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Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
Netflix's ‘Shark Whisperer' wants us to think ‘sexy conservation' is the way to save sharks — does it have a point?
SYDNEY, July 10 — In the new Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer, the great white shark gets an image makeover — from Jaws villain to misunderstood friend and admirer. But the star of the documentary is not so much the shark, but the model and marine conservationist Ocean Ramsey (yes, that's her real name). The film centres on Ramsey's self-growth journey, with the shark co-starring as a quasi-spiritual medium for finding meaning and purpose (not to mention celebrity status). The film, and some in it, are happy to attribute Ramsey's success as a shark conservation activist to how driven and photogenic she is. Ramsey says 'People look first and listen second. I'll use my appearance, I'll put myself out there for a cause.' Her husband, the photographer Juan Oliphant, enthuses she is good for sharks partly because she is so beautiful and uses all the attention she attracts in the selfless service of sharks. The image of the long-haired, long-limbed young woman in a bikini swimming above an outsized great white shark is not a new one. Primal fears and fantasies Since Jaws (1975), generations have been fascinated and titillated by filmic images and promotional materials of bikini-clad young women juxtaposed with dangerous sharks. The heroine of Deep Blue Sea (1999) is a neuroscientist — however the film and its promotional materials still require her to appear in a wet t-shirt and underwear while pursued by a massive shark monster. The Shallows (2016) presents countless images of its bikini-clad heroine, with partially exposed bottom and long legs marked by bite marks as a kind of meat to be consumed — not least by the voyeuristic lens of the camera. The poster for 47 Meters Down: Uncaged (2019) features a bikini-clad young woman with legs dangling precariously in front of the gaping jaws of an unnaturally large great white. I have previously explored the psychosexual symbolism of these films and images. These films were never really about actual sharks. They are about very human fears and fantasies about being exposed and vulnerable. Whisperer and the Ocean Ramsey website tap into the collective fascination with dangerous sharks fuelled by popular culture. Many online images show Ramsey in a bikini or touching sharks — she's small, and vulnerable in the face of great whites. As with forms of celebrity humanitarianism, what I have dubbed 'sexy conservationism' leaves itself open to criticism about its methods — even if its intentions are good. The paradox of Shark Whisperer — and indeed the whole Ocean Ramsey empire — is it both resists and relies on Jaws mythology and iconography to surf the image economy of new media. Saving, not stalking Ramsey and Oliphant are on a mission not just to save individual sharks, but to change the public perception of great whites to a more positive one. This mission is reiterated in Shark Whisperer and in the Saving Jaws documentary linked to the website, which also promotes a book, accessories and shark-diving tours. It is reassuring to know proceeds from the bikini you buy from the official website are donated to shark conservation. But the (often sexualised) media attention which fuels the whole enterprise still depends on tapping into the legacy of popular culture representations of great whites as fearsome monsters. In footage, Ramsey seems to spend most of her time with smaller tiger sharks, yet her website and the Shark Whisperer film foreground her rare close encounters with an 'enormous' or 'massive' great white as the climax and cover shot. Shark Whisperer also includes the kind of 'money shots' we have come to expect: images of a large great white tearing at flesh (here, a whale carcass) with blood in the water. Images like these arouse our collective cultural memory of the filmic great white as the ultimate bestial predator. In its climactic scene, Whisperer strategically deploys eerie music to build the suspense and foretell the appearance of the enormous great white which rises from the depths. Again echoes of Jaws are used to stimulate viewing pleasures and sell the mixed messages of sexy shark conservation. A story of (personal) growth The self-growth narrative which underpins Whisperer will feel familiar to shark film fans. Jaws was always about overcoming fears and past traumas, as in the scene where Quint and Brody compare their real and metaphorical scars. Over the past decade, a new generation of post-feminist shark films have used sharks as metaphorical stalkers to tell stories about women overcoming past trauma, grief, 'inner