I watched The Little Mermaid 1 and 2 and Aquamarine so many times as an undiagnosed kid
Same, and that also included “Splash”.
This makes me so optimistic about how other people may see me. I always hated being the 'different one' because actually living like this is not cute and you get bullied alot. But it's very empowering to see a similar character being loved for their quirks.
8:46 It’s often been stated that “The Little Mermaid” story itself could be seen as a metaphor about autistic masking, in terms of how much physical and psychological pain the “autistic” mermaid must undergo in order to assimilate herself into the human/neurotypical world.
Therefore, it’s inevitable that “Splash”, which could be seen as a loose, modernized retelling of the “The Little Mermaid”, would have such a metaphor.
This becomes even more apparent when you consider that the author Hans Christian Andersen was autistic himself.
Granted, this is only speculation, but I could see why some people would make that assumption about Hans due to his lack of understanding social cues and his difficulties forming romantic relationships which are evident in his fairy tales like “The Steadfast Tin Soldier”, “The Ugly Duckling”, and, of course, “The Little Mermaid”.
Ooh didn't know he was rumoured to be autistic. Thanks for the info
Appearently Andersen was homosexual
@@feliperoa5821 Well, Andersen was bisexual, since he also had an unrequited crush on Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind which became the basis of “The Nightingale”.
@@beethovensfidelio:0 interesting
After watching this, autism in my mind is a condition that merpeople's descendants have :')
(okay no, my apologies if it was a bad comment)
For some reason I was expecting you to mention a bit of Cleo from H2o but I don't know if she just doesn't fit into this topic.
Nevermind, amazing video (again). If only I could feel as interested as I feel with this channel in school and university.
Thank you so much for making all this content, I love the cinematic diversity you bring with every show/film cameo in your videos.
Eh well merpeople half human so there's a 50% chance there 😉 and I think H2O will have to be its own separate video someday 😉 thank you for your lovely comment 😊
Sorry for the late comment but Cleo would absolutely be worth analizing, a separate H2O video would be great!
No, I don't think that every autistic person is descended from a merperson. Ausitum is also a condition that the descendants of Elves and Witches have. ruclips.net/video/8LJMTT8G9uk/видео.html
Oh myyy! When I was a kid, many of my peers described me as Pinkie-like. And that was very uncomfortable for me since she represented every aspect of myself that I tried to hide and hated. Years later, I feel comfortable enough to embrace that side of me. I am just happy you mentioned her :) Great video by the way!
Oh wow Miranda even looks like me in a way, alright I can see your point clearly
I remember you saying that the Little Mermaid was read as empowering by some non-verbal viewers. I still think it has significant issues when it comes to gender, but it's heartening to hear the good that this kind of media can do instead of purely focusing on its more problematic elements. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for watching :)
What significant issues?
Love this video dude!!!! As an autistic man who wants to direct movies someday you don’t know how frustrating it is to try to figure out how to do that lmao
I've directed a handful myself. I sympathise lol.
@@BetterWithBob howwwwwww did you start 😁
Huh...Now that I think about it, Eleven from Stranger Things could be seen as a comparison for autism. I know that she’s obviously not meant to be a representation, but people might relate to it anyway. Even though she literally had her childhood stolen from her and was placed in a lab, that can often be what people with autism feel like: fish out of water, where things just don’t feel right for them. Or how Arthur put it: “You’re on a strange new planet, and you have to figure things out on your own.” With the way she learns about social practices, and when she’s just walking around; and with her powers, it’s very similar to the mermaids. She just sees life differently, but is not dumb; she has her own passions, and things that are dear to her. With autism, it’s also common that they find the one thing that they’re most comfortable with, and become drawn to it, just focusing on that. Like drawing, or watching TV. And with Eleven, she also watched TV to learn more about the world around her, but that was also because she literally wasn’t allowed to have contact with the outside world, filled with people that could try to harm her. But in a lighter sense, that could also be associated with the world around autistic people who think that they’re weird, or crazy, or have “behavioral issues”. And she’s still in control of whom she has a crush on, and can feel those wonderful feelings just like anybody else.
