Sharks on film: an analysis of how shark-human interactions are portrayed in films
07. July 2021
Sharks on film: an analysis of how shark-human interactions are portrayed in films
Brianna Le Busque, Carla Litchfield
ABSTRACT:
Sharks are often a focus of exaggerated news media coverage, with shark-human portrayals and the species typically involved in these interactions being discussed most frequently. This study advanced understanding of sharks in the media by analyzing 109 shark films to investigate how films portray shark-human interactions. Through analysis of the shark film storylines and posters on the online database IMDb, it was found that almost all of these films (96%) overtly portrayed shark-human interactions as being potentially threatening to humans, a few (3%) covertly portrayed shark-human interactions as being potentially threatening to humans, and only one film did not include potentially threatening interactions. These results showed that films portray sharks in a similar way to how the news media portrays sharks, and therefore future research should include shark films when investigating the influence of the media.
Human Dimensions of Wildlife, DOI: 10.1080/10871209.2021.1951399