darkness' or depression. In The Reef: Stalked (2022) the heroine must overcome the murder of her sister. In Shark Bait (2022) the heroine must rise above a cheating partner. In The Shallows, the heroine is processing grief. Whisperer also leans into the idea of Ramsey fighting inner demons on a journey to self-actualisation. And while Ramsey has undoubtedly raised the profile of shark conservation, as a model-designer-conservationist-entrepreneur she has also disseminated another more dubious message: that the way to enact influence and activism is through Instagrammable images of beautiful models in high-risk situations. Happy endings The end credits of Whisperer are a montage of happy endings: Ramsey frolics with sharks and shows off her diamond ring. There is even an ocean-themed wedding scene. Yet beneath all the glossy surface lies a sombre reality: globally at least 80 million sharks are killed every year. The Ramsey website and the film rightly remind us of this. They also remind us that, thanks in part to the hashtag activism of Ocean Ramsey and her millions of fans and followers, Hawaii was the first state in the United States to outlaw shark fishing. So, Ramsey may be right to argue her ends justify the means. — Reuters
CNN
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
‘Shark Whisperer' is the latest controversial entertainment to swim into our shark obsession
Netflix is taking a bite out of our cultural obsession with sharks with the new documentary, 'Shark Whisperer.' The project focuses on free-diving conservationist Ocean Ramsey (her real name), who recounts her 'fascination and kinship with one of the ocean's most feared predators,' according to Netflix. 'Her passion for sharks, who she feels are gravely misunderstood and unfairly maligned, became her life's work,' a story on the streamer's Tudum site states. 'Over 100 million sharks are killed each year, imperiling the survival of a species that is integral to a balanced marine ecosystem, and critical to a healthy Earth.' While some view sharks as scary and 'monsters,' Ramsey and her partner and videographer, Juan Oliphant, advocate for the safety of the sharks and are working on improving their image. 'I'm not a crazy person,' Ramsay says in a trailer for the project as she swims near several large sharks. 'I'm hyper aware of what they're capable of.' The new doc, from Oscar-winning director of 'My Octopus Teacher,' James Reed, is not without controversy, however. 'Ramsey's approach to her activism has drawn criticism by both members of the scientific community and the public at large; Ramsey's detractors say she is putting herself, other humans, and the sharks at risk by seeking media attention,' according to Tudum. Ramsey advocates for the protection of sharks through her social media platforms, which have more than 2 million followers on Instagram alone. 'Shark Whisperer' is currently streaming on Netflix.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The controversial shark whisperer who wants us to love Jaws – and flirts with danger
When a whale carcass became snagged on a reef off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Oahu in January 2019, 'shark influencer' Ocean Ramsey retrieved her diving gear and headed out to sea. Ramsey, who has two million Instagram followers and dozens of critics in the marine biologist community, was interested not in the whale but in what it would attract: hungry great white sharks keen on a free lunch. 'The great white – the unicorn of the ocean,' gasps Ramsey, a chic 38-year-old who has made a career out of swimming alongside and making physical contact with these monsters of the deep, in Shark Whisperer – a fascinating and sure-to-be controversial new documentary from Netflix. 'Rare to ever see, let alone be in the water and have swim up to you.' But that's what happened to Ramsey in 2019, when she went diving with her full-time filmographer (and husband) Juan Oliphant. Out in the eerie azure waters of the Pacific, Ramsey – who is anxious for it to be known that, yes, Ocean is her real name – was stunned to see a massive female great white ascend, apparition-like, from the depths. Placing her hand on its vast dorsal fin, she allowed herself to be gently pulled along. Even with her features concealed by her scuba gear, it is evident that she was having a spiritual moment. The shark – widely believed to be a 50-year-old female named Deep Blue, one of the largest great whites ever identified – appeared largely unmoved. 'Beyond magic!' Ramsey wrote on Instagram. 'Please #helpsavesharks!!!!' Ramsey grew up in Oahu, the most populous of Hawaii's islands and has swum with sharks since she was 14. Her life's mission, she explains, is to challenge the portrayal of sharks as nature's villains. 