Cristina Zenato Instagram – JAWS the movie: can we give it a rest?
With a lifetime dedicated to working with sharks, sooner or later, the conversation falls on JAWS. Not only has it caused damage to the reputation of sharks, but it has also caused physical damage to the shark populations after it was released.
I do not deny that the following hysteria was caused and stirred to high levels by the motion picture. Still, the more I hear about it, the more I disagree with these thoughts. The fact is that poor Mr. Benchley didn’t even make the movie; he wrote a novel in 1974, directed by Steven Spielberg, and the Jaws movie, released in June 1975.
The movie and the novel are works of fiction and fantasy and very well done for that time. Neither Peter Benchley nor Stephen Spielberg created a documentary nor advertised it as such.
So, why do “Jaws” still affects people after so many decades?
The response is in the people, not the movie.
The focus needs to shift from the sharks to us.
Jaws taps into the fear of the unknown and the sense of powerlessness towards the oceans. As humans, we are used to conquering and transforming our environments. There is nothing we can use in the water to our advantage; the shark becomes the symbol of our incapability and the target of our fear, triggered by the lack of control.
The description of a shark’s behavior enters the anthropomorphic interpretation of animal behavior. We project our feelings and actions onto an animal so distinctively different from us. We cannot compare sharks’ emotional range to humans or other mammals. Simply put, sharks do not have a mean demeanor.
The root of the word ignorance comes from the Latin “ignoratio,” which means without knowledge. In that sense, we are ignorant of their world and lives and remain afraid of what we do not understand.
The only power that Jaws had and has is the one the individuals give to it.
The true answer to resolving it is learning about sharks, the wide variety of shark species and behaviors, and how rare it is to experience a negative encounter between sharks and humans.
@isotta_underwater_housings @waterproofinternational @scubapro @peopleofthewater | Posted on 15/Dec/2023 18:30:51
