Since that fateful summer of Jaws, a few more shark-themed movies have made it big, including Deep Sea Blue, The Shallows, 47 Meters Down and Open Water. And in case you’re missing old sharkey, there’s a new fish-film out: Great White, which promises 100 minutes of nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat entertainment.
There are, of course, a wealth of ocean-themed movies that aren’t all about sharks. Some of the best ocean movies include White Squall (battling a storm), Happy Feet (opposing a penguin emperor), Cast Away (struggling against remoteness), Captain Phillips (battling pirates – the real kind), The Life Aquatic (whoops, here’s a shark protagonist, too) – the list goes on.
If nothing else, these films increase our interest in the sea – and consequently, something known as The Nemo Effect along with it. This phenomenon refers to the fact that the more focus a species gets in pop culture, the greater the desire to bring home said species to keep (case in point: clownfish after the hit that was Finding Nemo). We say enjoy the film and leave the animal living to nature.