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Mermaids in popular culture

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mermaids in popular culture
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Mermaids, like many other creatures of mythology and folklore, are regularly depicted in literature, film, music, and popular culture. In the folklore of some modern cultures, the concept of the siren has been assimilated to that of the mermaid. For example, the French word for mermaid is sirène, Italian sirena, and similarly in certain other European languages. This usage existed by the Middle Ages.[1]

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People dress in mermaid costumes for events such as parades.
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Literature

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An illustration from a 1913 reprinting of Hans Christian Andersen's 1837 fairy tale The Little Mermaid
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The cover of Yevgeny Zamyatin's 1913 Russian-language novel A Provincial Tale
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The March 1949 issue of Fantastic Adventures features the story "The Mermaid of Maracot Deep".
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Several stories in Andrew Lang's Fairy Books feature mermaids.
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An illustration of Vanity Fair's Becky Sharp as a man-killing mermaid, by the work's author William Thackeray.
More information Literary Work, Year ...
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Comic books

  • 07-Ghost - The mermaid Lazette sings and plays an organ in a church. She can shapeshift her face into that of other people. If people eat her scales, it allows them to breathe underwater.
  • Aion - This manga has several mermaids. One of them is named Sheila, the youngest of the mermaids. She falls in love with the main character, Tatsuya.
  • Akazukin Chacha - In this manga, a mermaid named Marin falls in love with Riiya. She can change into a human when her tail dries out.
  • Angel's Hill - In this two-volume manga by Osamu Tezuka, the residents on Angel's Island are merpeople that have the form of a human but are able to breathe underwater as well as on land. One of them is Luna, the mermaid princess of Angel's Island, who is banished to the human world where she trades places with her look-alike, Akemi Kusahara.
  • Arabelle the Last Mermaid by Jean Ache appeared as a comic strip in the daily French newspaper France-Soir between 1950 and 1962. The character returned in various magazines until 1972. Arabelle is discovered by an American plastic surgeon on a Mediterranean island. The surgeon gives her human legs, but she retains her ability to breathe underwater. With her companion, a reformed burglar, Arabelle becomes involved in a series of light, romantic adventures.
  • Ben 10 - In this four-issue comic miniseries published by IDW Publishing, while on a cruise vacation, Ben Tennyson meets Lorelai, a mermaid princess from an undersea kingdom of TerraPiscciss who is in love with him.
  • In the manga Black Cat, one of the main characters, Eve, uses nanomachines to give herself transformation abilities, and once she transforms into a mermaid.
  • Delicious in Dungeon - The merpeople are among the fantasy creatures featured in this manga.
  • Dragon Ball - In chapter 25, "A Rival Arrives!!", Master Roshi asks Goku to bring him a pretty girl, and if he did, he would train him. Goku finds a mermaid and Master Roshi tries to hit on her. She just slaps him and jumps back into the ocean.
  • In the manga/anime Fairy Tail, the main female protagonist, Lucy Heartfilia, uses celestial spirits, one of which is a mermaid called Aquarius. Also, another character, Lisanna Strauss, uses animal-based transformations, one of her tricks being to turn into a mermaid (in an anime-only episode). Furthermore, in the final arc, Lucy and another character, Brandish Mu, are temporarily turned into mermaids when Aquarius takes them to the Memory of the Stars to show them the truth about their mothers.
  • Forbidden Fish is Sweeeetest!!! - Era, the mermaid princess who is distraught of her fish friends being caught by fishermen, is forced to eat seafood while she's in her human form.
  • Hell Teacher: Jigoku Sensei Nube - Hayame is a very ditzy mermaid who grants immortality to any humans who eat her flesh, as well as her potent healing ability through blood and her singing to control people's emotions.
  • In the Name of the Mermaid Princess - The main character of this manga series is Mio Quartzlis Tenerwalt, princess of the mermaid kingdom of Blognig, who is forced to become fully a human with drugs despite being betrothed to the merman prince of Aquatia.[17]
