Mermaids in popular culture

Mermaids, like many creatures of mythology and folklore, have been featured in many works of fiction.

Literature
Mermaids are one of the most famous creatures of popular culture, and are depicted regularly in literature and film. This is likely due to the influence of Hans Christian Andersen's fairytale The Little Mermaid (1836), which has been translated into many languages. Andersen's portrayal, immortalized with a famous bronze sculpture in Copenhagen harbour, has arguably become the standard and has influenced most modern Western depictions of mermaids since it was published. The story has been retold in other films and television programs, and regularly features in collections of fairytales. It has been adapted into various media, the most famous of which is the 1989 Disney movie of the same name.

L. Frank Baum (creator of Oz) wrote a novel about merfolk, The Sea Fairies. Later, in The Scarecrow of Oz, the same characters are rescued from danger by the mermaids.

T.S. Eliot, in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", uses the metaphor of mermaids to emphasis Prufock's plight: I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me.

Mermaids appear in the Peter Pan novel and in adaptations of it (such as the film Hook) and the Harry Potter series, specifically in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Many mermaids appear in works of fantasy fiction, including Poul Anderson's The Merman's Children.

One of the stories embedded in L. Sprague de Camp's The Goblin Tower, as being told by the book's story-telling protagonist Jorian, is about a human king who fell in love with a mermaid. The story tells with hilarious detail of the couple's difficult efforts to physically consummate their love, which nearly ends in disaster (he nearly drowns in trying to have sex underwater, and she is nearly killed by his bodyguards in revenge). In the end, the king marries a human woman, though keeping a platonic friendship with the mermaid.

In the comic book series, Tales to Astonish, in issue #4 (July 1959), the 4-page story "I Love a Mermaid!" presented a sailor falling in love with a mermaid named Alethea. By story's end, the sailor turned out to be a lost merman who found his true home with Alethea at his side.

The comic book superhero Superman had a romantic love interest with a mermaid named Lori Lemaris. The name Lori Lemaris was probably drawn from Lorelei rock in the Rhine added to maris, from the Latin mare, meaning ocean. One may also note that she has the initials L.L. the same as several of Superman's other love interests like Lois Lane and Lana Lang

In the fourth Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry encounters a community of Merfolk living beneath the surface of the Hogwarts grounds lake. The lake would appear to be a saltwater lake, since a Giant Squid lives in it as well. In this novel, Merfolk are regarded as being comprised of both male and female individuals. They are portrayed as having green hair and skin, and yellow, mossy teeth. The Merfolk observe his attempt at the second Task, which is to rescue the thing he holds most dear from the merfolk. That 'thing' is, in fact, his best friend Ron Weasely. When it becomes clear that one of the other Champions is not going to come to rescue her similarly bound younger sister, he takes her as well and brings them to the surface of the lake. While the Merfolk are portrayed as being rather wild and menacing, they are ultimately accommodating and fair, telling Professor Dumbledore of Harry's bravery in their lake. Similar to other humanoid magical creatures in the Harry Potter universe, they do not wield or understand magic themselves.

Aquamarine, a novel by Alice Hoffman, is about two 13 year old girls who discover a sassy teenage mermaid. The novel was popular among teen and preteen girls. The novel was made in to a film released in 2006 by Twentieth Century Fox and starred Sara Paxton, Emma Roberts and JoJo.

In the book "The Tail of Emily Windsnap", Emily takes a swimming class and discovers her tail. She goes out looking for her dad and convinces King Neptune that humans and merfolk can live together.

As with many other mythological creatures, mermaids appear in Dungeons & Dragons games (see Merfolk (Dungeons & Dragons)).

J.K. Rowling wrote a special book for Comic Relief entitled "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" which contains information on magical creatures in the Harry Potter world including mermaids. They are described as having three different species such as Sirens, Selkies and Merrows. The Selkies are the ones that appear in the fourth book.

Film

 * Neptune's Daughter (1914), starring Annette Kellerman, was the first feature film about mermaids. Kellerman played mermaids in several films of the silent era including "Siren of the Sea" (1911), A Daughter of the Gods (1916) and "Queen of the Sea" (1918). The 1952 film "Million Dollar Mermaid" is based on the life of Kellerman.


 * Miranda (1948), starring Glynis Johns, is another popular film to feature a mermaid. This film was followed by a sequel, Mad About Men (1954).


 * Mr. Peabody and the Mermaid (1948) starring Ann Blyth, was another variation on the theme.


 * The Mermaids of Tiburon (1962) - starring Diane Webber, George Rowe, and Timothy Carey.


 * Beach Blanket Bingo (1965) - beach movie starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello followed a sup-plot of the character, Bonehead (Jody McCrea), falling for a mermaid portrayed by Lost in Space's Marta Kristen.


 * Head (1968) - starring The Monkees briefly featured two mermaids in the opening "Porpoise Song" sequence, surrounded by psychedelic effects.


