Mer-Hagography: The Erasure, Return and Resonance of Splash’s Older Mermaid

The 1984 feature film Splash initially included a scene featuring an embittered, older mermaid (referred to as the “Merhag” or “Sea-Hag” by the production team) that was deleted before the final version premiered. Since that excision, the older mermaid and the scene she appeared in have been recreat...

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Autor principal:	Philip Hayward
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Lodz University Press 2021
Materias:	mermaids merhags sea-hags hag-ography splash Literature (General) PN1-6790
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/611dbe1a10e34f3e8e15e44b651c21de
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:611dbe1a10e34f3e8e15e44b651c21de
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:611dbe1a10e34f3e8e15e44b651c21de2021-12-01T06:51:57ZMer-Hagography: The Erasure, Return and Resonance of Splash’s Older Mermaid2083-29312084-574X10.18778/2083-2931.11.10https://doaj.org/article/611dbe1a10e34f3e8e15e44b651c21de2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/textmatters/article/view/11264https://doaj.org/toc/2083-2931https://doaj.org/toc/2084-574XThe 1984 feature film Splash initially included a scene featuring an embittered, older mermaid (referred to as the “Merhag” or “Sea-Hag” by the production team) that was deleted before the final version premiered. Since that excision, the older mermaid and the scene she appeared in have been recreated by fans and the mer/sea-hag has come to comprise a minor element in contemporary online culture. The term “Merhag,” in particular, has also spread beyond the film, being taken up in fantasy fiction and being used—allusively and often pejoratively—to describe notional and actual female characters. Drawing on Mary Daly’s 1978 exploration of supressed female experiences and perspectives, this essay first examines Splash and associated texts with regard to the general figure of the hag in western culture (and with regard to negative, ageist perceptions of the ageing female), before discussing the use of “Merhag” and “Sea-Hag” as allusive pejoratives and the manner in which their negative connotations have been countered.Philip HaywardLodz University Pressarticlemermaidsmerhagssea-hagshag-ographysplashLiterature (General)PN1-6790ENText Matters, Iss 11, Pp 139-156 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	mermaids merhags sea-hags hag-ography splash Literature (General) PN1-6790
spellingShingle	mermaids merhags sea-hags hag-ography splash Literature (General) PN1-6790 Philip Hayward Mer-Hagography: The Erasure, Return and Resonance of Splash’s Older Mermaid
description	The 1984 feature film Splash initially included a scene featuring an embittered, older mermaid (referred to as the “Merhag” or “Sea-Hag” by the production team) that was deleted before the final version premiered. Since that excision, the older mermaid and the scene she appeared in have been recreated by fans and the mer/sea-hag has come to comprise a minor element in contemporary online culture. The term “Merhag,” in particular, has also spread beyond the film, being taken up in fantasy fiction and being used—allusively and often pejoratively—to describe notional and actual female characters. Drawing on Mary Daly’s 1978 exploration of supressed female experiences and perspectives, this essay first examines Splash and associated texts with regard to the general figure of the hag in western culture (and with regard to negative, ageist perceptions of the ageing female), before discussing the use of “Merhag” and “Sea-Hag” as allusive pejoratives and the manner in which their negative connotations have been countered.
format	article
author	Philip Hayward
author_facet	Philip Hayward
author_sort	Philip Hayward
title	Mer-Hagography: The Erasure, Return and Resonance of Splash’s Older Mermaid
title_short	Mer-Hagography: The Erasure, Return and Resonance of Splash’s Older Mermaid
title_full	Mer-Hagography: The Erasure, Return and Resonance of Splash’s Older Mermaid
title_fullStr	Mer-Hagography: The Erasure, Return and Resonance of Splash’s Older Mermaid
title_full_unstemmed	Mer-Hagography: The Erasure, Return and Resonance of Splash’s Older Mermaid
title_sort	mer-hagography: the erasure, return and resonance of splash’s older mermaid
publisher	Lodz University Press
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/611dbe1a10e34f3e8e15e44b651c21de
work_keys_str_mv	AT philiphayward merhagographytheerasurereturnandresonanceofsplashsoldermermaid
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Mer-Hagography: The Erasure, Return and Resonance of Splash’s Older Mermaid

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