'We gotta change the music, change the way we look at sharks. Flip the perception,' she says in Shark Whisperer, co-directed by James Reed, winner of a Best Documentary Oscar for My Octopus Teacher (about a bond between a diver and an octopus). By posting her interactions with sharks on social media she hopes to help rehabilitate these misunderstood predators. 'That human component is the difference: 'Oh my gosh, maybe they're not like Jaws'.' Her swim with Deep Blue rippled across social media. It also amplified the backlash against Ramsey, as critics in the academic community argued that, far from raising awareness about sharks, she is using them to enhance her celebrity – the way other influencers would cash in on their children or pets. 'This is not shark advocacy it is selfish self-promotion,' according to Michael Domeier, President of the Hawaii-based Marine Conservation Science Institute. Shark Whisperer is a visually stunning portrait of Ramsey in her natural environment – swimming amongst sharks and, so she believes, bonding with them. However, it also raises questions about the line between advocacy and self-promotion, between campaigner and grifter. Even the title invites comment: is Ramsey a Shark Whisperer or Shark Exploiter? 'I am broadly involved in shark research and conservation and public education efforts with colleagues all over the world, and I am not aware of a single credentialed expert who thinks that what Ocean Ramsey does could possibly do anything to help anything,' Dr David Shiffman, a marine conservation scientist in Washington, DC, tells the Telegraph by email. 'Many believe she's going to get someone hurt when they try to emulate her harmful wildlife harassment, and no one thinks this could possibly help. At best, she's a mostly harmless extremist who sometimes gets in the way. She claims: 'But I'm showing that sharks aren't dangerous, and therefore I'm helping to save sharks,' but that assumes, incorrectly, that people think[ing] sharks are dangerous is why these animals are threatened.' Such claims are not supported by the science. Threats to the shark population include habitat destruction, overfishing and the demand for shark fin soup in Asia – none of which have anything to do with Jaws and the bad press it did or didn't create. 'We have mountains of data and evidence and reality showing that this is not the case,' says Dr Shiffman. 'No one has ever solved a problem after first misunderstanding what the problem is. I've also never really understood 'look, watch me annoy this wild animal and it doesn't try to kill me, therefore we should conserve it' as an argument'. There is also the fear that this influencer could prove too influential and that Ramsey's videos might encourage other divers, less experienced with sharks, to emulate her up-close-and-personal swimming, putting themselves in harm's way. 'One of the first things you learn in open-water scuba-diver training is 'look but don't touch'. We can disrupt, stress or even hurt marine wildlife, and large marine wildlife might get annoyed with us,' says Dr Shiffman. 'All it takes is one time of misunderstanding what an animal is doing and you have a really big problem.' He isn't alone in feeling Ramsey's true talent is for self-publicity; contacted for comment, Michael Domeier, of the Marine Conservation Science Institute, refers the Telegraph to a 2019 interview he gave to The Washington Post about Ramsey. 'Promoting through social media that it's safe and okay to swim with these animals is irresponsible,' Domeier said at the time. He continued: 'More than 99 per cent of sharks are not dangerous. But that happens to be one that is very dangerous. If you want to talk about sharks being not dangerous, get your picture taken with a different species, not that one.' Shark Whisperer acknowledges these critiques – though Ramsey wonders if a male diver would be subject to the same attacks. 'As a female I'll get a different level of attention and a high level of criticism,' she shrugs. 'Keyboard warriors millions of miles away… I challenge them to do better.' Not much is known about Ramsey's childhood, though in Shark Whisperer, she recalls being 'kind of a shy kid. More drawn to just interacting with animals out in nature'. Her website reveals that she started swimming with sharks in her early teens and that she studied biology at the University of Hawaii, earned a bachelor's degree in marine biology at San Diego State University, and that she has a master's degree in ethology (the study of human behaviour and social organisation from a biological perspective). Ramsey lists her role models as Sylvia Alice Earle, an American marine biologist and oceanographer, and Bella, 'a female great white shark'. She and Oliphant runs a successful shark-diving business in Oahu, which organises $150-per-head 'snorkel diving with shark expeditions'. Ramsey also offers online courses in 'Shark Behaviour and Safety for All' and 'Training for Professionals' (both for $150 (£109). A point she makes in the film is that humans and sharks will inevitably come into contact, and it is better to be prepared. 