Shark films like Jaws have changed our perceptions about the open waters and sharks. Today, we see sharks as dangerous creatures that we should be fearful of, thanks to the over 100 shark films that portrayed them as such. This irrational fear that comes from these films have affected shark conservation efforts negatively.
In a world-first study, conservation psychology researchers, UniSA's Dr Briana Le Busque and Associate Professor Carla Litchfield have evaluated how sharks are portrayed in movies, finding that 96 per cent of shark films are overtly portraying sharks as a threat to humans.
Dr Le Busque says sensationalised depictions of sharks in popular media can unfairly influence how people perceive sharks and harm conservation efforts.
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"Sharks are at much greater risk of harm from humans, than humans from sharks, with global shark populations in rapid decline, and many species at risk of extinction.
"Exacerbating a fear of sharks that's disproportionate to their actual threat, damages conservation efforts, often influencing people to support potentially harmful mitigation strategies.
Le Busque states that the research is one “important step” in debunking shark myths.
(Image Credit: PIRO4D/ Pixabay)
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i think this is combing two things that aren't connected. I've watched shark movies my whole life, and I know exactly which ones are the most dangerous. And none of this information- or fear- has motivated me to do damage to sharks in terms of conservation or habitat or anything else. I'm pretty sure people out on the ocean killing the most sharks aren't doing it "because they saw a shark movie once or something". I'm pretty sure they just don't care if the sharks go extinct, and some of them probably make money from killing sharks. I don't think people who poach elephants and their tusks are doing it "because they saw a elephant movie once". Here's a wacky idea: most people don't care about conservation of animal habitats. Most people can't even be bothered to eat healthy groceries instead of mcdonalds. They have just enough mental bandwidth to eat mcdonalds and get face tattoos. I don't think we can blame Shark Week or Steven Spielberg for what poachers do.
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