Tag Archives: Caitlyn

“Blue Humanities” and Modern Day Obsession with the Ocean

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This week while reading “The Blue Humanities”, this particular tidbit stood out to me: “A shift in attention from land to sea is under way in several fields simultaneously.” The piece goes on to explain how differing scientific fields have now shifted to an oceanic point of view, this quotation in particular got me thinking about how the ocean and all it offers, both real and imagined, are portrayed in popular culture.

Now, I’m going to be honest here. I grew up without cable, so I didn’t grow up with many popular “oceanic” tv shows, except for shows that talked about all kinds of animals, such as “Wild Kratts”. But in middle school, I began to have an obsession over mermaids. I was always binging “H2O” and “Mako Mermaids”, not to mention reading books with mermaids at the forefront, such as “Siren” by Kira Cass. And, as I look back at my pre-teen self, I realized how I romanticized the creatures. Because, in reality, the mythology behind them is so much more interesting than the “dumbed down” version of them in popular culture. Am I saying that these pieces are bad? Not by any means! But they do not portray mermaids at their core. Classically speaking, mermaids lured sailors to their deaths. And, while these pieces do portray mermaids as having extraordinary singing ability, they don’t portray the true deadliness of that power. (Which does make sense, as most of these are for kids. And who wants their child to watch sailors drown?)

That’s why nowadays I am more drawn into media that portrays mermaids more like the “monster” they are in old mythology, such as in ” Into the Drowning Deep” by Mira Grant. When you really get more in depth on the creatures, I find said media to be much more interesting, and feel much more real.

But it’s not only mermaids that have become main stream pop culture, but marine veterinarians as well. My best friend growing up’s favorite movie was “Dolphin Tale”. And now she’s studying to become a Wildlife Vet! This pop culture phenomenon is inspiring thousands of people to take an interest in oceans. While the more “dumbed-down” versions of ocean mythology are what have gained popularity, at least in main stream media, they have and will inspire future scientists and artists.

“Blackfish” also comes to mind. A group of activists fighting for the Ocean animals within the Sea World parks to be released into the wild, or, at the very least, gain better living conditions. We now value ocean life more than ever!

And what’s even more amazing is how the re-emergence of “Moby Dick” really started all of it! Scholars critiquing the whaling industry took center stage, pointing out it’s brutality. Because the process is described so in depth within the novel, we, as readers, are able to truly understand it. It shows how far we have come with how we treat our sea-faring friends, both within the real world, and with how we portray them within the pages of a book.

Emmerson and the Abuse of Books

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After reading the “American Scholar”, this particular quote has stuck with me:

“Books are the best of things, well used; abused, among the worst.”

I agree that books and written language truly are the “best”, whether through escapism or knowledge. Fiction, and in particular fantasy, offer a place for people to escape from the real world, into the problems of other people. Another example of this is Romance, which people, especially women, often read to fill their romantic desire. And even fiction books can help you build knowledge, particularly on different countries and cultures, as well as empathy. Books are glimpses into other worlds, and into the minds of their authors.

I, personally, am so thankful to have readers in my family. As a child, they encouraged my addiction to series such as “Nancy Drew”, “Warrior Cats”, and “Little House on the Prarie”. And each and every one of those has helped to shape the person I am today. “Nancy Drew” made me curious and observant, “Warrior Cats” kicked off my fantasy addiction, and “Little House on the Praries” caused me to get interested in American history and politics.

Books, when “well used” can and will shape identities, and help us as readers grow as human beings.

When I think of abused literature, I not only think of book banning and/or burning, but an abuse of the contents within the books. In this modern world, people will often take quotations from books out of context and post them online. While this can be fun, such as in the case of “out of context” quotes, used for memes or comedic purposes, it often leads to a misinterpretation of the ideas presented in the text.

One that I have learned of recently is how in “Romeo and Juliet”, when Juliet says “Where for at thou Romeo”, she is not asking for his location. She is essentially asking “Why are you Romeo”, alluding to the feaud between their families.

In particular, this is dangerous when out of context quotes change people’s perception of the literature. This is also a problem when it comes to book reviewers. Because, ultimately each and everyone of us will have infinite interpretations on the meaning of books. But when readers look to others about their perceptions, they go into a book with preconceptions about this.

I do enjoy listening and watching book reviews and recommendations. But I don’t simply read a book because someone online said it was good, or that they enjoyed it. I first do my own research, looking for any content warnings, and reading the description. But I don’t go into spoilers, because spoilers, especially out of context, can ruin a reading experience, or perception of a book.

And, this may just be me, but I also think of the physical abuse of books, particularly that of burning. If you burn or somehow destroy every last copy of a book, you are loosing so, so much potential knowledge, whether it was fiction or non-fiction. Another example of this is leaving a book out in the rain. Both of these could and can prevent people from accessing that knowledge. And who knows? Maybe that book could have changed their life. But because it was abused physically, now they will never pick it up and be transformed by the words within those pages.

My Introduction

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Hello, my name is Caitlyn, and I am a third year majoring in ECL with a minor in History. This is actually my first semester at SDSU, as I recently transferred from Miramar College.

I have loved books and literature from the moment I could read, and particularly have fallen in love with the sci-fi and fantasy genre.

Some of my favorite books include Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang and Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.

I have a second degree black belt in Songham Taekwondo, and have been training for almost a decade. I also received my full instructor certification for Taekwondo this past Saturday, and was the first person in over a decade from my school to receive that honor.

I initially choose this class to fuffill a requirement, not even realizing that it was about Moby Dick until the day before class started. Initially I was reluctant, as I read the book my first year of college and did not enjoy it. However, I have grown a lot over the past 2 years, and want and look forward to giving it another shot!