Merpeople Review: A not-so-compelling docuseries about the world of mermaids for a pea-sized audience

Do you know about the life of people in the world of professional mermaiding? This film has the answers.

Stills from the film Merpeople

If you are a fan of the Harry Potter series, then don’t get mistaken! While in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), Merpeople are referred to as the fictionalized version of a type of aquatic beings, the latest Netflix documentary is nowhere close to this fact.

The latest documentary entails the whimsical world of professional mermaids. Before I watched the film and even after watching it, one question continues to flow in my mind: Why would anyone be interested in watching a documentary about people who act as mermaids, to earn money for a living?

Story

If you just have a look at the trailer, the opening sentence of it begins by saying, “This is a half-a-billion-dollar industry.” Simply put, the first part of the docuseries, released on May 23, details people's passion for swimming in fins and carefully narrates the problems experienced by the people in the industry. There are pageants, competitions, shows and a lot of other competitive activities – which one has to clear through to become an ideal mermaid.

Though, due to paucity of time and resources, it is not humanly possible to touch upon each and every minute detail about the industry, the makers of the film have tried their best to throw light and enlighten people globally that such a profession exists.

Review

Is being a ‘professional mermaid’ a term? This is the opening question with which the first part of the docuseries begins with. In the series, viewers are introduced to people from different walks of life who enter the whimsical world of professional mermaids.

Viewers are introduced to people wriggling into their colourfully crafted tails as if they were sliding into an uncomfortable pair of tight jeans, sucking on air hoses so that they can swim as ethereally as possible around aquariums and later treating their burning faces under taps when the pH balance of the water is wrong.

Prominently, two mermaids, Eric and Britanny, talk about their journey into this world – that is full of hardships, struggles and a dash of happiness.

Through this docuseries, the makers of the film try their best to enlighten viewers about the depth of this industry and minutely throw light on the lives of people belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community.

However, personally speaking, I will never promote an industry where people are forced to wear a certain type of attire and follow the old-adage definition of attraction. Gone are the days when girls were only attracted to Barbie dolls and not fancy racing cars. Even children nowadays, who are born in the digital world of iPads, computers and laptops, can easily differentiate between a cartoon and a human in real life.

So, I’m personally clueless why this industry needs to be promoted and made into a docuseries in three parts instead of restricting it to just a documentary.

This film faintly reminds me about the history of corsets. In the 16th and 17th centuries, women, especially those living in Europe, wear forced to wear tightly laced corsets that had to be worn from childhood until the wedding night. Later, as years passed by, new rules were furnished and women were not forced to wear the attire – following which health problems such as backache, breathing problems and more faded away.

Even today, in several countries globally, women are not allowed or given the freedom to wear an attire of their choice. So, how can we promote an industry where people are forced to wear an attire and look a certain way – which makers feel is attractive?

Wearing an attire to look like a mermaid, (especially as visualized in comic books), is equally painful and can be seen in the documentary as well. I suggest the makers should not glorify the pain in the upcoming films of the series. The makers should not make it look sacrificial or beautiful in any sense.

Though the makers of the film shed light on the atrocities faced by the LGBTQIA+ community in the film, I believe that people in general have a lot more potential and talent that can be put forth on display instead of becoming a mermaid.

Verdict

Watch this film only if you wish to gather information about people working as professionals in the mermaid industry. 

You can also watch out this documentary if you do not wish to read a Wikipedia page on it. Don’t worry, you will not be bored watching this documentary as it has a lovely background music.

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