Everything Jaws Gets Wrong About Sharks

The portrayal of sharks in Jaws is pop culture’s most famous, but in actuality, just about everything the great white does in the movie is inaccurate. Ever since the massive success of Jaws, sharks have continuously played the role of monster in movies, and it’s not hard to see why. Sleek, powerful predators, sharks are amazing, frightening creatures to watch work, as can be seen in any nature documentary involving them. Especially the bigger types of shark, such as great whites.

Sometimes they’re taken seriously, such as in Open Water or The Shallows, and sometimes they’re played for laughs, such as in Sharknado or Sharktopus. Either way, shark movies don’t appear to be on the way out anytime soon. Unfortunately, the huge amount of movies about killer sharks hasn’t helped the animal’s real-life reputation. Many shark species are endangered in real-life, with some on the verge of total extinction. Those afraid of sharks might be inclined to cheer for that prospect, but like every other native animal, sharks play a vital role in their ecosystem.

Sharks being endangered is almost entirely due to human activities, and the perception most people have of them as villains isn’t helping matters. Sadly, this perception mostly began with Jaws, both the Steven Spielberg movie, and the Peter Benchley novel that spawned it.

Everything Jaws Gets Wrong About Sharks

To be clear, Jaws gets almost nothing correct about shark behavior, and that’s not even including the sequels. No, Jaws: The Revenge‘s shark that roars like a lion is not based in reality. For one, sharks rarely attack people, much less are responsible for multiple attacks in the same area of the ocean. Additionally, shark attacks rarely end in the person actually being swallowed, as they’re usually bitten into and then spit out, or just bitten and escape entirely. Most sharks want nothing to do with people, and for good reason, as sharks end up killed by humans much more often than the other way around, with sharks often being caught by fisherman, having their fins chopped off, then tossed back into the sea to die.

Additionally, Jaws includes a conversation between Brody and Hooper that references an old, now heavily discredited theory about a lone “rogue shark” who’s somehow developed a taste for human flesh that will then in turn actively hunt humans in the same area. In actuality, most sharks travel alone as a matter of course, and again, rarely bother with humans. There are much easier meals for a shark to obtain. Additionally, Jaws also gets some other shark facts oddly wrong, at one point asserting that sharks can live thousands of years, when a great white’s lifespan is likely closer to 60 years. Also, even a large great white wouldn’t be able to submerge with multiple heavy barrels attached to it. Jaws is a great film, but educational about sharks it’s definitely not.

About The Author