The Dorsal Fin

Not having any tv at home, I miss out on commercials sometimes, but this one was brought to my attention by SharkDiver’s Undewater Thrills blog via SouthernFriedScience.com

If one were to take a step back and look at the big picture when it comes to this ad, sharks seem rather harmless, given that the product being advertised is an aid to help people stop smoking. Consider this, adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 443,000 deaths in the U.S. each year, according to the CDC. The average number of fatal shark attacks for the entire world is around 5-10, depending on whose statistics you look at. So, maybe the guy in the commercial really does have bigger problems to worry about than the great white shark latched on to his arm.

David at SouthernFriedScience.com is critical of the ad due to its negative portrayal of white sharks and notes that it only reinforces the false notion that white sharks are just out there waiting to attack people. Personally, while I can see where David is coming from on some level, I think the ad is relatively harmless and fairly amusing. The shark could have easily been replaced with a dog or just about any other animal with a mouth on it and still have had the same effect. Granted, media featuring sharks tends to focus more on biting, but in the case of this commercial, the over-the-top portrayal and comical nature of the ad make me think that the ad wouldn’t evoke a sense of realism or fear into the minds of the viewers that would result swaying their opinions about sharks one way or another. At the end of the day, I think certain “educational” programs (*cough* Discovery Channel *cough*) are far more culpable for promoting negative stereotypes of sharks than a silly Nicorette commercial.

By the way, the special effects on the great white shark in this commercial beat anything I’ve seen on the big screen, to date. Kudos to the FX guys who did the cg work on this advertisement.

Even following these tips, you probably still won't get eaten by a great white shark.

According to the SF Weekly, Dr. John McCosker of the California Academy of Sciences included a tongue-in-cheek list of suggestions on how to be eaten by a white shark during his April 29th presentation, “Sharks: Why We Love, Fear, and Need Them.”

The overall theme of the presentation was one of shark conservation. However, McCosker apparently attempted to add some comedic elements to the talk with his tips on how to increase one’s odds for being involved in a white shark attack. His tips included…

• making yourself look like a natural food source of the white shark by wearing a wetsuit and floundering a top a short surfboard
• going swimming in areas in known white shark aggregation and feeding areas
• diving for abalone around the Farallon Islands (also a known aggregation spot for large white sharks)

While McCosker’s tips were likely an attempt to keep the audience’s interest piqued. None of them are really a surefire bet to cause a white shark attack, much less result in being “eaten” by a white shark. Even the abalone diver scenario at the Farallones isn’t a guarantee for a shark attack, as can be seen in the video below featuring Ron Elliott’s famous sea urchin diving among the white sharks there.

Hein Mevissen, founder of John Doe Amsterdam, recently posted the “Killing a great white shark with your bare hands” video to his YouTube channel. Much like the somewhat infamous Shark Surfer video, Mevissen’s video was also commercially produced (created for MTV Networks Europe). While the average person would know better than to assume this is anything but a piece of fictional entertainment, it’s probably only a matter of time before YouTube viewers start claiming it’s real.

Regardless, TheDorsalFin.com does not condone the barehanded killing of great white sharks (or any other killing of white sharks), the severing of human arms, or dancing upon dead shark carcasses, unless, of course, it is all done fictionally for mindless amusement and attention.

If I hear from my neighbor’s friend’s cousin’s classmate who was actually there when this really happened, I’ll be sure to let everybody know.

After watching the video purportedly of a surfer being towed by a great white shark, you might be thinking, “Is it even worth asking whether this is real or not?” However, a quick glance through some of the comments from YouTubers would tend to indicate there is much debate over the authenticity of this footage…

To get to the point, it’s not any more “real” than the last movie you saw at the theater. However, it’s not really a “hoax,” either, or at least, it wasn’t really intended to be. The hoax aspect has come into play more as a result of the responses of YouTube viewers, than as a result of the actual video content.
(continue reading…)

SyFy Channel will be unleashing what is sure to be a top-contender for Best Picture at next year’s Academy Awards. That’s right, DINOSHARK debuts tonight at 9pm on SyFy. Based on the preview, it looks like it could possibly hang with both Shark Attack 3: Megalodon and Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus in terms of cheesy effects and horrible acting.

Apparently, Dinoshark has been frozen in a glacier in Antarctica. However, it comes back to life after a piece of the glacier breaks off, allowing Dinoshark to thaw out and swim to a sunny beach in Mexico for Spring Break (consider me jealous of Dinoshark). So basically, you’ve got a cross between a shark and a dinosaur on Spring Break in Mexico. How could this movie possibly go wrong?

Oh, and did I mention that Dinoshark can apparently fly? Admittedly, it looks like Dinoshark doesn’t have quite the hang time that Mega Shark possesses, though.