Earlier this week I wondered if the Discovery Channel was sending mixed messages with its Shark Week programming. On the one hand they had sponsors like the Ocean Conservancy advocating shark awareness and conservation, but on the other they were running programs like Ocean of Fear, which, well, inspires fear of sharks.
I’ve been following some of the other shows they’ve aired this week. They’re not just running sensational shark attack stories. (Although they are running a fair amount of those as well.) They’re also running ones that feature people trying to better understand and save sharks.
The Myth of Summer 2001, a.k.a. The Summer of the Shark
Today I was watching a documentary that featured discussions with Peter Benchley, author of the book Jaws which later became a hit movie. The theme of the show was the unfair bad rap sharks have gotten –ironically due in part to Jaws, but also due to the media.
The Summer of 2001 became known as the Summer of the Shark after several highly publicized shark attacks. It seemed almost every nightly TV newscast had some kind of a story about sharks –how there were more in the water that summer, how they were coming nearer to shore, how more people were being affected.
But this was simply not true. Shark attacks in both the U.S. and worldwide were lower in 2001 than they had been in 2000. Benchley addressed this and how the media was playing on the fears and hype to spread misinformation. Notions he was trying to help dispel.
In his later years Benchley became a staunch advocate for shark conservation. He never bemoaned having written Jaws, at it did raise awareness about sharks, but he did confess that he would not have written the same book if he’d known then what he learned later.
Before Benchley died he published another book about sharks, this time a nonfiction one meant to expel some of the myths he in part had (unwittingly) perpetrated: Shark Trouble. He referenced it during the documentary and also emphasized that the nature of the shark is not to destroy man (as Jaws portrayed). Rather, mostly when they take a bite they’re exploring and trying to get a taste of what it is that’s entered their realm to find out if it is edible. Rarely do they find humans enticing enough to go back for seconds.
Other Shows
There are two other shows I haven’t been able to catch yet but am hoping I will this weekend: Shark Tribe and Sharks: A Family Affair.
There was also another show I briefly caught part of the other night where a man was diving without a cage surrounded by Great Whites and “petting” them. (Which they seemed to enjoy!) He respected how dangerous they were but also wanted to demonstrate that the second they spy people they don’t start salivating. (Do sharks salivate?)
I was convinced. There had to be at least five Great Whites swimming in his immediate vicinity and at one point he even grabbed one’s fin and had a little ride. Amazing!
Ocean of Fear was a spectacular lead off to get viewers interested in Shark Week, but I hope people are also taking some time to watch some of these other shows that examine the less sinister side of the predators of the deep.