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Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Man With 1000 Kids’ On Netflix, A Docuseries About A Prolific Sperm Donor And The Parents Who Felt He Lied To Them
What comes to mind when you think of mermaids? Rainbows, waterfalls, and mystic creatures gliding through the great, wide ocean? Well, according to right-wing extremists, this mythical creature represents something else: a community of technologically advanced water people looking to attack land dwellers. No, seriously. At Trump National Doral in Miami, Florida, self-proclaimed prophet Amanda Grace went on a tirade about mermaids during a speech that went viral on Sunday (May 14). But thankfully, Netflix swooped in and inserted their own narrative by releasing the wholesome trailer for the upcoming docuseries MerPeople.
Directed by Oscar winner Cynthia Wade, the docuseries (which premieres May 23) follows a group of underwater performers and their journeys into the mermaid life, where some have a distinct separation between fantasy and reality and others experience a more spiritual calling to the sea.
The series is told in four parts and highlights freelance mermaids and hobbyists, as well as ones who have made careers around their mermaid transformations.
The trailer teases what’s to come, saying, “This is a half-billion-dollar industry. There are pageants, there are conventions, there are competitions, there are auditions, there are shows.” Over the two-minute video, scenes surrounding The King and Queen of the Seas pageant in The Bahamas and auditions to perform with the Circus Siren Pod are shown. “Anybody can be a mermaid, you just have to believe,” proclaims a subject in the trailer.
While it doesn’t seem like the MAGA world has fully crossed over into Netflix’s territory yet, several people have left comments conflating the two separate mermaid agendas. An angry Twitter user commented on Netflix’s tweet about the trailer, writing, “Sorry Netflix, we (my family) just unsubscribed. We are done with your constant antiwhite sheeit [shit]. F the wokes.” Another echoed, “Great another way of promoting mentally ill people and praising them smh.”
Others seem to be making lighthearted jokes about the weird timing. One shared the viral video of Grace with the sarcastic comment, “They tried to warn us. Wake up, sheeple!!!”
In Grace’s speech, she claims, “There’s wickedness attempting to completely cover this nation and perversion and seductive seducing spirits. I have never seen more images of mermaids and water people in my life.” Seemingly referring to an image, she continued, “That’s a division in the kingdom of darkness and they’re highly technologically advanced.”
Whether or not it was intentional, Netflix has done a great job of distracting internet people from the crazies and protecting the reputation of the mermaid community, whether that’s referring to the mythical creatures themselves or their devoted fanbase. But nonetheless, mermaids being the catalyst for a new culture war was not on my 2023 Bingo card.