That's an interesting comparison for sure. For much of the first two seasons, she's passing or performing to protect herself or hide. And in the third season, she finally gets to learn to be herself.
Her time in the lab could be an allegory for ABA, Autism Speaks, or any one of the many terrible medical "treatments" for autism. A sad reality.
Slightly unrelated but Ariel is so interesting with her genuine curiosity. Ariel got me into music/singing. Helped me with my speech growing up.
Oh that's awesome 😀
@@BetterWithBob thanks 😊
I love that you name dropped Power Rangers especially when talking about autism, on the subject of mermaids, honestly, my obsession with mermaids only became an obsession when I first watched splash and knew that Madison‘s actress was on the autism spectrum.
Hehe the 2017 Power Rangers movie is my favourite superhero flick XD
Growing up in elementary school they never did a test of autism but now finally I did a neurological test I knew I have a trait of autism now cuz I knew some signs and everything, and I didn't know Daryl Hannah had autism you learn something everyday lol. That is being autistic we are very unique people we love to be expressive and I did had to go to speech therapy when I was a kid cuz I mumbled or I mixed up words not cuz I was slow it was just I was really shy plus I have anxiety and depression it's a family trait I have.
so well done. I used to be non verbal when I was a kid and Ariel truly made feel accepted. and that it didn’t take away from me. because just like her I was very adventurous with no fears basically. The Little Mermaid gave me comfort when almost nothing else would.
That's awesome :) Thanks for telling me :)
@@BetterWithBob I see her as a character who did everything wholeheartedly and fearlessly. so it would only be natural for her to chase and experience her new adventures on land, the same way she did as a mermaid. I see it as a tale of her curiosity, instead of a girl who chases a “boy”.
WOW!!! As one on the Spectrum (Autism with Preserved Intellect), I never would have associated mermaids with myself and other autistics, but this vid just made the comparison really clear!
I’ve never been formally tested or diagnosed to be on the spectrum but I do remember being told I was non verbal until I was 6 and then next day be speaking full English (because of TV). Eventually being put into Special Ed and getting out.
I love mermaids and I loved all three movies because I felt something about it just feeling right. After watching this video, I think I should get tested.
Im 30 now. This was late 90’s, esrly 2000’s. So, idk.
That’s cool that you learned to speak from watching TV.
So this is slighly unrelated, but when I lived in a foriegn country with a language i didn't know, it was very challenging. I made a lot of mistakes being put into a different culture. I felt like a fish out of water. :)
Ooh that's another interesting perspective :)
@@BetterWithBob In an episode of "The Take" titled "The Little Mermaid, and a history of mermaids", the narrator points out how mermaid stories like "Splash" can be used to dramatize the feeling of cultural differences, and what it's like to be a foreigner or alien in a place very unlike where you come from: ruclips.net/video/aQlnBO4H0qY/видео.htmlm9s
Ironically, the whole point of Allen asking Madison to marry him after knowing her FOR THREE DAYS is so she can stay on land forever, since Allen mistakenly thinks Madison is an immigrant whose green card is about to expire in six days. 😂
Never realized how many scenes aquamarine got away with borderline nudity in a pg movie lol
Yeah, surprising they went with Godiva Hair instead of a seashell bra.
Fascinating and thought provoking. Thank you for making this video.
Came here off the back of the Charmed Witch's Tail video and don't know how I missed this video originally, considering that my son's autistic and whilst researching I've began to question if I am too. This video was really good and well thoughtout, Ariel was my favourite growing up and now I see way more of me in her than I realised. Thank you! I'll have to check out your other videos discussing autisim now too!
