My sister called me not long ago and told me to turn to the Animal Planet. There was a documentary on mermaids she wanted me to watch. So I watched it, and all sorts of red flags began waving. Although it was masterfully done, the production just didn’t ring true. Suspicious, I did a quick Google search and discovered it wasn’t a documentary at all. It was science fiction written by way of a “documentary.” And the reason all the “scientists” seemed to act like actors was that they were.
If you watched closely, you would catch the screen at the end saying it was all fictional, but it was only up for a split second.
The story is fairly convincing. Norwegian fisherman for years have caught sharks and large fish with strange “spears” and “knives” driven into them. But only humans use tools and such weapons. Drawings of “mermaids” are found in virtually all sea faring cultures, especially the Greeks, Romans, Norse, Chinese, Japanese. And in the deserts of Egypt, sandstone drawings show humans interacting with aquatic humanoids sporting spears and nets with rocks designed to ensnare fish and drop them to the sea floor. Once overlooking a vast sea, the caves in which these drawings were found now overlook only sand. But they’re some of the oldest sandstone drawings ever discovered.
It’s far too complicated to get into, but it illustrates how people can be led by formats of information that we trust. In the same way, many people trusted the old 1938 War of the Worlds broadcast. Looking back, it should have been obvious. But for many it wasn’t. I became suspicious by the poor acting and the idea that early humanoid apes evolved into tail flapping mermaids with webbed hands simply by taking out to sea for long periods. It’s the same as saying that people who jump off cliffs long enough will develop wings! Land animals can spend all day in the sea, but at the end of the day they come home and sleep in caves or in the forests.
So I wondered how many of you watched this…and also, wouldn’t it be fun to have your JW friends and families watch this and then open it to discussion? I mean, here is a masterfully produced documentary that flies in the face of everything they’d believe in, and then show “evidence” that it was true. Would they have the natural skepticism to question it or would they make the leap of faith? Anyway, the show had everything: aquatic audio files, a convincing video file taken by a “Norwegian fisherman” and one by two kids with a cell phone; photos of aquatic spears and decorative weapons clearly not made by “humans.”
Did anyone here see the production? Did you know at the time it was fiction or did you think you were watching a real documentary? And would you show it to a JW friend or family member knowing it would blow their minds?
I would. I couldn’t help myself….