  • The Last Mermaid - Post-apocalypse comic series written by Derek Kirk Kim and published by Image Comics about a lone mermaid who uses a Hybrid Aquatic Vehicular Chamber (or H.A.V.C. for short) to move around while keeping hydrated in water.[18]
  • Legendz - In the manga, Ken Kazaki's friend Ririko Yasuhara has a mermaid named Tetty.
  • Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch - A manga about a group of mermaid princesses who become pop singers and use their voices as weapons against their enemies.
  • Mermaid Saga - A manga series by Rumiko Takahashi, which tells that when a person eats the flesh of a mermaid, he can gain immortality, but chances are that the mermaid's flesh will either kill him or transform him into a horrible creatures called "Deformed Ones". Two types of mermaids are shown in the manga. The first may gain human appearance when they eat the flesh of an immortal girl and take on her youthful looks; the second has two legs and feed on the flesh of mermaids who live in water, specifically when they are about to give birth. Besides the flesh, a mermaid's blood, ashes, and liver have different negative effects on humans. Mermaid's blood can sustain a person's youth, but it can't stop their insides from aging, therefore partially tuning them into a Deformed One. Ashes can give flowers immortality, but can only revive dead humans temporarily. A mermaid's liver was used to revive a dead girl but gave her a need to feed on the livers of living things.
  • Merman in My Tub - The manga/anime series features Wakasa, a blonde merman who is washed ashore from his home in a polluted river and is taken into care of his human roommate, Tatsumi, in the bathtub.
  • The manga Monster Musume features a mermaid named Meroune Lorelei, often referred to simply as "Mero", as a major character. She is from a noble family and has an obsession with the classic fairy tale "The Little Mermaid". As a result, she desires a tragic romance.
  • My Bride Is a Mermaid - In this manga, the main character, Nagasumi Michishio is saved from drowning by a mermaid, Sun Seto. Afterward, Nagasumi is forced to marry Sun.
  • Namor the Sub-Mariner debuted in 1939 as the first superhero of the Marvel Universe. He was born of Homo mermanus, a race of aquatic humanoids. Namor's father was human however, giving him attributes of both races. He is able to exist both on land and at sea, possesses superhuman strength, and can fly via the winglike fins on his ankles. A prince of the undersea kingdom of Atlantis, he would later ascend to the throne as its king. He has a history of hostility towards human civilization but has also been a tenuous ally.
  • One Piece - The manga and its franchise has many mermaids, most notably Kokoro, Camie and Princess Shirahoshi.
  • Rave Master - The character Celia is a beautiful young mermaid with long blue hair. She is the younger sister of the Queen of the underwater mermaid village, Mildesta. She falls deeply in love with the main protagonist, Haru Glory.
  • Sailor Moon - Sailor Aluminum Siren is a mermaid-type humanoid and one of the Sailor Animamates serving for Shadow Galactica. She also appeared in the anime series adaptation Sailor Moon Sailor Stars and the two-part anime film Sailor Moon Cosmos.
  • In the manga/anime Saint Seiya, Mermaid Thetis is one of Poseidon's Mariners who represents a mermaid at first before assuming a humanoid form for a battle.
  • Starstruck - The character Eeeeeeeeeeluh, a psychic fish woman, has appeared in various incarnations of the science fiction comic series Starstruck, by Elaine Lee and Michael Wm. Kaluta: in the stage play, the comic book stories, a print portfolio, and posters.
  • Superman - The comic book superhero Superman had a romantic love interest with a mermaid named Lori Lemaris. Her first appearance was in 1959. The name Lori Lemaris was probably drawn from Lorelei rock in the Rhine added to maris, from the Latin mare, meaning ocean. She has the initials L.L., the same as several of Superman's other love interests including Lois Lane and Lana Lang.
  • This Monster Wants to Eat Me - In this yuri horror manga series, a carnivorous mermaid named Shiori Oumi wishes to eat a human teenage girl by promising her protection from yōkai.[19]
  • To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts - In this manga/anime series, Beatrice Serrault becomes an Incarnate Soldier, taking a form of a siren, with a power of "song" to vibrate her wings and affect her opponents' minds.
  • Triton of the Sea - The character Pipiko is a young mermaid who survived the genocide of the Triton family.
  • Urusei Yatsura - In chapter 125, "Pool Spooks! Burning with Forbidden Love", Lum decides to help and with Shinobu's help, they dress as two mermaids.
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Films

