# What's the big deal about "Sharknado"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948 "2013-07-19T16:05:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/1 "2013-07-19T16:05:20Z")
Full disclosure: I haven’t seen the movie. But… that being said, SyFy has come out with dozens of these stupid horror and/or sci-fi B-movies for the better part of a decade, with each more absurd than the last. What’s so special about “Sharknado”? Why is it getting such buzz, when “Mansquito”, “Mega Python vs. Gatoroid”, “Blood Monkey”, “Chupacabra vs the Alamo”, “Dinocroc vs Supergator”, or “Sharktopus” didn’t? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/2 "2013-07-19T16:39:24Z")
because - well - its sharks in a tornado. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/3 "2013-07-19T16:40:33Z")
Moved to Cafe Society. Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/4 "2013-07-19T16:43:39Z")
1. A few actors people have actually heard of. 2. Two super-monsters fighting has been done to death. 3. A mutation of two monsters or a man and monster has been done to death. 4. A Sharknado is scientifically feasible, so it preys upon our deepest fears. 5. It’s a freakin’ Sharknado. I mean, come on. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/5 "2013-07-19T16:46:32Z")
The phenomenon of events breaking into the national cultural consciousness has been studied for a long time. Here’s what we know about it: nothing. It kills any notion of psychohistory dead, though. Cultural events are all “mules” and yet have enormous effects on society. Asimov didn’t understand this because Asimov understood nothing about any of the social sciences. It’s a remarkable omission. Other than that, “stuff happens” is the only comprehensive answer we have. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/6 "2013-07-19T16:55:47Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The phenomenon of events breaking into the national cultural consciousness has been studied for a long time. > > Here’s what we know about it: nothing. > > It kills any notion of psychohistory dead, though. Cultural events are all “mules” and yet have enormous effects on society. Asimov didn’t understand this because Asimov understood nothing about any of the social sciences. It’s a remarkable omission. > > Other than that, “stuff happens” is the only comprehensive answer we have. I think it’s because it has a vaguely nightmarish quality. Just like a nightmare, things are “off” just enough to be scarey and disturbing but still close enough to reality to be scarey and disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/7 "2013-07-19T16:59:10Z")
There’s also the interesting tangential discussion that hasn’t really been examined (that I’ve seen)… As much as the media got ecstatic over the social media buzz for _Sharknado_… not that many people **watched it.** The ratings were pretty low, even adjusting for the fact it’s a cable channel some can’t even find on their dial. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/8 "2013-07-19T17:00:06Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > 1. A Sharknado is scientifically feasible, so it preys upon our deepest fears. Nothing about that movie was scientifically feasible. I think it just clicked and got traction. It was obviously going to be terrible but, unlike “Snakes on a Plane”, it didn’t cost any money to see it air and actually hit the ‘so bad it’s good’ sweet spot. That’s not easy – most things are just so bad that they remain bad and not really fun. I have no desire to ever see it a second time but it was fun to watch and make fun of the once. Beyond “Snakes on a Plane”, I think another example would be that Lindsay Lohan biopic about Elizabeth Taylor. People tuned into that to see the train wreck and it was mainly just unwatchable so everyone dropped out early. Sharknado stayed ridiculous and relatively watchable, provided you were watching to mock it. > [@johnspartan](#): > > As much as the media got ecstatic over the social media buzz for _Sharknado_… not that many people **watched it.** Supposedly the social media movement it had while airing contradicted the ratings. It’s been suggested that the audience for it just wasn’t the normal Nielsen folks so the ratings were inaccurate. Or else small group of watchers just generated a whole lot of tweets and Facebook postings per capita while it was on, talking about it. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/9 "2013-07-19T17:02:42Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Nothing about that movie was scientifically feasible. What?? Don’t come crying to me when a shark drops on you, chomping the whole way down. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/10 "2013-07-19T17:04:36Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > What?? Don’t come crying to me when a shark drops on you, chomping the whole way down. sound advice from **troutman** … ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/11 "2013-07-19T17:08:11Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > What?? Don’t come crying to me when a shark drops on you, chomping the whole way down. It looked like they were constructing a beer can chicken, only bigger. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/12 "2013-07-19T17:13:56Z")
