"We’ve made sharks into monsters"
"There are few summer traditions more predictable than turning sharks into profit. Fifty years ago, on June 20, 1975, “Jaws” established the template for the modern-day blockbuster, combining mass marketing and high-concept thrills that all but guarantee mega box-office returns. But the film’s lasting power lies in how it transformed a relatively obscure marine predator into a cultural icon and villain that could be used for financial gain.
Before 1975, sharks managed to lead inconspicuous existences that belied their ecological importance. Fear of sharks wasn’t born with “Jaws”: Isolated incidents, such as the infamous 1916 attacks along the East Coast, had already stirred public alarm in coastal communities. It was easy to scale local anxiety into global panic.
Transforming sharks into predatory monsters leverages the primal unease humans experience when we’re reminded of our natural place within the food web. In a single summer, “Jaws” distilled a subclass of hundreds of species, small and large, down to the singular, misleading moniker of “man-eater.” After the summer of 1975, sharks became unforgettable — and extremely profitable. But half a century after “Jaws,” the truth is clear: Humans are far deadlier to these animals than they are to us. Each year, we kill an estimated 100 million sharks, largely due to overfishing, where they are caught intentionally for finning or incidentally as bycatch."
Lindsay L. Graff reports for the Washington Post July 27, 2025.
Advertisement 