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Annette Kellerman (left) as the titular mermaid in the 1918 film Queen of the Sea
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The 1941 Dutch East Indies film Ikan Doejoeng featured mermaids.
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The 1952 film Million Dollar Mermaid is based on the life of Annette Kellerman, the first actress to portray a mermaid swimming in film.
More information Film, Year ...
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Music

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Sheet music cover for "Mermaids' Song" by Charles Kinkel, which was featured in the 1826 opera Oberon by Carl Maria von Weber
  • In the 18th-century sea shanty, "The Keeper of the Eddystone Light", the singer's father is a lighthouse keeper and his mother is a mermaid.
  • Alexander von Zemlinsky's symphonic poem Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid), first performed in 1905 but then forgotten until its second performance in 1984, is based on Andersen's detailed fairy story. Zemlinsky briefly explained its plan to Arnold Schoenberg; a more detailed matching of story and music is provided by its second conductor, Peter Gülke.[26]
  • The 20th-century song "Minnie the Mermaid" has been performed by various artists, such as Bernie Cummins & His Hotel New Yorker Orchestra and Phil Harris.
  • 1985 hit by French duo Les Rita Mitsouko, "Marcia Baila", includes the verse "...la sirène en mal d'amour" (A lovesick mermaid). The song's video clip includes a mermaid.
  • Japanese musician Tatsuro Yamashita has a song entitled "Mermaid" in his 1986 album Pocket Music. The song is about a man encountering a mermaid during a summer day.
  • In Finnish musician J. Karjalainen's song Merenneito ja minä ("Mermaid and Me"), he describes a wonderful tour in the underwater kingdom with a mermaid with whom he has fallen in love. In the song he is able to breathe under water due to the mermaid's magic medicine.[27]
  • Another Finnish song, Koskenlaskijan morsiamet ("Brides of Log Driver") is about a mermaid who falls in love with a skillful log driver. Unfortunately, he is already engaged to a human woman. When the mermaid sees her love riding the rapids with his human bride, she in a burst of jealousy raises a rock off the river bed, drowning them both. Seeing them drown and die, she immediately regrets her deed, and in the end of the song she is left weeping alone on the rock.[citation needed]
  • Joanna Newsom's song "Colleen" tells the story of a girl from the sea who adapts to life on land, but is plagued by dreams and memories of her past. The song is told from the girl's perspective, and it is left open to interpretation whether or not she eventually returns.[28]
  • The music video for "Cherish" by Madonna includes several merman and a merman child.
  • Another Madonna music video, Music had an animated Madonna turn into a mermaid while diving into a martini.
  • In the music video for "Mermaid Sashimi" by Mexican singer Juan Son, a mermaid is in a restaurant ready for being cooked.
  • The mermaiding performers of Weeki Wachee Springs appear in the 2005 music video for the track Low C by Supergrass.[29]
  • The Weeki Wachee Mermaids also briefly appear in the music video for the 2012 Kelly Clarkson song, Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You).
  • The death metal virtual band Dethklok have a song called "Murmaider," about mermaid murder. In the second episode of the animated series Metalocalypse, the band state that fish had "no good metals to listens to" so they recorded The DethWater Album. "Murmaider" appeared as the first track of the band's real album, The Dethalbum.
  • Sade appears as a lovestruck mermaid in the music video for her 1992 single "No Ordinary Love."
  • The music video for Ricky Martin's song "She Bangs" features many mermaids.[30]
  • Among the outrageous claims made in the Lonely Island song "I'm On A Boat" is the claim by T-Pain that he has had sex with a mermaid. The video shows an African American mermaid in the background behind T-Pain as he sings this verse.
  • Danish bubblegum singer Ni-Ni (Nynne Qvortrup) released an album in Japan and Denmark on February 16, 2001, called Mermaid which included the song "A Mermaid's Tale."[31]
  • Tori Amos references a mermaid in her song Silent All These Years. and was inspired by reading Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid story to her little niece, Cody.[32]
  • Lady Gaga dressed as a mermaid named Yuyi for the video for "You and I."
  • Lana Del Rey released a song Mermaid Motel in 2010 on Del Rey's debut album, Lana Del Ray A.K.A. Lizzy Grant.
  • In 2007, Japanese pop group SMAP recorded a song titled "Mermaid", which was originally intended as a single, but ended up being released as the 7th track of their 2008 Platinum album, Super Modern Artistic Performance. The song was used for Japanese media coverage of select swimming events during the 2008 Summer Olympics.
  • "FT Nesli - Mermaid" sung by Turkish singer Neslihan Evrüz 2008 in English by Burak Yeter from the album Mermaid.
  • Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies features a mermaid in the musical number "Beautiful/The Beauty Underneath".
  • In 2011, Japanese group Aldious released a single, "Mermaid". The PV had one of the girls of the band as a mermaid.
  • In 2011, Finnish symphonic power metal band Nightwish released Imaginaerum, which contained the song "Turn Loose the Mermaids".
  • In 2012, French singer Nolwenn Leroy appeared as a mermaid on the cover of her album Ô Filles De L'Eau, and in the music video of her single "Sixième Continent."
  • In 2012, American pop rock band Train released a new single titled "Mermaid" from their sixth studio album, California 37.
  • The music videos for the Maroon 5 songs "What Lovers Do" (2017) with musician SZA, "Wait" (2018) with swimming team Aqualillies and "Lost" (2021) with model Behati Prinsloo as mermaids are looking on the band's frontman Adam Levine.
  • The opera The Enchanted Island features mermaids in the end.
  • The music video for the 2016 Twice song, "TT (song)" Chaeyoung is The Little Mermaid
  • The music video for the 2018 song “Only You” by Cheat Codes ft. Little Mix features an LGBT narrative with a mermaid and a lonely girl.
  • The 2020 humoristic song "Aquamann" by German satirical musician "King Krümel" features refrain Singer "Zirena" as mermaid.
  • In the 2021 music video, "In the Morning" by Jennifer Lopez who transform into a mermaid.
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Television

