Sharks in Movies : Discovery Channel

Sharks in Movies: From Sharksploitation to Shark Heroism

Sharkwater

Mutant sharks have become somewhat prevalent in the Shark Attack films, the Bond villain-like brainy sharks of the Deep Blue Sea, and the pseudo gothic creatures of Dark Waters. The plots somewhat differed, but the basic premise revolved around scary destructive sharks with a hunger for humans.

However, a new type of shark movie is emerging, one where sharks and conservationists are the heroes. The feature-film documentary Sharkwater, scheduled for release in U.S. theaters this fall, is poised to take on this gauntlet. Filmmaker Rob Stewart said he "almost died a half dozen times" during the making of the film, although in each case humans were to blame.

Stewart and Paul Watson, of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, battle real-life shark poachers from their ship, the Ocean Warrior. Their encounters result in pirate-boat rammings, gunboat chases, Mafia espionage and even attempted murder charges that force the two men to flee for their lives. During the filming, Stewart also came down with flesh-eating disease, dengue fever, West Nile virus and tuberculosis, practically all at the same time. Real life, as it turns out, can be scarier than Hollywood shark depictions.

Stewart thinks past directors did not understand the environmental consequences of their works, which he said, "united the public against these so-called shark monsters." Now, with nearly all shark species suffering dangerously low population counts, Stewart and other like-minded filmmakers hope to turn the tide. "I wanted to make a film that shows sharks the way they really are, as beautiful and magnificent creatures that don't want to hurt humans, and to show how our fear has blinded us to the fact that their populations have been reduced by 90 percent over the past 50 years," he explained. "I believe we need a new relationship with the natural world. For humans to survive on Earth beyond the next hundred years, caring for the environment has to become cool."

In the meantime, shark film classics continue to generate thrills, goose bumps and maybe even a few unintended laughs. It's hard not to enjoy the campy 1958 cult flick, She Gods of Shark Reef, where nubile young women save a pair of shipwrecked fugitives from shark-infested waters. Virgin sacrifices to a shark god dial up the delicious camp factor.

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