> [@deltasigma](#): > > I think it’s because it has a vaguely nightmarish quality. Just like a nightmare, things are “off” just enough to be scarey and disturbing but still close enough to reality to be scarey and disturbing. There was nothing nightmarish, scary, or disturbing in that movie. It was more cartoonish than anything. The only disturbing thing is that Tara Reid is still finding work. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/13 "2013-07-19T17:17:38Z")
I finally watched it last night and I certainly wouldn’t say it good, or even that it is so bad it is good. But it was strangely watchable, something I cannot explain why. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/14 "2013-07-19T17:18:14Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > The only disturbing thing is that Tara Reid is still finding work. Well, now we know what got to her boob. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/15 "2013-07-19T17:22:01Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > There’s also the interesting tangential discussion that hasn’t really been examined (that I’ve seen)… > > As much as the media got ecstatic over the social media buzz for _Sharknado_… not that many people **watched it.** The ratings were pretty low, even adjusting for the fact it’s a cable channel some can’t even find on their dial. [This](http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article.cfm?articleid=2338) is referenced in a [quote from the original thread here] ([Don't miss Sharknado July 11th on Syfy - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=696055))and worth a look since it deals with this sort of issue; what is called the long tail effect (seriously) > [@](#): > > Using data on movie-rating patterns, new Wharton research challenges current thinking on the Long Tail effect – a widely publicized theory that suggests the Internet drives demand away from hit products with mass appeal, and directs that demand to more obscure niche offerings. In this particular case, the movie only cost about $1M to make and one report said they made that in ads the first night. Plus there is a Bluray/DVD on preorder (I got mine baby!) and you know kitschy merchandise has to next. Probably a comic . . . sorry, graphic novel/manga. Then anime no doubt. Fanfic spinoffs. Oh yeah baby, this love train’s just getting warmed up! ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/16 "2013-07-19T17:25:11Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The phenomenon of events breaking into the national cultural consciousness has been studied for a long time. > > Here’s what we know about it: nothing. > > It kills any notion of psychohistory dead, though. Cultural events are all “mules” and yet have enormous effects on society. Asimov didn’t understand this because Asimov understood nothing about any of the social sciences. It’s a remarkable omission. > > Other than that, “stuff happens” is the only comprehensive answer we have. Sharknado proves Psychohistory dead! Wonderful conclusion. You should publish it. I’m serious. Obviously you would have to add a couple of thousand pointless words, but it’s the type of remarkably simple logic the world is missing. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/17 "2013-07-19T17:26:05Z")
Blood Orchid and Supergator are much better SyFy Channel movies, but I guess they just weren’t over the top enough. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/18 "2013-07-19T17:27:09Z")
It was a perfect throwback to the old drive-in, B movies with cheesy effects, ridiculous plot and actors trying to keep a straight face while delivering idiotic lines. We watched it all, loved the stupidity of it all, and it was great to add comments and laugh. Sometimes a dumbass, stupid film can be quite fun to watch…and I would imagine watching this with a group of people who are, uh, “happy”, could be even more fun! ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/19 "2013-07-19T18:41:33Z")
double post ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2013, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948/20 "2013-07-19T18:45:35Z")
Tara Reid is in it. Other than that, I got nothing. > [@DMark](#): > > It was a perfect throwback to the old drive-in, B movies with cheesy effects, ridiculous plot and actors trying to keep a straight face while delivering idiotic lines. > > We watched it all, loved the stupidity of it all, and it was great to add comments and laugh. > > Sometimes a dumbass, stupid film can be quite fun to watch…and I would imagine watching this with a group of people who are, uh, “happy”, could be even more fun! This whole production reeks of “trying too hard.” I prefer unintentional badness to camp, though. Like _The Room_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-big-deal-about-sharknado/663948.md?page=2)