Jaws: A Bite Out of Reality

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Recommended: debate on media influences on public opinion

“I am a nice shark, not a mindless eating machine. If I am to change this image, I must first change myself. Fish are friends, not food (Finding Nemo).” This child's movie has some accuracy in the sense of a sharks image must be changed in order for the “mindless eating machine” label to be taken away. There is one movie that deserves all the blame for this inaccurate labeling of sharks, and that movie is “Jaws.” Released in 1975, Steven Spielberg directed a movie that changed the minds of ocean swimmers forever.

A menacing great white shark decides that Amity, a small beach town, was ideal for its new feeding ground. Consuming everything in site, 3 men set out to kill this beast; a police chief, a scientist, and an old fisherman. As the movie takes the audience through the journey of tracking down the creature, this animal is portrayed as a terrifying monster. Watching “Jaws” petrified me when I was young. I know a lot of people my age who are still frightened of sharks because of this film. The movie “Jaws” defined the way people think about sharks, without a chance to stand up for themselves they were portrayed as the monsters of the ocean.

Sharks have the epitome of a bad reputation, with only a mouthful of teeth for an apology. It is this bias against them that attracts me to sharks. I understand that not everything in life is equal and fair, but for the consequences sharks must endure due to one movie is devastating and heartbreaking. The main reason behind all of the fear is unknowing.

When little is known about a topic it is human nature to instinctively dislike that topic. Sadly, the topic is sharks, and for centuries people have surmised these creatures into a bleak, unforgiving category. The supposi...

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...ional Geographic 480(2009): 240-270. Print.

Charleston, Richard. "Sharks' Reputation A Case Of Overkill." Sharks in the News 01 Jan 2009 1. 9 Apr 2009. .

John, Leymen. "Sharks In the Wild." National Geographic 324(1989): 25-67. Print.

See P. E. Pope, A Dictionary of Sharks (1973); T. H. Lineaweaker and R. H. Backus, The Natural History of Sharks (1970, repr. 1986); J. A. Musick and B. McMillan, The Shark Chronicles (2002). The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright© 2004, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products N.V. All rights reserved.

Finn, Robyn. "Dont worry about the teeth, Sharks still need hugs. ." New York Times 13 Sept 2008: Print.

Lemke, Donald. "Sharks' Reputation is Ruining their Lives." Sharks in the News 01 Jan 2009 1. 9 Apr 2009.

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