Introduction
The mysteries of the deep ocean have captivated humanity for centuries. Folktales from years past illustrate a fascination with fictional sea monsters which inhabit the deepest regions of the ocean. For instance, the kraken, depicted to the right, is traditionally depicted as a giant aggressive octopus-like creature capable of destroying entire ships. This beast originated from Scandinavian folklore, but similar creatures such as the teuthos (squid) in ancient Greek myth and Scylla from The Odyssey appear throughout literature too (Lotzof). Jon Ablett, Senior Curator of Mollusca at the Natural History Museum, proposes that “squid and octopus really are unusual animals. Their body plan isn't similar to anything else that we know of in the sea. They move quickly and the way that their bodies, arms and tentacles move seem to stimulate something in our fear of the unknown” (Lotzof). Texts which include creatures such as the kraken belong to the subgenre of ocean ecohorror. In these stories, the ocean plays a prominent role in housing fear-inducing creatures or even being the source of horror itself, ultimately representing human fears and insecurities about the mystery of the ocean.
It’s no surprise that one of humankind’s deepest fears is the ocean. Oceans cover about 70% of the Earth’s surface, yet today, more than 80% of the ocean remains unexplored (Deamer). In fact, scientists know more about the surface of the moon than about the depths of the ocean (Deamer). Unbelievably, creatures with fiction-like names such as goblin sharks, zombie worms, and vampire squids and vampire fish exist in dark ocean depths of 1,000-3,000 feet beneath the ocean surface (Shore). Moreover, although 94% of life on Earth is aquatic, about two-thirds of these marine animals remain unidentified (Deamer). The genre of ocean ecohorror uses these incredulities and uncertainties about the ocean and features grotesque or even real monsters emerging from the depths of the ocean. This focus on strange and horrifying creatures intensifies humans’ fear of unknown environments, especially regarding the ocean.
Additionally, ocean ecohorror prominently features the theme of nature’s vengeance on humankind. By depicting the environment as an antagonist, texts in the ocean ecohorror genre remind viewers of the reversal of typical power dynamics between humanity and nature. While ocean pollution is generally thought of as a more modern, post-19thcentury issue, human disrespect for the natural ocean environment extends much further in the past. In fact, for centuries, oceans have been a receptacle for ships filled with society’s unwanted: objects have been dumped into the sea and ships have been burned or set on a voyage of no return (Müller 13). These ships, known as “Flying Dutchmen,” can be seen in 17th-century folklore and practices, but more recently in the post-World War II era when ships would dump toxic products such as PCBs or outdated chemical weapons (Müller 13).
Today, ocean dumping can be seen in areas such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which is a collection of non-biodegradable marine debris, mainly consisting of microplastics, among other items, scattered around the Pacific Ocean (“Great”). However, this is just the surface, as in reality, about 70% of marine debris sinks to the bottom of the ocean (“Great”). Thus, as a consequence of humans harming the environment by polluting the ocean, ocean ecohorror often features “what-if” scenarios of nature seeking revenge on humans for the harm they have caused.
This digital exhibit explores both the thematic and narrative techniques that ocean ecohorror uses to critique contemporary environmental issues. We analyze five multimodal texts to help further explain and get a better understanding as to how ocean ecohorror pertains to film and writing. Our analysis begins with the video game Subnautica, a survival adventure game that takes place on a foreign planet covered by water in which the player must survive the dangerous unknown of the underwater environment. The game has diverse animals of marine life as well as an unknown alien race that has been living on the planet for an unknown period of time. Subnautica uses the video game medium and various ecohorror tropes to allow players to immerse themselves into a very unique underwater world.
On the surface, Subnautica may not seem like an obvious ecohorror text. However, a close examination reveals that this text has multiple ocean ecohorror themes. For example, the dangerous sea creatures that inhabited the ocean life were mutations that evolved in response to human activity. The Reaper Leviathan and Ghost Leviathan were both very hostile towards the player, a psychological response that could have been evolved due to unsupervised human technology and pollution.
