Transcript:

PAGE 1:

Title: SHARK WEEK: The Rise and Fall

We see a young child with small horns looking at the television in amazement, their eyes wide as screams erupt from the TV – they are watching a show on Great white sharks. The narration reads, “As a kid, I used to be really into Shark Week. My mom would always put it on for me when it was airing, and at the time, I still enjoyed cable television.”  There is a small annotation which points to a stuffed shark in the child’s arm, “beloved shark stuffie.”

In the following panel, a Great white shark emerges from the water. It has captured a bloody seal in its mouth. The accompanied narration reads, “My favorite were the videos of Great whites, they were amazing to me. They inspired me to love the ocean.” Underneath the body of text is a panel depicting an excited person with glasses and horns holding up a fish (known by the name Worm). Another annotation points and says, “Became ‘okay’ at fishing.”

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We see an image of Worm on their laptop, a shocked and confused expression on their face. The panel reads, “This year I revisited it for the first time in a decade.” It is accompanied by a small annotation pointing at the laptop, detailing, “All because I saw a weird youtube AD.” There is a small doodle of a shark eating a human.

In the continuing panel, we see an illustration of John Cena with a smug look on his face. He is wearing sunglasses while on the beach. The text states, “2024 Shark Week was hosted by John Cena… Which was an interesting choice!” A small annotation points to John Cena, saying, “Definitely doesn’t know anything about sharks.”

Next, we see another body of narration, “The decision was supposedly to increase audience engagement. Shark Week has faced a noticeable decline in recent years.” Underneath the text are two graphs – the tall one reads “30.8 Mil. Viewers, 2010” while the short one reads “6.8 Mil. Viewers, 2024.” Worm points at these two graphs with a stick, a group of three sharks surrounding them.

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Two bodies of narration states, “Is Shark Week losing its popularity sad? I’ve decided… Not really.” We see a panel of Worm closing their laptop while looking concerned. A thought bubble emerges from them, declaring, “YIKES.” Another small annotation with a shark doodle points to Worm,  “I had to close my laptop (it was garbage).”

The continuing narration reads, “The shows are dramatized, gimmicky, and spread misinformation about sharks. I remember one scene in particular where they describe them as ‘serial killers.’” Underneath the text is an annotation detailing “Actual shark week shows.” We see three panels – the first one is labeled ‘Sharkageddon” with an image of a swimmer on a raft, with sharks stalking them from underneath. The following panel is called ‘bigger & bloody,’ with a shark emerging from the water with its open mouth. The final panel is titled ‘Monsters of Oz,” with a picture of a young woman being attacked by a shark, which has grabbed onto her leg.

The final text on the page states, “Sharks are not killers! They only kill for food and self-defense.”

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The first panel depicts Worm on a comically small island – we can see a hoard of shark fins in the water surrounding them. The narration reads “We have to remember that the ocean doesn’t belong to us, it’s their home.”

Underneath is a large drawing of a shark, grouped with other small fish and bubbles. The text accompanying it reads “They are intelligent creatures who simply get a bad rap. Programs like Shark Week don’t help, they only contribute to the villainization of sharks – who currently face endangerment.

A doodle of Worm with a shark is on the bottom of the page. An annotation reads “Please remember to appreciate sharks! 🙂 Try learning about them through these valued sources. Thank you!” There is a column besides the annotation which lists a variety of credible sources. The sources are: Ocean.si.edu, Sharktrust.org, Pewtrusts.org, and Worldwildlife.org.