I’ve never understood why it’s called Shark Tank. The UK one is called Dragon’s Den, and to me it makes sense, because dragons hoard gold, but sharks don’t do anything like that as far as I know.
You and your business are bait for the “Sharks” to see who is willing to take a bite first, often causing competition. Probably based on divers using shark cages than swimming in an aquarium but “Shark Cage” doesn’t hit the same and is likely copyrighted
It’s derived from the word shark as business jargon, typically used to refer to a stingy yet wealthy investor who will require some extra convincing in order to go along with an idea.
Part of the: “Jaws is more prominent in pop culture than actual shark facts” bullshit that keep people thinking that sharks are the embodiment of evil.
Which is why going in front of such investors has been referred to in the business World as, swimming with the sharks.
Personally I like the Dragon’s Den name better but I see why it wouldn’t fly in america. The name sounds quite mystical and could easily be mistaken for a martial arts program or Eastern fantasy flick.
That and Americans tend to see billionaires and millionaires in a positive light, often prayed around as examples of the kind of people you should aspire to be. The kind of evil associated with sharks is more of a primal hunger that needs to be satiated (so “cool evil”), whereas dragons or more intentional and calculated kind of evil. (So “bad evil”)
Admittedly as the buying power of the dollar decreases and we see more and more how countries outside of America tend to do astronomically better in terms of health care affordability and labor rights, the image of billionaires as the upper crust, the creme de La Creme…
Has definitely shifted a bit say the very least.
I mean if you want proof of that just look at what popular opinion of Donald Trump was in the 90s compared to today.
Back in the 90s he was the definition of corporate cool. Cameo appearances of the Donald in things like Pizza Hut commercials and several pieces of film media such as Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Home Alone 2, and a little known Bo Derrick comedy called Ghosts Can’t Do it…
Were typically seen as positive and the idea of Donald Trump running for president was taken about as seriously as the idea of Oprah Winfrey running for president.
Nowadays, he may be the most hated man in America.
I’ve never understood why it’s called Shark Tank. The UK one is called Dragon’s Den, and to me it makes sense, because dragons hoard gold, but sharks don’t do anything like that as far as I know.
You and your business are bait for the “Sharks” to see who is willing to take a bite first, often causing competition. Probably based on divers using shark cages than swimming in an aquarium but “Shark Cage” doesn’t hit the same and is likely copyrighted
It’s derived from the word shark as business jargon, typically used to refer to a stingy yet wealthy investor who will require some extra convincing in order to go along with an idea.
Part of the: “Jaws is more prominent in pop culture than actual shark facts” bullshit that keep people thinking that sharks are the embodiment of evil.
Which is why going in front of such investors has been referred to in the business World as, swimming with the sharks.
Personally I like the Dragon’s Den name better but I see why it wouldn’t fly in america. The name sounds quite mystical and could easily be mistaken for a martial arts program or Eastern fantasy flick.
That and Americans tend to see billionaires and millionaires in a positive light, often prayed around as examples of the kind of people you should aspire to be. The kind of evil associated with sharks is more of a primal hunger that needs to be satiated (so “cool evil”), whereas dragons or more intentional and calculated kind of evil. (So “bad evil”)
Admittedly as the buying power of the dollar decreases and we see more and more how countries outside of America tend to do astronomically better in terms of health care affordability and labor rights, the image of billionaires as the upper crust, the creme de La Creme…
Has definitely shifted a bit say the very least.
I mean if you want proof of that just look at what popular opinion of Donald Trump was in the 90s compared to today.
Back in the 90s he was the definition of corporate cool. Cameo appearances of the Donald in things like Pizza Hut commercials and several pieces of film media such as Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Home Alone 2, and a little known Bo Derrick comedy called Ghosts Can’t Do it…
Were typically seen as positive and the idea of Donald Trump running for president was taken about as seriously as the idea of Oprah Winfrey running for president.
Nowadays, he may be the most hated man in America.
It’s because in American capitalism being a predator is considered a virtue.