'Keeping humans and sharks apart isn't a reality. There's going to be a lot of people that want to swim, surf and dive. They're going to encounter sharks. I want people to be safe. When an accident happens, that doesn't help my cause, that doesn't help sharks conservation, that doesn't help the reputation of the shark.' Yet, critics take issue with Ramsey's description of herself as a conservationist and researcher. 'Ramsey sometimes calls herself a scientist,' says Dr Shiffman. 'I am not the 'who counts as a real scientist' police, but she does not collect data, analyse data, publish data, present at conferences or collaborate with other researchers.' The feel-good final 30 minutes of Shark Whisperer follow Ramsey as she successfully campaigns for shark protection legislation in Hawaii. But experts argue that the narrative does not necessarily paint an accurate picture. 'Ramsey's supporters point to her 'success' banning commercial shark fishing in Hawaiian waters as evidence that she's great at conservation,' says Dr Shiffman. 'This rule applies only to state waters, up to three miles out from shore, not to adjacent Federal waters, from three to 200 miles out from shore, where more than 99.9 per cent of shark fishing in the region actually happens. Ramsey knows she didn't actually help with anything, but she doesn't want you to know that because it undermines her legend.' As deep-sea eye candy, Shark Whisperer is undeniably and mesmerisingly beautiful – shots of Ramsey swimming amongst the sharks have an almost ghostly quality. But there are moments when Ramsey surely risks anthropomorphising the creatures, such as when she says that her husband and a tiger shark named Roxy have a 'connection' because both have learnt to live with serious injuries. 'They constantly struggle with pain,' she says. 'It's beautiful to see them interact'. There are echoes of Timothy Treadwell, the subject of the documentary Grizzly Man by director Werner Herzog, who saw bears as big, cuddly toys – until one turned rogue and killed him. Could the same fate befall Ramsey? It is to her credit that she has considered the possibility, as she explains at the end of Shark Whisperer. 'You never know when you're going to go. If it happens from a shark, I'm always big on going on the record of I'm putting myself these more extreme situations,' she says. 'So definitely don't blame the shark.' Shark Whisperer is on Netflix now Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. 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Telegraph
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The controversial shark whisperer who wants us to love Jaws – and flirts with danger
When a whale carcass became snagged on a reef off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Oahu in January 2019, 'shark influencer' Ocean Ramsey retrieved her diving gear and headed out to sea. Ramsey, who has two million Instagram followers and dozens of critics in the marine biologist community, was interested not in the whale but in what it would attract: hungry great white sharks keen on a free lunch. 'The great white – the unicorn of the ocean,' gasps Ramsey, a chic 38-year-old who has made a career out of swimming alongside and making physical contact with these monsters of the deep, in Shark Whisperer – a fascinating and sure-to-be controversial new documentary from Netflix. 'Rare to ever see, let alone be in the water and have swim up to you.' But that's what happened to Ramsey in 2019, when she went diving with her full-time filmographer (and husband) Juan Oliphant. Out in the eerie azure waters of the Pacific, Ramsey – who is anxious for it to be known that, yes, Ocean is her real name – was stunned to see a massive female great white ascend, apparition-like, from the depths. Placing her hand on its vast dorsal fin, she allowed herself to be gently pulled along. Even with her features concealed by her scuba gear, it is evident that she was having a spiritual moment. The shark – widely believed to be a 50-year-old female named Deep Blue, one of the largest great whites ever identified – appeared largely unmoved. 'Beyond magic!' Ramsey wrote on Instagram. 'Please #helpsavesharks!!!!' Ramsey grew up in Oahu, the most populous of Hawaii's islands and has swum with sharks since she was 14. Her life's mission, she explains, is to challenge the portrayal of sharks as nature's villains. 