Diving into Shark Week

This week, terrified audiences have watched in silent — and dry — awe as sharks swam from the murky depths into their living rooms. The devoted, cultish following of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week bask in the artificial glow of the week-long marathon of all things shark. More importantly, though, Shark Week proves TV can be more than the cheap thrill. It can be important.

In its 23rd season, the look into the terrors of the deep has consistently garnered more than 20 million viewers. Discovery built its impressive commercial success since Shark Week's debut in 1995 through following a typical formula for popular television.
This path helps grab the high numbers network executives drool over. The content — long a sense of terror and fascination in our culture — acts as the initial hook.

Then the drama unfolds. The content itself is naturally dramatic — watching the great beasts break the barrier between water and air on their stunning attacks creates its own drama.

The most important aspect of Shark Week is its demand that TV can affect issues and events outside the tangible television. Discovery’s online educational resources on animal conservation dare to be something more than TV.

In today’s TV world, short, empty sitcoms and even emptier reality TV shows grab the most attention and discussion. While Shark Week employs many of the same tactics as popular TV shows, its educational content shows promise that TV can break that mold. Shark Week proves TV does not always have to follow the viewers’ wants.

With more than 20 million people watching shows about the necessity of shark preservation, the anatomy of sharks and the truth behind their rare but deadly attacks, we are fostering a respectful and informed social conscious.

Sure, we can't fully bridge a gap between ourselves and the giant fish who don’t recognize humans, but that attempt to learn about the watery world shows genuine concern and interest on our part.

Other preservation efforts should note Shark Week’s success and harness the power of TV.

Perhaps its naïve to think, but Shark Week could be the great white hope of animal conservation projects.