Has the ominous theme of Jaws played a role in the support shark conservation efforts receive? Research by Dr. Andrew P. Nosal, Dr. Elizabeth A. Keenan and UC San Diego, in August 2016 says “yes,” and indicates that the frequent usage of foreboding background music in shark documentaries has also been effective in compromising the endangerment status of sharks.
Over a quarter of sharks are considered as “ Threatened” status with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and despite changing perceptions, conservationists have found support challenging to gain. The research demonstrated in a survey that “Australians estimated that 7 to 9 fatal and 20 to 30 non-fatal shark bites occur every year in Australia, compared to the average of 1.1 fatal and 9.3 non-fatal bites per year that actually occurred between 1990 and 2010,” and this is just one example of how skewed perceptions remain.
The study consisted of three experiments that compared how different music affected how people viewed shark documentaries. In the final experiment, participants watch part of a shark documentary and each person had one of three “background themes” playing, one ominous, one uplifting, and one was silent. Afterward, they were asked about their feelings toward sharks after that, and they were prompted to donate. It was found that those who heard uplifting music were much more likely to donate, however, despite the fact the silence and ominous music participants had negative feelings toward sharks afterward, it had no effect on whether they would donate.
“Despite the ongoing need for shark conservation and management, prevailing negative sentiments marginalize these animals and legitimize permissive exploitation,” Nosal wrote. While the general impression of sharks has vastly improved over the last decade, the efforts toward their conservation has not increased as extensively, and a major part of this comes from oceanic documentaries and the music used when portraying sharks.
Over a quarter of sharks are considered as “ Threatened” status with extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and despite changing perceptions, conservationists have found support challenging to gain. The research demonstrated in a survey that “Australians estimated that 7 to 9 fatal and 20 to 30 non-fatal shark bites occur every year in Australia, compared to the average of 1.1 fatal and 9.3 non-fatal bites per year that actually occurred between 1990 and 2010,” and this is just one example of how skewed perceptions remain.
The study consisted of three experiments that compared how different music affected how people viewed shark documentaries. In the final experiment, participants watch part of a shark documentary and each person had one of three “background themes” playing, one ominous, one uplifting, and one was silent. Afterward, they were asked about their feelings toward sharks after that, and they were prompted to donate. It was found that those who heard uplifting music were much more likely to donate, however, despite the fact the silence and ominous music participants had negative feelings toward sharks afterward, it had no effect on whether they would donate.
“Despite the ongoing need for shark conservation and management, prevailing negative sentiments marginalize these animals and legitimize permissive exploitation,” Nosal wrote. While the general impression of sharks has vastly improved over the last decade, the efforts toward their conservation has not increased as extensively, and a major part of this comes from oceanic documentaries and the music used when portraying sharks.