When the opportunity arose for a blog to be written for the 50th anniversary of Jaws, the hands of bloggers Sarah G, opens a new window and Esteban S, opens a new window shot up very quickly. But what can you say that hasn’t already been said? In the past 50 years, there isn’t much that hasn’t been discussed about the movie Jaws: the unintentional suspense created by mishaps with the mechanical shark, opens a new window nicknamed "Bruce," the haunting speech by Quint about the USS Indianapolis, opens a new window, the iconic and thrilling soundtrack, opens a new window.
You can listen to the theme from Jaws as well as other songs that the composer John Williams created for Steven Spielberg films on Freegal, opens a new window!
We decided to take a more personal angle and talk a little bit about what this 50-year-old movie based on a book, opens a new window about a small town being terrorized by a giant shark on the 4th of July means to at least two kids that grew up in the 1990s and early 2000s.
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What was your first experience with Jaws?
Sarah: I probably watched Jaws for the first time when I was 5. I had a lot of older siblings, and they were not going to change their evening plans on my behalf. So, I watched all kinds of horror movies that I probably shouldn’t have from a very young age. That meant, of course, that I was afraid of swimming, even in pools where I was definitely not in that kind of danger. This movie is well-known for having that effect on people.
Esteban: I’m pretty sure I first saw Jaws as a 6- or 7-year-old. My parents had it on VHS, and even though I feared everything, I was absolutely mesmerized by Bruce! I remember being scared, but in a way that I could handle, similar to reading a Goosebumps, opens a new window book. I’m not sure how much I appreciated the writing or suspense as a child, but I was captivated by that giant mechanical shark. I think I was even a little sad to see him get blown up. -
How many times do you think you’ve seen the movie?
Sarah: Whoof. Probably more than 10 times. As an adult it is a movie that I usually put on around the 4th of July as a yearly patriotic tradition of watching a movie about a politician who lets his constituents get eaten by a shark.
Esteban: I must have watched it almost a dozen times as a kid, but I haven’t rewatched it much as an adult. Ballpark, I must have seen it almost 20 times? -
Have you ever read the book that the movie is based on?
Sarah: I have not read the original book, but for some reason I read the novelization of the sequel film. I think my mom must have gotten it from a garage sale. Maybe this is one of the rare instances where the movie is better than the book? Is that blasphemy?
Esteban: No, I have not read the book, and while we’re on the topic, I’ve also never read Jurassic Park. It’s my great shame as a librarian that I haven’t read these classics, but every time I try to, it just makes me want to watch the movie. -
Do you think that Jaws is still relevant to present day audiences?
Sarah: I’d like to say yes. It is worth watching if you love other Spielberg films, if you want to see the Rosetta Stone for so many future action and horror films, or if you just like to have a good time. But I will say that a couple of Halloweens ago my husband and I did a couple's costume thing where I dressed as the shark from the movie Jaws and my husband dressed as Quint the shark hunter and no one at the Halloween party knew who we were. I guess it is a little unfair to assume that people our age or younger know about Jaws, a movie that was originally released fifty years ago.
Esteban: Absolutely! It’s a great creature feature with effects that still hold up. Of course, a prevailing theme in Jaws is the struggle between capital and safety. The human villain in the movie is the mayor who prioritizes profits over his citizens’ lives, and that’s something that we sadly see reflected in our reality today. -
What is your relationship to the films of Steven Spielberg, opens a new window?
Sarah: Steven Spielberg is probably one of the first film directors that people our age were aware of and thought of as a director. A little film that you may have heard of called Jurassic Park, opens a new window was another Spielberg creation that loomed large in my childhood. Many of us also grew up on the Indiana Jones, opens a new window movies and were probably also traumatized by the heart-wrenching ending of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, opens a new window at an early age. If you love later Spielberg and have not already seen Jaws, you should check it out!
Esteban: E.T., Jaws, and Jurassic Park (and its sequels) were constantly rotated in our house thanks to me. I was infatuated with the creatures and stories that Spielberg created. His movies made me want to learn more about animals, extinct and extant. I almost became a paleontologist because of him before I realized how grueling and unlucrative that would be. I haven’t seen every Spielberg film, but I’ll always credit him for making my favorite movie ever, Jurassic Park. -
Jaws is the first summer blockbuster, opens a new window, a movie that made millions of dollars. What do you think about the legacy of Jaws?
Sarah: For better or worse, we are now in a world where movie studios are always chasing big blockbuster hits. This crowds out a lot of smaller, quieter films. In a lot of ways, big blockbuster filmmakers like Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are responsible for that. It also spawned a bunch of terrible sequels, opens a new window and imitation creature-focused horror films. I don’t want to be a total curmudgeon about it, though. Popular films are popular for a reason; they attract and entertain millions of people. And just like Esteban mentions, the film Jaws still has themes that are unfortunately always relevant about the dangers and evils of valuing money and livelihoods over human lives and safety. Maybe what I would like to see more often these days is for films that don’t talk down to audiences, that are both entertaining and have something important to say.
Esteban: Jaws is just iconic. While it wasn’t the first “man vs monster” movie, it honed the perfect formula of tension, action, and shock that movies to this day imitate. Without Jaws, we wouldn’t have gotten the hundreds of other giant animal movies like Lake Placid, Anaconda, Eight-Legged Freaks, Piranha, and every other shark movie. All of which were watched multiple times by yours truly. Sadly, Jaws’ impact on pop culture didn’t stop at movies. The film made people fear sharks so much that these creatures became vilified and hunted for sport. It unintentionally made people think sharks were bloodthirsty killers when in reality, sharks rarely attack humans intentionally. -
What is your favorite "Jaws-a-like", the many imitation films that came out in the years after Jaws?
Sarah: The Jaws imitator that I have probably seen the most is Deep Blue Sea, opens a new window. “My hat is like a shark’s fin” is one of the greatest lines in any made-for-a-soundtrack rap song. What’s scarier than a giant shark? A giant shark that has been made super intelligent by science! I also always loved Tremors, opens a new window. Kevin Bacon stars in this movie about a terrestrial monster that flies out of the sand and dirt of the desert and attacks anything that moves.
Esteban: I watched any and every movie about a giant creature attacking people, especially all the shark movies that came on the SyFy channel. The one that triumphs above them all has to be Deep Blue Sea. I loved the sharks and the conflict in that movie. I’m a sucker for science gone wrong and horror movies where people are trapped in some sort of base/station.
Have you ever seen the movie Jaws? If not, now is a great time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this classic film and borrow it from the library! You can also check out some of the many creature features that followed. We hope you'll share your experiences and love for the film Jaws in our comments.
Saving Jaws, opens a new window
47 Meters Down, opens a new window
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