Shark week is an annual celebration for shark enthusiasts throughout the world. Every summer, The Discovery Channel puts on an entire week of shark specials. These specials cover every major shark in the world, while at the same time spending a great deal of time talking about shark attacks. While the informative shark week shows are popular and interesting, it is the shark attack shows that truly draw in the viewers.
Shark week has turned into a showcase for all the various shark attack stories throughout the year. Shark attacks are popular, but have you ever wondered why? Nobody would ever want to be attacked by a shark, regardless of how small. Why then, would we enjoy watching shark week specials about great white sharks attacking and in some cases eating human beings?
To find the answer to this question, one needs to look back at the movie Jaws. Jaws was the single most popular movie in the world for a number of years. Even today, Jaws is a hot rental and movie for the new generations that come along. While the movie was excellent, it was far from cinematic perfection. The shark was pretty unrealistic on the whole, and you do not even see it throughout a large portion of the movie. So why so popular?
The reason Jaws was so popular is the same reason that Shark Week on Discovery is so popular – people like to live on the edge when it comes to viewing television and movies. What blade is sharper than watching a human being be devoured by a twenty foot great white shark? The whole idea of it gives one shivers up and down their body. Shark Week is popular because they show real life footage of shark attacks, and of the damage that comes from a shark bite. We can be “attacked” by a shark without actually stepping a toe in the ocean.
Shark Week is a wonderful week of television, and many people watch every available minute. The shows are known for pushing the envelope. While it is still somewhat rare to see a shark attack a human being, Shark Week tends to find the slivers of footage that is out there. Eventually, these films find their way online. Shark Week is usually the first place to see them, however, and people watch feverishly for that moment.
Shark Week for this season on Discovery was advertised with this interest in mind. The commercials for shark week inevitably showed people in various oceanic activities having fun or relaxing. Then suddenly, an unseen shark yanks them below the water and they cut to the shark week promo line. Oddly, Discovery channel is usually more interested in giving out the facts about sharks. The Shark Week shows usually lean toward understanding sharks and not fearing them randomly. This advertisement scheme shows that Discovery also understands why people watch Shark Week. They want to see shark attacks, plain and simple.
