Jaws (1975): The Blockbuster That Made Us Afraid of Sharks

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…

This week we're heading to Amity Island for Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975) — the film that terrified a generation, transformed the Hollywood blockbuster and did absolutely nothing for the shark's public image.

We revisit Spielberg's troubled ocean shoot, the notoriously temperamental mechanical shark and John Williams' iconic Oscar-winning score, before diving into the moments that made Jaws one of the most effective thrillers ever made: Chrissie's terrifying opening swim, severed body parts, Ben Gardner's surprise appearance, a doomed dog, a horrifying attack on a child and, eventually, three men heading out to sea to hunt a very big fish.

But underneath the shark movie is something rather interesting.

We look at Mayor Vaughn's determination to keep Amity's beaches open, asking what Jaws has to say about money, tourism, political denial and managing a crisis when acknowledging the problem might be bad for business.

Then there's the men.

Brody, Hooper and Quint offer three very different versions of 1970s masculinity, culminating in Robert Shaw's extraordinary USS Indianapolis monologue and the increasingly claustrophobic battle aboard the Orca.

Over in Culture Corner, we cross the Atlantic to Britain in 1975, where inflation was running at extraordinary levels and everyday prices were soaring. What did the world outside the cinema look like when audiences first heard those two ominous notes?

We also examine the uncomfortable legacy of Jaws. Did Hollywood's most famous shark help turn a vulnerable animal into a monster in the public imagination? We discuss shark hunting, changing attitudes towards the species and the later reflections of author Peter Benchley and Spielberg himself.

And next week, we're off to Royston Vasey as we tackle The League of Gentlemen.

You're our wife now.

Click here to visit our YouTube site, The Gaze Channel, where you can watch video versions of our podcast.

Our YouTube site also contains playlists for each episode with provides wider context to each episode.

Click here to follow us on all our socials

And if our fellow Gazers want to comment on what they've heard in our episodes, or to suggest future topics, please email us at [email protected]. We love hearing from you!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.