'We gotta change the music, change the way we look at sharks. Flip the perception,' she says in Shark Whisperer, co-directed by James Reed, winner of a Best Documentary Oscar for My Octopus Teacher (about a bond between a diver and an octopus). By posting her interactions with sharks on social media she hopes to help rehabilitate these misunderstood predators. 'That human component is the difference: 'Oh my gosh, maybe they're not like Jaws '.' Her swim with Deep Blue rippled across social media. It also amplified the backlash against Ramsey, as critics in the academic community argued that, far from raising awareness about sharks, she is using them to enhance her celebrity – the way other influencers would cash in on their children or pets. 'This is not shark advocacy it is selfish self-promotion,' according to Michael Domeier, President of the Hawaii-based Marine Conservation Science Institute. Shark Whisperer is a visually stunning portrait of Ramsey in her natural environment – swimming amongst sharks and, so she believes, bonding with them. However, it also raises questions about the line between advocacy and self-promotion, between campaigner and grifter. Even the title invites comment: is Ramsey a Shark Whisperer or Shark Exploiter? 'I am broadly involved in shark research and conservation and public education efforts with colleagues all over the world, and I am not aware of a single credentialed expert who thinks that what Ocean Ramsey does could possibly do anything to help anything,' Dr David Shiffman, a marine conservation scientist in Washington, DC, tells the Telegraph by email. 'Many believe she's going to get someone hurt when they try to emulate her harmful wildlife harassment, and no one thinks this could possibly help. At best, she's a mostly harmless extremist who sometimes gets in the way. She claims: 'But I'm showing that sharks aren't dangerous, and therefore I'm helping to save sharks,' but that assumes, incorrectly, that people think[ing] sharks are dangerous is why these animals are threatened.' Such claims are not supported by the science. Threats to the shark population include habitat destruction, overfishing and the demand for shark fin soup in Asia – none of which have anything to do with Jaws and the bad press it did or didn't create. 'We have mountains of data and evidence and reality showing that this is not the case,' says Dr Shiffman. 'No one has ever solved a problem after first misunderstanding what the problem is. I've also never really understood 'look, watch me annoy this wild animal and it doesn't try to kill me, therefore we should conserve it' as an argument'. There is also the fear that this influencer could prove too influential and that Ramsey's videos might encourage other divers, less experienced with sharks, to emulate her up-close-and-personal swimming, putting themselves in harm's way. 'One of the first things you learn in open-water scuba-diver training is 'look but don't touch'. We can disrupt, stress or even hurt marine wildlife, and large marine wildlife might get annoyed with us,' says Dr Shiffman. 'All it takes is one time of misunderstanding what an animal is doing and you have a really big problem.' He isn't alone in feeling Ramsey's true talent is for self-publicity; contacted for comment, Michael Domeier, of the Marine Conservation Science Institute, refers the Telegraph to a 2019 interview he gave to The Washington Post about Ramsey. 'Promoting through social media that it's safe and okay to swim with these animals is irresponsible,' Domeier said at the time. He continued: 'More than 99 per cent of sharks are not dangerous. But that happens to be one that is very dangerous. If you want to talk about sharks being not dangerous, get your picture taken with a different species, not that one.' Shark Whisperer acknowledges these critiques – though Ramsey wonders if a male diver would be subject to the same attacks. 'As a female I'll get a different level of attention and a high level of criticism,' she shrugs. 'Keyboard warriors millions of miles away… I challenge them to do better.' Not much is known about Ramsey's childhood, though in Shark Whisperer, she recalls being 'kind of a shy kid. More drawn to just interacting with animals out in nature'. Her website reveals that she started swimming with sharks in her early teens and that she studied biology at the University of Hawaii, earned a bachelor's degree in marine biology at San Diego State University, and that she has a master's degree in ethology (the study of human behaviour and social organisation from a biological perspective). Ramsey lists her role models as Sylvia Alice Earle, an American marine biologist and oceanographer, and Bella, 'a female great white shark'. She and Oliphant runs a successful shark-diving business in Oahu, which organises $150-per-head 'snorkel diving with shark expeditions'. Ramsey also offers online courses in 'Shark Behaviour and Safety for All' and 'Training for Professionals' (both for $150 (£109). A point she makes in the film is that humans and sharks will inevitably come into contact, and it is better to be prepared. 