First off, I’d just like to say I’m not sure of the appropriateness of naming a show “Voodoo Shark” just because it happens in Louisiana…
It has nothing to do with voodoo and what does it say when anything that happens in Louisiana has to involve the word voodoo. What is that about.
Anyways Voodoo Shark is a mockumentary featured during Shark Week 2013 about a legendary shark in Louisiana called the Rooken.
The Rooken supposedly lurked in Louisiana’s bayous.
The Rooken is not real. It is literally an obscure legend.
The science behind Voodoo Shark? There is none.
Discovery in essence tricked scientists into participating in their mockumentary.
“One of the guys was like, “Oh, maybe you should just let it bite you, that would be so exciting.’ And I was just thinking to myself, ‘Are you kidding me? You really think I wanna let the shark bite me just for ratings? Are you serious?’ ” – marine biologist Jonathan Davis discussing his participation in the Voodoo Shark program
This is a common tactic for Shark Week in recent years. As I’ve said before, it’s all sensationalism. We’ve stepped away from revering and respecting sharks and moved to fake documentaries and shark bite shows. I grew up watching lemon sharks in nurseries on the Discovery channel… I grew up to find a channel now filled with mockumentaries. Tricks, to make money.
Shows like Megalodon. Submarine. And mermaids.
So here we are, in 2015, after suffering through numerous mockumentaries… we have Shark Week 2015. While I have my suspicions about “The Cuban“, it seems like there might not be a mockumentary in the tv lineup this year. That would be a great development for the Sharks and little kids everywhere, we do not need sharks demonized any further and it’d be nice to go back to educational programming.