 * In Splash (1984), starring Daryl Hannah and Tom Hanks, Hannah played a mermaid who fell in love with a man. She could walk dry land as a human female, but whenever water touched her legs they changed into a fish-tail. Much of the movie revolves around her humorous attempts to conceal her true identity from her lover. A made-for-television sequel, Splash, Too followed in 1988. It starred Amy Yasbeck and Todd Waring.


 * In Local Hero (1984), Marina (Jenny Seagrove) is suspected by her love interest of being a mermaid.


 * In a 20-minute Japanese film for the 1987 Super Sentai series Hikari Sentai Maskman, a mermaid named Lei Lai (also known as "Ray") was featured as the title character. Lei Lai was engaged to marry Igamu, the prince of the Tube Empire, who was infatuated with her beautiful singing voice. Little did she know that she was being tricked by the prince, who was only using her voice to destroy the earth.


 * The Little Mermaid (1989 film) is a movie produced by Walt Disney Studios which portrays a variant of the story by Hans Christian Andersen about the mermaid that wished for legs. This film was followed by a sequel, The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea


 * Magic Island (1995) featured a character named Lily, a young mermaid who befriends a group of buckaneers (and Zachary Ty Bryan) and joins them on their quest for Blackbeard's treasure.


 * In the original cut of Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie (1997), a mermaid named Mandika was briefly featured, and was intended to help the rangers on their journey to the island of Muranthias. Due to timing restraints, her scenes were cut from the final film. The edited scenes included helping the rangers find the Ghost Galleon ship, rescuing Kimberly, Bulk, and Skull from drowning, & being saved from Divatox's torpedoes by Adam on a bungee rope.


 * She Creature (2001) featured a villainous mermaid who seemed to have a taste for human flesh and lesbian tendencies.


 * Maddogz Productions produced the 2006 short film "Heart's Atlantis" which features a beautiful mermaid. It tells the story of a grieving young boy who finds solitude in a mermaid in his backyard pool. Hannahh Fraser plays the mermaid, with Sam Wallis and Ty Hungerford also starring in the film. The tail in the film was created by H2O Just Add Water and Aquamarine prosthetic designer Jason Baird of JMB FX Studio.


 * In "Aquamarine (film)" (2006), two young girls (13), Claire and Hailey, befriend a mermaid by the name of Aquamarine. They soon begin a quest to help her win a boy working at Claire's Grandparents' beach club, Raymond.


 * In "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" mermaids play one small part at the end of the story.


 * The third and fourth films in the adult film series Talk Dirty To Me featured a mermaid who came ashore to find a man. Just like in Splash, the mermaid could walk on dry land, and her legs would become a fishtail in water.  In Talk Dirty To Me Part III, the mermaid was played by the then-underaged Traci Lords.  This version of the film was pulled from shelves once Lords' true age became public and replaced with an edited version, which subbed in scenes reshot with Lisa DeLeeuw in the mermaid role.  The edited version is called The New Talk Dirty To Me Part III and is the only version of the movie currently available.


 * In Talk Dirty To Me IV, Taija Rae played a mermaid in a costume that was far inferior to those of the previous film. In TDTM III, the mermaid costumes were fair representations of mermaid's tails; they were skintight and reached as high as the actresses' waists.  Rae's mermaid costume in TDTM IV was quite bulky, covered her breasts, and appeared to be fashioned from leaves, plastic daisies, and foam rubber scales.

Music
Mermaids have long been associated with music, and much like that of Orpheus, the power of their singing voices had the ability to enthrall. Along with their legendary vanity, the hair-combing and mirrors, the association of mermaids with music is coupled with another association of a vocal nature: they are said to be able to confer verbal eloquence, much like the Muses of the ancient Greek myths.


 * 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.

Television

 * In the fifth season of Charmed, there is a two-parter concerning mermaids; A Witch's Tail (Part 1) and A Witch's Tail (Part 2). The Charmed Ones are drawn to an innocent mermaid who must elicit a proclamation of love from her mortal boyfriend or lose her immortality to a water demon known as the Sea Hag. Determined to save the mermaid, the Charmed Ones cast a spell, unfortunately turning Phoebe into a mermaid. Confused and surprised by Cole's unexpected return from the Underworld, Phoebe finds a new sense of independence in the sea and refuses to return to land. Fearing for the life of their sister, Paige seeks out Cole to aid her in returning to normal while Piper and Leo try to vanquish both the Sea Hag and the Skeleton Demon.


 * The anime series Mahou no Mako-chan is a 1970's modern retelling of the "Little Mermaid" fable


 * Episode 12 of Cutie Honey (Original series) Seiji tells a legend about a red pearl, The Mermaid's Tear. During the early 19th century a mermaid was found by a group of fishermen. She begged for freedom, and cried a red pearl in exchanged for liberty. However, the fishermen wanted more tears, and proceeded to beat the mermaid to death. The mermaid was known as Chiruru, and her sister, Marara swore to avenge her sister. She was later transformed into an android, Sea Panther. Honey faces Sea Panther, but does not like to kill her.