I haven't done that many really. Just this and my rant about The Imitation Game lol
Well, after watching a good half dozen of your videos, I found myself wondering if you were one of us. :) I love your channel and everything I've seen so far! I teared up watching the beginning about Madison because Splash was one of my childhood favorites, and I spent many hours in my bathtub pouring salt in the water, waiting for my tail, as a child of the 80s who saw the film at 5. I was obsessed with mermaids, still wish I could be one (along with my daughter who now shares my special interest), and my obsession with cetaceans was interwoven throughout. I also identified with Data, more recently Enoch from Agents of Shield, but the original was Spock, of course. I didn't have very many female characters, but Belle was another. And then there's Anya. I'm going to see if you have a video regarding Anya as autistic representation, but, if you don't, please make one, if you can.
Sorry that I'm commenting on such an old video, but I'd like to add a different perspective on Ariel's autistic traits!
As you said in this video, she definitely has a high moral compass and is more open minded than other people in her life. However, I feel like there are some instances that could imply that she has difficulty understanding the emotions of others when she's caught up in something. Examples being her exploring the ship with Flounder who was very uncomfortable with it, not really acknowledging the stressful things that Sebastian went through for her, and not expecting the consequences of her actions with Ursula to be as severe as they were. She's very empathetic and does care, but she sometimes doesn't take notice of people's feelings right away. That disconnect is a common trait among autistic people, like me! :3
Ooh very good points XD
Very interesting and enlightening and lots of food for thought! Really enjoyed it, thank you
9:54 - 9:57 True, but it’s worth noting that according to a May 1984 interview with “Cinefantastique Magazine” (see link below), Daryl Hannah had this to say about playing Madison in “Splash”:
*“I felt that the character was already a part of me. She is very close to the child-like side of me. All I had to do in acting was just switch into that frame of mind, and there I was”.*
Therefore, even if Daryl Hannah was unaware of the autism subtext during the making of “Splash”, she was still able to play the role of Madison thanks to her love of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” and her childhood days of tying her feet together in the pool in order to swim like a mermaid (hence why she was able to do her own stunts): ruclips.net/video/YB7dLBQTnTk/видео.htmlm5s
Ironically enough, according to the above-mentioned “Cinefantastique Magazine”, Daryl Hannah initially refused to read the screenplay of “Splash” because she felt that the filmmakers of “Splash” were trying to undermine her plans to produce a live action adaptation of Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid”. However, once Daryl Hannah read the screenplay, she fell in love with the film and her plans to produce “The Little Mermaid” were cancelled.
archive.org/details/cinefantastique_1970-2002/Cinefantastique%20Vol%2014%20No%203%20%28May%201984%29/page/n15/mode/1up
And then ironically enough, when Disney did make a Little Mermaid film, Madison was pop culture's most iconic mermaid at the time they made Ariel redhead to distinguish her from Madison
@@BetterWithBob I always theorized that the success of “Splash” was what led to Disney giving “The Little Mermaid” a happy ending unlike its tragic fairy tale counterpart.
And sure, Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” predates “Splash” by a century, but there are some elements in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” that did not exist in the fairy tale but did exist in “Splash”:
*- Ariel swimming towards a sunken ship*
*- Ariel being fascinated by a music box with a dancing couple on it*
*- Ariel exhibiting terrible table manners while wearing a nice pink dress on her dinner date with Prince Eric in which the main course is some form of crustacean*
*- Ariel transforming back into a mermaid while wearing a nice blue dress in front of everyone including Prince Eric*
*- Prince Eric chasing after Ariel in the water to save her from the bad guys during the film’s climax*
@@BetterWithBob It’s ironic that there’s a live action remake of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” since we almost didn’t get the ANIMATED film due to concerns from Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg that it sounded *too similar to “Splash”.*
According to Michael Eisner’s memoir “Work In Progress: Risking Failure, Surviving Success”:
*“I had always loved the idea of setting an animated movie underwater, but both Jeffrey and I were concerned that this idea sounded too much like the live-action **_Splash,_** which Disney had released early in 1984, six months before we arrived.”*
And well, Eisner and Katzenberg weren’t exactly wrong about that: ruclips.net/video/5K5_sGzckvc/видео.htmlsi=7iTn_ghtUJ8bmJGa&t=18s
(In fact, I’d be lying too if I said that _I_ didn’t notice the similarities the first time I saw “Splash” on TV at the age of 12, particularly the scene where *the mute Madison reunited with Allen at the police station!)*
Granted, Eisner and Katzenberg would eventually greenlight “The Little Mermaid”, thanks to a 2-page treatment written by “Little Mermaid” co-director Ron Clements, BUT the concerns about its similarities to “Splash” didn’t end there, since, as you said, Ariel was given red hair to distinguish herself from the blonde mermaid Madison.