'Keeping humans and sharks apart isn't a reality. There's going to be a lot of people that want to swim, surf and dive. They're going to encounter sharks. I want people to be safe. When an accident happens, that doesn't help my cause, that doesn't help sharks conservation, that doesn't help the reputation of the shark.' Yet, critics take issue with Ramsey's description of herself as a conservationist and researcher. 'Ramsey sometimes calls herself a scientist,' says Dr Shiffman. 'I am not the 'who counts as a real scientist' police, but she does not collect data, analyse data, publish data, present at conferences or collaborate with other researchers.' The feel-good final 30 minutes of Shark Whisperer follow Ramsey as she successfully campaigns for shark protection legislation in Hawaii. But experts argue that the narrative does not necessarily paint an accurate picture. 'Ramsey's supporters point to her 'success' banning commercial shark fishing in Hawaiian waters as evidence that she's great at conservation,' says Dr Shiffman. 'This rule applies only to state waters, up to three miles out from shore, not to adjacent Federal waters, from three to 200 miles out from shore, where more than 99.9 per cent of shark fishing in the region actually happens. Ramsey knows she didn't actually help with anything, but she doesn't want you to know that because it undermines her legend.' As deep-sea eye candy, Shark Whisperer is undeniably and mesmerisingly beautiful – shots of Ramsey swimming amongst the sharks have an almost ghostly quality. But there are moments when Ramsey surely risks anthropomorphising the creatures, such as when she says that her husband and a tiger shark named Roxy have a 'connection' because both have learnt to live with serious injuries. 'They constantly struggle with pain,' she says. 'It's beautiful to see them interact'. There are echoes of Timothy Treadwell, the subject of the documentary Grizzly Man by director Werner Herzog, who saw bears as big, cuddly toys – until one turned rogue and killed him. Could the same fate befall Ramsey? It is to her credit that she has considered the possibility, as she explains at the end of Shark Whisperer. 'You never know when you're going to go. If it happens from a shark, I'm always big on going on the record of I'm putting myself these more extreme situations,' she says. 'So definitely don't blame the shark.' Shark Whisperer is on Netflix from June 30
Time of India
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
All The Sharks OTT release date Netflix: When and where to watch the documentary
All The Sharks OTT release date: Netflix is set to launch its new docuseries All The Sharks, diving into the fascinating and powerful realm of shark conservation. The series, titled Shark Whisperer, focuses on marine biologist Ocean Ramsey and her partner, videographer Juan Oliphant, as they gain recognition while leveraging social media to promote shark preservation and raise awareness about ocean conservation. All The Sharks OTT release date All The Sharks will be released on Netflix on 4th July 2025. What is All The Sharks about? Shark Whisperer, directed by J.P. Stiles, Harrison Macks, and Oscar-winning filmmaker James Reed (My Octopus Teacher), follows the growing public profile of Ocean Ramsey and her partner, videographer Juan Oliphant, as they use social media to promote their shark conservation efforts. The documentary also explores the controversy surrounding Ramsey's activism, with critics from both the scientific community and the public arguing that her high-profile methods may endanger herself, others, and the sharks. Through this lens, the film raises compelling and timely questions about the balance between advocacy and risk in the urgent mission to protect sharks. All The Sharks trailer The trailer was shared by Netflix on its social media pages recently. It was captioned as, 'A first of its kind competition series where four teams of shark FINatics travel the world trying to find and photograph every shark imaginable in hopes of claiming the $50,000 prize.' Who is Ocean Ramsey? Ocean Ramsey is a marine conservationist, author, and experienced free diver with over 2 million Instagram followers. Based in Oahu, she has spent more than a decade raising awareness about the harm done to sharks. She often shares videos of herself swimming without protection next to sharks like tiger sharks and great whites, which has made her a controversial figure.