 * The television show Fantasy Island had a mermaid character named Naya, played by Michelle Phillips of The Mamas & the Papas in three episodes.


 * In the Futurama episode The Deep South, the crew encounters Mermaids (which evolved from humans) who inhabit the fabled lost city of Atlanta in the year 3000. The concept of mermaids not having the same reproductive functions as humans in the show is a reference to the mermaid problem.


 * In a 1971 episode of Bewitched entitled "Samantha and the Loch Ness Monster", an old flame of Samantha's cousin Serena puts a spell on her - temporarily turning her into a mermaid.


 * There was an adaption made of the classic story "The Little Mermaid" in a 1987 episode of Faerie Tale Theatre, starring Mork and Mindy's Pam Dawber as Pearl.


 * In 1991, manga artist Rumiko Takahashi, creator of Ranma ½, created a three-volume horror manga series called Mermaid Saga, which was based on the Japanese myth that eating mermaid's flesh can grant immortality.


 * Anime Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch and its sequel, Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure focuses on mermaid princess and their adventures in the human world trying to protect both land and sea creatures.


 * In 1999, a made-for-television movie Sabrina, Down Under  (a spin-off special from the TV series Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) finds Sabrina (Melissa Joan Hart) traveling to Australia's Great Barrier Reef with her best friend Gwen (Tara Strong), a fellow witch from England, for a week-long vacation where they try to help protect a hidden mermaid/mermen colony whose habitat is threatened by ocean pollution, and by a local marine biologist, Dr. Julian Martin (Peter O'Brien), determined to find the colony as his claim to fame. While Sabrina finds romance with Barnaby (played by Scott Michaelson), a merman from the mermaid colony, his mermaid sister Fin (played by Lindsay Sloane), upset at Barnaby's interacting with the humans, tries her best to keep the secrets of the location of the merpeople colony safe from the humans. Barnaby in this story, is suffering from the effects of pollution, but is cured after meeting Dr. Martin. Sabrina eventually must save his mermaid sister, their mer-colony, and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia from the pollution as well.
 * In 2003 the television movie Mermaids was released. This TV movie starred Sarah Laine, Nikita Ager, and Australian model Erika Heynatz as a trio of mermaid sisters who band together to avenge their father's death.


 * Marina was a 2004 TV show from the Philippines which starred Teleserye Queen and Filipino superstar Claudine Barretto (as the mermaid Marina). It was the first fantasy teleserye on ABS-CBN and became very popular. It first aired in February and ended in November.


 * The Canadian TV series Seriously Weird featured a mermaid in an episode entitled "Harris and the Mermaid", in which the main character (Harris) was desperate to learn to swim. The mermaid (Muriel) offered to teach him, but in the end, fooled him into switching places with him - leaving him with a tail, and her with legs.


 * In 2004, The Backyardigans was a chapter (Viking Voyage) where Tasha was a mermaid, and she sings "The Mermaid Song", inspired in the song "The Yellow Rose Of Texas".


 * The Australian television series, H2O: Just Add Water (2006), involves 3 teenage girls who, after encountering a mysterious island grotto, transform into mermaids whenever water touches any part of their bodies.


 * In Power Rangers: Mystic Force (2006), Madison (the Blue Ranger) turns into the Mermaid Titan. This is based upon MagiMermaid, the Majin form of MagiBlue in Mahou Sentai Magiranger


 * In Power Rangers: Lightspeed Rescue (2000), Chad (the blue ranger) finds a love interest in a mermaid named Marina, who had saved his life from an underwater rockslide. She appeared in 2 episodes entitled "Ocean Blue" and "Neptune's Daughter".


 * The 1985 Japanese TV show, Dengeki Sentai Changeman, Change Mermaid symbolizes a mermaid.


 * In 2006, NBC's soap opera Passions added a mermaid character named Siren, brought to life by the toddler witch Endora to keep her half-brother's fiance from leaving him.


 * In 2006, America's Next Top Model cycle 6, after the girls went to Thailand, their first photo shoot there was being a mermaid.


 * The 1999 Disney Channel original movie The Thirteenth Year, tells the story of a young boy that begins to gain mermaid characteristics when he turns thirteen. He then has an encounter with his real mother who is a mermaid.


 * A new anime series Seto no Hanayome has been airing since April 1, 2007. A teenage boy named Nagasumi is rescued by a mermaid San Seto, but then his life began to change when he is going to marry her.

Other
In the Submarine Voyage ride at Disneyland, from 1959 until the ride's closure in 1998, female cast members clad in modest bikini tops and mermaid tails would sunbathe on a rock. They brushed their hair for long periods of time, waved at guests, and so on.

A cartoon mermaid is the mascot for the Chicken of the Sea brand of tuna.

The Starbucks Coffee logo is a Siren, very similar to a mermaid, as medieval sirens and mermaid legends were intertwined.