Still, it’s interesting how the concept art for Ariel had her resembling Madison in terms of the blonde hair and orange fish tail: www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/take-a-magical-look-at-the-concept-art-used-to-make-the
Coincidence? I think NOT! 😂
The most interesting coincidence is Daryl Hannah being autistic in real life (and so am I; I’ve only watched probably the first 30 minutes of “Splash” and it was years ago). I actually haven’t seen too many mermaid movies other than “Aquamarine”, “Mermaids: The Body Found” and the Disney and some non-Disney adaptations of “The Little Mermaid”, but IMO Ariel is definitely autistic and in the sequel her daughter Melody probably is too. Now that I see her talked about in this context I definitely believe Aquamarine is autistic too. I love mermaids so much even as an adult and they’re my favourite mythical creature next to elves. And I love Miranda’s little voice!
Oh I'd forgotten about Melody. She definitely checks out too
Finally early i love the contentt💕💕💕
Why thank you :)
@@BetterWithBob i have a very bad attention span but somehow your videos keep me interested and want me to see more every time keep up the amazing work💚
I’m autistic!🤍
I thought you were gonna go the H20 series :O
This is referring to MOVIE mermaids!
I did briefly consider doing a video on that series but I couldn't work out what angle I wanted to take
No wonder I love mermaids so much
😁😁😁
Huh interesting when I was little my favorite Disney princess was Ariel. Also fun fact I'm autistic.
A friend of mine who's a coach/therapist says you can actually tell a lot about someone based on who their favourite Disney Princess is
Mermaids are also a common Queer allegory, probs for the same reasons
Oh yes definitely
I know friends who cosplay as mermaids often for those reasons.😁😎
I'm both queer and autistic. Mermaids are my favourite fantasy creature. I write stories and most of my characters end up being queer and autistic merpeople. there is also an overlap of autistic people also being queer.
Splash mermaid looks real better than the little mermaid
To be fair, Ariel is required to sing and talk underwater, hence the CGI and green screen.
But I will concede that Madison’s tail looks better in terms of the color scheme and being made by hand.
There are ways for adults to bond with younger people as friends without it being creepy
That REALLY depends. If they're both over 18 or under 18, then yes I agree with you. Any relationship between adults and minors ( romantic or otherwise) will have some power imbalance that makes lasting relationships more difficult to maintain. Sometimes there's maturity differences and physical health differences too, that can lead to people having different interests/experiences, hence a lot less in common.
Ariel is so trans coded, while I do agree she also draws similarities with autism I always saw her as a representation of trans people bc as you said she was so uncomfortable being a mermaid but ultimately found happiness in being a species that she wasn't born as. But I'm glad we can all interpret it our own way
Oh yes the trans connections are very apparent 🙂
Great video! :D
Thank you :)
I feel like the title should say some mermaids
Because there is a lot of mermaid media you left out like mako mermaids H2O siren etc
yes and I feel like there are some very obvious autistic characters in all those 3 shows too.
