It's quite the achievement for such a leathery old thing.
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Fifty years ago, the movie Jaws seemed to guarantee the shark's villainy forever. With its dead eyes and mouthful of serrated blades, nature's ultimate hitman could empty beaches on the rumour of a fin slicing through water or a shadow lurking in the shallows.
But a remarkable image makeover has transformed a monster into a martyr. Anyone who's felt the wrath of cancel culture would love to know this killing machine's secret.
Except there is no secret.
The shark's elevation from sinner to saint is thanks to misplaced human sanctimony and a value system increasingly out of whack.