“Jaws” Turns 50: The Blockbuster That “Made Sharks Bad”
Released on June 20, 1975, in the United States (and a few months later in France), “Jaws” marked the history of cinema, but also shaped our vision of the shark, still little known at the time. For many scientists, Steven Spielberg's feature film inadvertently contributed to the decline of this endangered animal, even if its legacy is not entirely negative.
“Fifty years ago, a shark changed the world forever,” writes The Guardian . Nicknamed “Bruce,” the shark in question is the enormous and terrifying animatronic shark used in the filming of Jaws, which hit US theaters on June 20, 1975.
While it marked a cinematic turning point towards the era of blockbusters and the advent of director Steven Spielberg, 28 years old at the time, this feature film, which became a cult classic, had other consequences. It is not unrelated to the image of cannibalistic killer attached to the shark and even to the “persecution” of which it was subsequently a victim, notes the British daily, which notes that “the massacre of sharks and trophy hunting exploded in the world after 1975” .
Based on Peter Benchley's best-selling novel, the film, which features a great white shark that wreaks havoc on a beach resort , "has changed the collective consciousness about sharks and the danger they pose," ABC News quotes marine biologist James Sulikowski as saying :
“He made sharks the bad guys, and people became absolutely terrified of every species in the ocean.”
While still relatively unknown to the general public, the shark was suddenly perceived as a threat and found itself discredited, even targeted, several scientists explain.
"Because people had a negative perception of sharks, it was easy to allow and justify overfishing of sharks regardless of the species," said Chris Lowe, another marine biologist, quoted by ABC News .
Problem is, the “fictional description of sharks – they stalk a beach and kill people out of pure mecha
Courrier International
