The Shape of Water Fan Work
I opened my eyes and my lungs filled with the freshest breath I had ever taken. My heart pounded stronger than ever. How did this happen? How was I alive, and feeling more alive than ever at that? Where even am I? All of it mattered nothing though as I looked into his eyes. Then suddenly the realization set in that the amazing breath I had just taken, was actually water! Panicked at first, he calmed me by stroking my hair letting me know that everything was going to be alright. I felt my neck and grazed a pair of gills. I looked up and then remember moments ago that bastard Strickland had just shot me. I became alarmed of Gilesâ well-being and began to swim up, but he grabbed me and motioned everything was fine. His mouth started to move, and he began to speak. At first it sounded like the usual animalistic noises, but as he continued to speak the sounds began to differentiate themselves, and within moments I was understanding what he was saying! He told his name, but that was unimportant to him now as he left it behind in his previous life as he called it. He also said that I was going to be beginning my new life, and I said, âTogether?â I was so excited in the moment that I hardly realized I was able to speak! For the first time I can remember I was able to vocalize my thoughts! I then began to ramble to him in awe of the fact that I could feel the vibration of sound through my throat. He expressed his happiness in the moment with me, and mentioned that he always was able to hear my voice from the moment we met. âWhat comes next?â I asked, and he responded by saying, âWatch.â I thought things couldnât change any more drastically than they already had, but my entire body began to glow with his. I looked at my hands and watched as they became webbed. My feet did the same, and my body began to scale. The entire process was completely painless, and actually gave a sense of euphoria in the moment due from the thought of complete rebirth. In minutes my entire body had become just as his was, and oddly enough I had never felt more like myself. There was a feeling of likeness that I had learned to ignore and believe to be unobtainable that was finally experienced. When the transformation was over, we danced. In harmony and love that was so beautiful and flowed so elegantly through the sea. We began to swim out of the canal into the sea, and I followed where he wanted to go. We travelled through what seemed to be the Atlantic, and reached the mouth of the Amazon, the place he had been captured. As we swam through the river, we came to the deepest part. Near the bottom was an opening into a cavern which we entered. We turned a few corners, and saw two others who were just as we were! He was greeted with a hug, and I was welcomed with open arms. He began to explain to me who these people were and what they meant to him. He told me that since he was changed, he just referred to them simply as Mother and Father. I asked him, âSo you were changed just as you changed me?â and he replied, âSomewhat.â He began to explain that he was changed by someone who loved him and he loved them, but in a platonic way. He explained that Mother is who found him, and Father is who found his mother, just as he found me. He told me in his previous life ages ago he was physically handicapped, and was given up on by his birth parents around the age of 15. He was rejected entirely by society, and was thrown into water by his peers being labelled as worthless. Just before he was about to die, Mother grabbed him and swam him to the shore. He said he was startled at first by her, not because of her appearance but by the fact that she was the first thing to not reject him. He instantly grew attached to her, and she would take care of him in the weeks leading up to his transformation. After I grew to know Mother and Father, and become one with my new culture, the four of us journeyed to the deepest depth of the sea. As we reached the bottom, another cavern exponentially larger appeared, and suddenly I was introduced to an entire community just as I was.
Reflective notes: The Shape of Water was by far my favorite piece that we examined throughout the course. It was action packed and filled with so many issues that society still needs to address. I wanted to continue the story on the best I could by telling the moments immediately following the end of the movie. The movie largely addresses communities that are marginalized in society. It sends the message that no matter the circumstances there are, there are others out there that will accept you and love you, no matter your âshapeâ. I think this message was presented in a powerful way that does provide a happy ending. I thought it was interesting that in most movies that do provide a happy ending for characters that are different, Beauty and the Beast for example, that the âbeastâ ultimately is reverted to human form whereas in The Shape of Water the amphibian man remains the same. I wanted to adjust this in a way that the Tigerâs Bride does in its story where the girl reverts to a Tiger instead of the latter with Beauty and the Beast. I find it more appropriate because it shows that there is no true being that there âshould beâ and that sometimes, (more often than not it would seem), humans are the monsters. I also wanted to provide my own interpretation of how the amphibian man came to be, and how Elisa is seemingly revived at the end. I interpreted it in a way that they only change others who see them as living equals capable of love. I thought it would be nice to provide an even happier ending per-sae where the duo at hand is embraced and actually finds an entire community just as they are, whereas in other stories with characters of the like it seems they are all they have.