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  • Many comedy series, such as Family Guy and Robot Chicken, satire mermaids' inability to reproduce without genitalia.
  • In the Japanese tokusatsu television subgenre (and its Americanized counterpart), there are a few mermaid-based elements:
    • Dengeki Sentai Changeman (1985) is the design theme for the heroes of which was mythological creatures – Sayaka Nagisa (Hiroko Nishimoto) transformed into a white-colored ranger called Change Mermaid. Some of her attacks were based on underwater movement.
    • The short film Hikari Sentai Maskman (1987) features a mermaid named Lelai, who is tricked into using her beautiful singing voice to create earthquakes that would destroy the world.
    • In Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue (2000), Blue Ranger Chad Lee befriends and falls in love with a mermaid named Marina (Kamera Walton). She appears in only two episodes, "Ocean Blue" and "Neptune's Daughter"; the second time forced to lure the Lightspeed Rangers into a trap. (No mermaid appeared in the previous original 1999 Japanese series, Kyuukyuu Sentai GoGo-V.)
    • Mahō Sentai Magiranger (2005) - Urara Ozu (Asami Kai) harnessed the power of the water Heavenly Saint Splagel, who is a mermaid; thus, Urara's MagiMajin form is MagiMermaid (whose legs can merge to allow her to swim underwater). However, when she upgrades halfway through the series into her Legend form, her body joins with her two older brothers and younger sister to form the Legendary Majuu MagiLion. Then in Power Rangers: Mystic Force which aired the following year, Madison Rocca (Melanie Vallejo) is the Blue Mystic Force Ranger. She draws her powers from an ancient titan who was shaped as a mermaid. Since the giant monster battle footage from PRMystic Force is taken directly from MagiRanger, Madison's giant Mystic Mermaid form mirrors that of Urara's MagiMermaid.
      • Madison's name is perhaps an intentional pun and tip of the hat since that was the name of the mermaid character played by Daryl Hannah in the 1984 film Splash.
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Video games

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Mascots and other

  • Since 1952, Catalina, the mermaid with a golden scepter (or a trident), is used as an advertising mascot for Chicken of the Sea tuna brand.[54]
  • During the summer from 1959 until 1967, Disneyland's former attraction the Submarine Voyage occasionally housed the mermaids (played by the female cast members) appearing in the lagoon.[55][56]
  • The two-tailed mermaid or siren with a crown is symbolized on the logo of Starbucks coffeehouse chain. The siren symbolism has been erroneously identified as a Melusine.[57]
  • In 2013, while signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, female wrestler SoCal Val did a photoshoot in costume as Disney's Ariel.[58]
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See also

References

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