I only found out about the new Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer because my social media notifications exploded. I had been tagged in posts by people calling me anti-shark and anti-environment. I was confused​, until I watched the film.

There I was, portrayed as the antagonist.

I served as Chair of Hawaii’s House Committee on Ocean, Marine Resources and Hawaiian Affairs, the body featured in the documentary for holding hearings on shark protection legislation. What the film doesn’t show is that I was one the earliest and strongest champions of the bill that banned shark fishing. I called for a hearing when others hesitated. I moved the bill to a vote despite resistance from House leadership. I worked hard to secure the support needed to pass it.

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But in the documentary, Native Hawaiians like myself—lawmakers, kūpuna (elders), and local researchers—are reduced to obstacles. We are either tokenized or vilified, while a single outsider (in this case, social media activist Ocean Ramsey) is framed as the story’s savior. This isn’t just a misrepresentation. It reflects a deeper pattern in the way mainstream documentaries often frame their stories​: who is cast as the subject, and who is cast as the object. Whose knowledge is celebrated, and whose is pushed aside.

I grew up freediving off the coast of Maui, spearfishing for fish and........

© Time