As 30 Rock’s Tracy Jordan once advised, “Live every week like it’s Shark Week.” But now, that may not be the best advice (not that it ever was).
Discovery Channel’s Shark Week had been a summer institution since 1988, filling a week of programming with all things sharks. Originally developed to shatter misconceptions about sharks and raise awareness, Shark Week has departed into a week-long sensationalized horror-fest largely centered around great whites.
While Discovery is still doing some cools things during the week, it’s buried under a pile of misleading programming. On Sunday, the channel kicked off the week with the documentary “Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine.” The documentary features footage from the sinking of the Joy Ride on the South African coast and the vicious attack of the 35-foot massive great white, Submarine.
Discovey.com features clips of experts pontificating on the event, like shark researcher Mel Thurmond who believes that “regardless of what the officials think or what the officials want the public to think, I believe that the footage taken from the Joy Ride supports our theory that Submarine exists.”
Problem is, the footage is fake. And better yet, Mel Thurmond is fake. Who really knows what “officials” he’s referring to? According to his website he works for the South African Institute for Marine Research, which is also fake. In fact, the entire Joy Ride/Submarine attack story is fake. What’s worse is that Discovery Channel may be sensationalizing a real life event that lead to two passenger deaths. In 2012, a boat capsized off of Hout Bay, where the Submarine fiction takes place. To some, the Submarine attack story makes a mockery of a real life tragedy and puts blame on a creature that doesn’t even exist.
This isn’t the first time that Shark Week has unloaded a pile of shark propaganda on its viewers. Last year, it premiered “Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives,” about a monster shark that has possibly emerged from its one million-year extinction. Pilgrim Studios, the production company behind both fakes documentaries, writes on its “about” page that “We may be known for non-fiction television, but the scripted side of our business is growing rapidly, too,” which might help explain why there is no clear line between real and fake in either of these shows. Another rendition of “Megalodon” is set to premiere this week. According to Discovery, “‘Megalodon: The New Evidence’ will present Shark Week viewers with shocking new evidence and interview footage.”
The most troubling aspect of these productions is that they garner experts, not just a bunch of Mel Thurmonds. According to i09, however, Discovery Channel producers lied, withheld information and misled expectations to get those experts to appear in the “documentaries.” The edit room also worked some magic, making it seem as if experts were providing answers to questions they were never actually asked.
Is there anything wrong with a fake documentary on monster sharks for entertainment’s sake? No. But when it comes to misleading millions of viewers on sharks–many of whom get their only education on sharks from Shark Week–it’s plain wrong. And it’s the exact reason Shark Week began in the first place, to demystify some of the most elusive and awe-inspiring creatures on our planet.
(h/t Vox, i09)