To continue, with such unprotected and hazardous human activity Subnautica also features a vast spectrum of environmental hazards, including acid pools, radiation, and much more. Furthermore, they were all in response to human activity and its dangers of exploiting natural resources without any awareness of their environment. In conclusion, Subnautica uses monsters and other horror elements to depict the grim consequences of humanity's actions and lack of remorse for their environmental destruction. In conclusion, Subnautica uses monsters and other horror elements to depict the grim consequences of humanity's actions and lack of remorse for environmental destruction.
For our next text, the film Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, has a considerable massive relation to our ocean ecohorror exhibit. In the film Spielberg replicated a small-town island of stereotypical white American community. However, an incident had happened, where a citizen reported a shark attack to the mayor. This shark would prey on swimmers and boaters in the surrounding waters. A group of men chose to kill this shark to end the attacks and to save the community financially and environmentally.
The film captures an underlying theme of the fear of the unknown or the dangers of curiosity of the surface below. Like many ocean ecohorror texts, Jaws captivates the negative consequences of human actions about nature. The shark's habitat is being destroyed by the tourist industry resulting in the shark being lured close to shore for food which then leads to the killings of swimmers and boaters. It also touches the topics of profit over the concerns of the environment. A great example would be the mayor of the town in the film who refuses to close the beaches due to the fear of the profit from the tourist industry, resulting in great decline of the town. The town was rather known for its tourist location. With such inconsiderence the shark attacks continue putting the town in more danger. The last theme is conservation vs. preservation. Human activity lured the sharks to shore, so the lasting damage was impacted on the community in retaliation. There is a precarious balance between the natural world and humanity, and while the film puts forth an image of sharks as killers, the film ends with the death of the shark.
Our third text, director Ishiro Honda's Godzilla, engages with similar yet different ecohorror themes. The main idea of Godzilla is the prehistoric sea monster that had been awakened by the chaos of humanity in which it began destroying the city with great power that it had, with attributes of being tall and strong. At first, people saw Godzilla as a villain causing havoc and destruction to the earth, but towards the end of the film they saw him as a protector, defending the Earth against monsters and great threats to the planet. In relation to the theme of ocean ecohorror, we will explore the deeper theme of environmental destruction in Godzilla. Honda alludes to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, emphasizing the harmful actions towards the environment which humans committed with their nuclear warfare. This reflection brought commentary to the tragic event and its relation to humanity. Furthermore, as time went on this film did become a cultural icon and symbol of Japanese pop culture. Thus, Godzilla relates in metaphor of nuclear dangers and the failure to protect and preserve our environment.
The next text we analyze is Herman Melville's popular book Moby-Dick. A story that involves a sailor and his crew's quest to find and kill, in revenge, the white whale Moby-Dick who had bitten the captain's leg off. The journey is dangerous and involves harsh conditions at sea. However, where the novel impacts the reader are the morals learned as well as religion and mythology of nature's existence. The themes touched in this novel that we will discuss are the man vs. nature aspect and humanity's desire for vengeance. The novel itself touches environmental issues such as the whaling industry and the depletion of whale populations. Also, there is a a minor theme of beauty and fragility between the natural world and whales.
Finally, the French short film Hybrids is a film set into the future of the brink of mass extinctions of marine life due to pollution of plastic waste. The film uses a father figure and daughter to help demonstrate how they created mechanical sea creatures using the plastic waste and metals found in the ocean life to give them a new life. As a result, it causes an attraction to create an underwater world of mechanical sea creatures. The theme discusses many events of ocean ecohorror such as ocean pollution, marine conservation, and the effect of human activity on the natural world. It further opens the doors of innovation and creativity that lies within our minds of addressing environmental problems and encourages views to protect the environment. The idea of the film is to bring awareness to the immediate need to protect the oceans marine life and plastic pollution.
Together, these five texts demonstrate how ocean ecohorror can serve as a powerful tool to critique humanity's abuse of ocean environments. While these stories may be fictional, their criticism of human actions are very real. As concerns about climate change and pollution escalate, ocean ecohorror can teach audiences about the fragility of the relationship between humans and nature. The ocean, as well as any other natural environment, must be respected, otherwise humanity will face the consequences of their destructive actions towards the environment. In the end, the study of ocean ecohorror can teach, inform, and bring awareness to our natural world in how we can preserve and keep our ocean life in a healthier manner.