Cartoon Saloon’s animated short cartoon From Darkness tells the Inuit folktale of the Skeleton Woman. This essay analyses the story through its main symbols, metaphors, human needs and cultural values. One of the main characters is a solitary fisherman. He is fishing on the spot where the women drowned . Instead of catching a fish, he accidentally hooks a human skeleton tangled in his fishing line. The fisherman becomes terrified and quickly rows back to the shore. However, the Skeleton Woman remains attached to his fishing line and follows him into his tent. He is frightened of her because she looks like scary creature “Qallupilluk or Qalupalik” that lives under the sea ice (IAQ, 2021) . When the fisherman begins to help her, he notices something similar between himself and the skeleton. He carefully unravels the fishing line from her bones and puts her body back. The Skeleton Woman can symbolize buried trauma, emotional damage and fear. The fisherman’s change from fear to empathy may show that people should not always run away from things that frighten them. When the fisherman falls asleep, a tear run down his face. The tear can therefore symbolise compassion, emotional connection and healing. It suggests that a damaged person can be restored through care and empathy. When we consider the values that the cartoon wants to show us, we can see some common human experiences and needs, such as facing death, dealing with fear and survival. The man in this cartoon faces an unknown situation and death. The fisherman is afraid at first, but then he gradually overcomes his fear and shows empathy towards the woman. He untangles her bones, arranges them properly, and covers her with blankets. While he is sleeping, a tear drops from his eye, which helps the woman come back to life. This plot suggests an Inuit view of “life and death”: life can be seen as a cycle, and empathy, interpersonal care and the courage to face darkness and death are important. One possible reason for this worldview may be the extremely cold environment and limited living resources that Inuit people had to deal with. Because of this, they may have developed a more interconnected way of living based on cooperation, care and kindness. In this essay, we discussed important symbols such as the skeleton woman and the fisherman’s tear and analysed how they represent fear, empathy and rebirth. The tale suggests that by accepting and overcoming fear and showing care for others, people can experience emotional or symbolic rebirth. References
IAQ. (2021, February 15). Your guide to the monsters in Inuit art. Inuit Art Quarterly. https://www.inuitartfoundation.org/inuit-art-quarterly/iaq-online/your-guide-to-the-monsters-in-inuit-art