The 1975 film Jaws is famous for its theme song, whose low notes repeat and sound like "ba-bum, ba-bum." John Williams, who composed the music for countless masterpieces including Star Wars and Harry Potter, adapted the introduction of the fourth movement of Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, From the New World. Later, audiences felt a sense of fear, as if a man-eating shark were approaching from the sea, just by hearing that sound.
Generation Alpha is different these days. It brings to mind the lyrics "Baby shark doo doo doo doo doo doo," first released on YouTube in 2015 by the Korean corporations The Pinkfong Company. Perhaps thanks to the baby shark in the animation, sharks, which had been synonymous with fear in film and TV for the past 50 years, have now transformed into a neutral image. Some even see them as dignified and cool. Scientists welcomed the image shift, saying it could positively influence efforts to conserve endangered species.
◇ 66% of words describing sharks are neutral in tone
The University of South Australia said on Feb. 3 (local time) that "a team led by psychology professor Carla Litchfield and Dr. Brianna Le Busque found that, contrary to expectations, 66% of the words people associate with sharks reflected neutral images." The findings were published in the international journal Wildlife Research.
The researchers asked 371 people in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom to describe sharks in three words. They created a word cloud that displayed more frequently used words in larger type. Although words like "teeth," "jaws" and "predator" appeared often, two-thirds of the terms were classified as neutral expressions reflecting basic biological knowledge rather than emotion.
Participants who perceived sharks as high risk used expressions such as "killer," "fierce" and "danger" more often, similar to language common in mass media. Those who perceived sharks as low risk used relatively softer words, such as "cute" and "misunderstood."
Le Busque said, "These findings show that public perceptions of sharks are far more nuanced than the common stereotype in mass media of a 'menacing predator,'" adding, "We in fact found a considerable number of positive words such as 'majestic,' 'beautiful' and 'fascinating.'"
Australian researchers have been examining how films have influenced public images of sharks. Sharks are a staple in movies. In 2023, the team reviewed 638 animal films on IMDb, an online movie database. The most frequently featured animal was the shark (19.5%). Next were insects and arachnids (18.7%), dinosaurs (11.5%), snakes (7.7%) and crocodilians (5.7%). Dinosaurs and primates appeared frequently in the 1920s and 1930s, but sharks have been common in recent decades.
Le Busque said, "Because people rarely have direct contact with sharks, most of what they know about them comes from TV or movies," adding, "This fosters 'galeophobia,' one of the most common phobias."
In films, sharks have long played the role of the villain. Following Jaws, movies such as The Shallows (2016) and The Meg (2018) depicted sharks intentionally hunting and attacking humans. In 2022, Australian researchers reported that 96% of 109 shark films listed on IMDb portrayed sharks as a potential threat to humans. Only one film did not depict them as a threat.
◇ Cases of sharks attacking humans first are rare
Unlike in movies, very few people die from shark attacks in reality. According to the Florida Museum, there were 88 cases worldwide in 2024 in which sharks attacked humans, and only 47 involved sharks attacking first without human provocation. There were seven fatal shark attacks, and only four of those involved sharks striking first.
The researchers said sharks are not the more threatening beings to humans—humans are. According to the International Transport Forum, 32,707 people died in traffic accidents worldwide last year. Humans are, in fact, more threatening to sharks. Sharks are threatened with extinction. Since 1970, over the past 50 years, they have been overfished for squalene and culinary fins and caught as bycatch on hooks set for other fish, reducing their numbers by 71%.
Squalene is a lipid molecule extracted from shark liver that, when administered with a vaccine, induces a stronger and longer-lasting immune response. It is mainly used as an adjuvant in influenza (flu) vaccines, and, thanks to its excellent moisturizing and impurity-absorbing properties, is also used as a cosmetic ingredient.
The scientific community assessed that changing perceptions of sharks could positively affect efforts to conserve these endangered animals. If people view them as dangerous to humans, it is easy to think their extinction would be of no consequence. The Australian researchers explained, "These results suggest that while fear of sharks persists, many people now perceive sharks as ecologically important and awe-inspiring animals."
References
Wildlife Research (2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1071/WR25068
Journal of Environmental Media (2023), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/jem_00096_1
Human Dimensions of Wildlife (2022), DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2021.1951399