I am part of the autistic spectrum I’m guy I find myself relating to mermaid characters I love show h2o just added water and Especially mako mermaids
I watched H2O back in the day as well 😅
I know sexually active Autistic people, exist. But I feel like there's barely any representation for ace/aro people in general (or heck, even sexually active people, who just don't want kids)
So if my autistic representation, also comes with a side of ace/aro representation. Then I'll take it
I do have a film in the works far down the line doing just that so fingers crossed
Eirc really said Ima join the war on autisum on the side of autisum 😊😊
Who’s Eirc? You mean Prince Eric?
@@beethovensfidelio Sorry I'm bit dislexsic but I think point still stands😅😅
@@RosamanaKK88It’s ok. I understand.
Also, there’s no war on autism. 😂
But you’re right that Eric still loves his autistic mermaid girlfriend Ariel, just like Allen loves his autistic mermaid girlfriend Madison.
As “Better With Bob” mentions in his video, Madison is worth so much to Allen that he happily gives up his life on land to be with her.
Madison doesn’t have to “mask” in Allen’s world, since it’s impossible to do now that Madison is exposed as a mermaid.
Instead, Allen is the one who has to change himself in order to fit into Madison’s world hence the underwater kiss allowing him to breathe.
Well put :)
@@BetterWithBob Thanks 👍👍
10:38 - 10:43 Although I prefer Madison over Ariel when it comes to movie mermaids, I will admit that I can relate to Ariel’s special interests not being understood by her friends and family.
Then again, my special interests never killed members of my family, so it’s understandable why Ariel’s friends and family would be concerned and weirded out by Ariel’s obsession with humans, since humans killed Ariel’s mom.
If Ariel’s obsession had been collecting seashells instead, I don’t think her friends and family would mind because it’s not hurting anyone.
5:44 But why is she doing baby voice?😅
Because that’s how Glynis Johns sounds!
you can read what you want into anything.
Who are you to tell autistic people what is or isn’t autism representation! 😤
Of course, the mermaids aren’t canonically autistic but their behaviors can certainly seem reminiscent of autistic individuals from literal thinking to difficulty understanding sarcasm to “masking” ourselves as a means to avoid rejection and hostility from people including our loved ones.
Considering how the little mermaid in the fairy tale is an avatar of Hans Christian Andersen, who is believed to be autistic himself due to a social awkwardness and inability to form romantic relationships, it’s no accident that the mermaid in the fairytale can be coded as autistic.
you are supposed to relate to the qualities people have no matter how different you are. No one is hobbit but you can still feel afraid.
Clearly you don’t understand the concept of applicability.
with that logic anyone with a sore throat and doesnt talk is mute
In the case of Madison, she’s mute because her native tongue is so high pitched that it can break glass, so her silence is more for safety reasons. 😂
In the case of Ariel, her voice was magically taken away, so she can’t produce sounds.
How does mermaids have any kind have to do with anything about autism ?? Stop making something something which it’s not !!!!
They compare parallels to each character that they believe shares them. If they have one or more aspect then _that_ must mean they’re neurodivergent. There are channels on RUclips that creates their own head cannon. Yes, while there are characters that share the same characterization doesn’t mean they are. People should be able to see themselves in character that share characteristics. I agree to a certain extent. I think people are more than happy to see their own head canon as actual canon a lot of the time.
9:18 Believe it or not, the original ending of “Splash” didn't have Allen jumping in the water to be with Madison. In the DVD Commentary of “Splash”, director Ron Howard said the ending was changed to have the lovers swim off in the ocean at the suggestion of *his wife, producer Brian Grazer's wife, and the wives of screenwriters Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel* (in fact, Babaloo's wife went as far as saying to Babaloo, *”If he doesn't go, you go!”).*
Even the June 1984 issue of the British sci-fi magazine “Starburst” corroborates this, by having Ron Howard state:
*”At one point we didn’t really go for a happy ending, more for a bittersweet one. Actually all of our wives protested about that so much that we listened to them - and I’m so glad we did!”.*
Source of quote above: archive.org/details/Starburst_Magazine_071_1984-06_Marvel-UK/page/n17/mode/1up