its just seems so random. theres a week dedicated to shark tv programming. and you guys are so into it. love it. its funny.

40 comments

  1. It’s just a one channel thing. Other channels do other stuff. People like sharks. But it jumped the shark a long time ago. Discovery Channel is pretty much dead to me.

  3. it was a big thing 20 years ago. it still happens, but since the age demographic it’s aimed at are largely streaming, it’s not as popular as it used to be.

    it’s cool because it’s SHARKS! Sharks are cool! Science shows about sharks are cool! Americans are occasionally motivated by science and neat animals. Sorta like the enduring popularity of Jurassic Park.

    Once upon a time, this country used to lead in science education. That demographic was the one who cared about shark week.

  5. It’s just one channel and I think you’re way overestimating how “so into it” we are. I haven’t had anyone mention it to me in years and I don’t watch it.

  6. It’s just on one channel. It’s actually not that big of a deal. I haven’t watched anything during shark week since high school

  7. Isn’t marketing amazing! Talk about sharks before everyone hits the beaches in the summer and they will eat that shit up

  9. Do any channels besides Discovery do shark week? I guess there are other channels run by the same owners, so they might promote it too.

    But Discovery jumped the shark (ha!) many years ago, shark week was interesting when it was actually about science and conservation and not fauxumentaries about how Megalodon still exists.

  12. “Shark week” is a thing a single television channel (Discovery, a science channel) does, that they try to make into a big event to sell ads.

    This is not to say there aren’t people who get completely hyped about Shark Week. I don’t know any. I don’t even know anyone who has cable television anymore and can watch that channel.

  13. It isn’t much of a thing. It’s a giant ad for 1 channel. People aren’t “so into it”. People don’t really care about it. Though that’s not to say no one is into it, but no more than any other lower network promotional week.

    >love it. its funny.

    What’s funny is foreigners trying to tell us what we are so into.

  15. It was a marketing thing on one channel that became a fun cultural meme. It was always more of a meme than an actual cultural phenomenon, but the internet had fun with it.

    It’s not really a thing anymore since nobody watches cable anymore, but the legacy of the meme still exists.

  16. I graduated HS in 2005. I have never heard anyone talk about it in real life. Being into it and hyping it up is an internet joke.

  17. Discovery Channel started it years ago as a promotional thing for ratings. It caught on and stuck around. Initially, I think it was more informative and intended to raise awareness of how horrifically fucked up stuff like shark fin soup is, to raise awareness of their importance in the ecosystem, and how they shouldn’t be as villainized as they are. Of course it’s degraded to just a bunch of “hey, maybe Megalodons are still alive!” bullshit, but I think it started out with some good intentions.

  19. The discovery channel started it back when they still played decent science content, I think it might have been an honest attempt to clear up misconceptions about how dangerous sharks are to humans, and get people to be less afraid of them. It worked because sharks are cool and anyone who was a kid like 20-25 years ago bought into the hype and it just became a big thing for a while. I don’t think it’s as popular as it used to be, I haven’t heard anyone really talk about it beyond a comment in passing in a long time.

  21. I think the only time I’ve ever heard someone mention shark week is when I’m watching megalodon videos and they bring up that mockumentary that Animal Planet(?) made. It’s really not a huge pop culture thing

  22. It was just an event on the Discovery Channel back when they actually focused on science content. Anyone who was into the channel or nature documentaries in general got into it, but it was never a major celebration or anything like that. In my experience, the term has morphed into a euphemism for menstruation more than anything else. I seldom hear people talk about shark week as in a marathon of shark documentaries anymore.

  23. You’re way, way overestimating the importance of “shark week” in American life. It’s literally one week, on one channel.

    Most Americans have watched some of it at least once in their life, but the generalities end there. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve even heard of someone mention Shark Week in conversation.

  27. It’s just marketing by a TV channel. I don’t think viewership is even that high anymore, it lives on in jokes/memes

  28. It’s in the Constitution that we have to observe it. It’s controversial, but an amendment to fix it certainly isn’t going to happen in this political environment.

  29. I have not watched shark week in over a decade or even seen an advertisement for it for a while

  32. Sharks are older than trees! How cool is that!!

    Over a quarter of a million sharks are killed every day. How uncool is that. Sharks are fascinating!

  33. Title really threw me off, on swim team we’d refer to our periods as “shark week” 😂

  34. My neighbor refers to her period as shark week. We’re not friends.

    ETA: “we’re not friends” isn’t an insult, it’s just tmi. TIL: It’s common, possibly regional.

  35. It’s not that big of a deal, like it’s not some nationwide thing that everybody stops what they’re doing, and watches only shark programming. However, it is a campy, silly, hyperbolic, self-promoting event that is educational and entertaining and it’s fun to tune in if you have time.

  36. It’s not really a thing. 99% of the time that I hear someone talking about “shark week,” it’s a euphemism for a woman having her period

  37. In addition to what everyone else has said, I’d add that Americans are more interested in sharks for the same reason they’re more interested in tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, and grizzly bears. These are actually real things for us. Most Americans have seen a shark, at least in an aquarium. While shark attacks are rare, they’re not some mythical creature. Plus – beyond a personal safety issue, Americans have a responsibility to care for our ecosystem. The great white is classified as a vulnerable species (estimated 3500 worldwide). Massive conservation efforts have been made to save the great white.

    Also I think Americans have a higher tolerance (and desire) for violent imagery.

  40. At my old job, there was this special needs guy, really awesome and enthusiastic guy about everything. Anyways he was obsessed with sharks and talked about them to everyone, and would take off days if it was on TV, but right before that would wear this shark costume in to work and dance around in it infront of customers, it was really great.

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