The True Meaning of “The Shape of Water”
For some, “The Shape of Water” may be summarized as a movie about saving a creature, however, for others, it’s a movie about humanity, inspiration, and compassion. The main character, Elisa, says “if we do nothing, then neither are we” which is such a profound statement. In the movie, the point she is making is that they’re not human if they let this creature die but people can apply this same concept to so many situations across life. As humans, we all have a responsibility to each other, to our communities and our world.
Brief Synopsis
The “Shape of Water” takes place in Baltimore in the ’60s and follows the life of Elisa and Zelda as they work as cleaning ladies in a secret government building. Elisa is a mute woman with few friends. She can not talk but communicates through sign language. She has 3 scars on each side of her neck from when she was a child. Her best friend is Zelda, a middle-aged African-American woman. One day while working Elisa and Zelda find a creature that is tied to a tank. Elisa starts seeing the creature regularly and feeding him. She soon realizes he has human emotion. A government agent, Strickland, starts torturing the creature, and Elisa realizes she needs to do something to help. She confides in her neighbor, Giles, about the creature. Giles is a gay man in his 50’s-60’s who works as an artist and is close…
