Whaling. Would I have ever watched this had I not been reading Moby Dick? That’s easy to answer: no. I would have read the description, passed judgment and then seriously considered Dancing With the Stars. But because of The Whale, I actively reminded myself and made sure my snacks were in place for the 8 pm start time. (A quick moment to explain why Moby Dick since I’m obviously not in tenth grade: NPR’s Monkey See blog started the “I Will If You Will” Book Club Dare. First book was Twilight. If you read my other blog, it goes without saying that I did not read along with that one. So Moby Dick is a natural second choice, right? Palate cleanse, I call it.) OK, ready, set, whale.
I took a lot of notes. And was amazed by how much I’ve retained so far from Moby Dick. It’s a bit of work to get through some chapters. But as Into the Deep explained whaling techniques tonight, I impressed myself with the faint ennui of “yawn, I know this already”. Wake me when you have some relevatory spermaceti facts. (Explanation! Spermaceti is the coveted substance inside the sperm whale’s head. According to the show, it is “clear as vodka” but when air hits it, it looks like semen. Hence the name.)
All the spermaceti talk, history of whaling, and other details are hung upon the story of the Essex whaling ship that sunk in 1820 as a result of a sperm whale ramming into the side of it. The survivors took to lifeboats and made a really bad decision. “Hey, let’s not go to the near island because there may be cannibals. Instead, let’s go three times as far back to South America, get off course, and then resort to cannibalism to stay alive!”
Herman Melville was inspired (or obsessed, more like) by the Essex tragedy to write his whale adventure that he was convinced was his masterpiece. The general public? Not as convinced. According to the show, America was all about the West and whaling was “out”.
Celebrity Voice Over Alert! Willem Defoe narrates and Robert Sean Leonard reads the Moby Dick passages. He even makes a brief appearance where he looks at the camera and says (and I say simultaneously because I know it’s coming), “Call me, Ishmael.” I then grabbed the remote to mute because I’m only on Chapter LXXI.
But prior to spoilers, what did I learn from Into the Deep?
There was a Golden Age of Whaling. About 1820 to the Civil War. After that whaling declined and, towards the end of WWI, whale ships made more money as props in silent movies than in whaling.
After a whale is harpooned, one of three things can happen: whale smashes boat, whale dives down deep, whale takes off. Whale taking off was known as “Nantucket Sleigh Ride” because the boats are dragged by the fleeing whale.
Another fun whale phrase is “Chimneys Afire!” AKA multiple-stabbed whale spouting blood out of its blowhole. Clever.
Oh, and the fact that the “sperm” in sperm whale actually refers to sperm. I guess I was giving it the benefit of the doubt…
