Spielberg regrets 'Jaws' impact on decimation of shark population

Researchers have blamed films such as "Jaws" for playing a role in the public's perception of sharks, driving support for killing them.

Others, however, argue that this attributes too much significance to the influence of Hollywood.

The others are right. The major reason of killing of sharks is over fishing. This is due to the Chinese love of eatting shark fins as they pay big money for the fins.

There are many other Hollywood movies about killer animals (killer whale, bear, snakes etc). I do not hear research saying they are playing a part in the killing of those animals. Oh, wait. I forgot thise movies are not made by Stephen Spielberg. LOL.

People were scared of sharks long before Jaws arrived on the scene.

yoshisan88 is entirely correct.

Spielberg...you're not that important buddy.

Jaw's definitely put me off going to the seaside.

"Spielberg's Oscar-winning thriller told the story of a man-eating great white shark that attacked a U.S. seaside town, prompting a rise in sports fishing across America."

Really? I don't think many sport fishermen would spend the kind of money it takes to pursue the sport to fish for sharks. Marlin, Sailfish and Tuna are the target. Sport fishermen account for a very small percentage of fish taken anyway.

Well, Mr. Spielberg.....Everything that we do has consequences!

The biggest impact to sharks came when countries like China, Korea, Japan, and other asian countries moved away from being third-world countries. The upgrading of their fishing fleets and the spending power in those countries are the primary causes for the decimation of most of the marine species.

Japan is the main culprit, but China and Korea are catching up. If they only fished in their own waters then the world would be a better place.

I didn't start hating or fearing sharks because of Jaws.

I did start fearing Peterbilts after watching Duel though.

I'm a little surprised the movie didn't put people off going to sea in small boats. Movies with air crashes in them don't encourage people to fly.

It's not really the fault of a movie if people are so immature and inadequate as to consider killing animals a sport. And Spielberg didn't write the book. He didn't even write the screenplay. His input on the raw content is minimal. He can only claim credit for directorial aspects of the first movie. And nobody puts the sequels on their CV.

Apologising for things you aren't responsible for only serves to boost vicarious atonement - which has no place in a civilised society or legal system - and encourages censorship in the arts.

People kill animals for fun because they are vile, unethical or damaged. I guess sometimes their parents can take some of the blame if they were particularly lacking, but ultimately, an individual must accept culpability for their own crimes and failings.

Will he be apologising to the scientific establishment for painting them as the bad guys to an impressionable audience in 'E.T.'?

TL;DR (prev comment). The overwhelming majority of viewers did not go out and kill sharks after watching the movie. This tells us that the movie was not the problem. The problem lay in the mentality of the small minority who did choose to go out and slaughter living creatures for fun, and that minority are culpable for their behaviour.

Wow.... someone sure has an oversized ego. Dude.... you aren't that influential NOR important.