Jaws swam into theatres and made an entire nation afraid to go in the water in the summer of 1975; Now over 45 years later it still serves as a pop-culture powerhouse perfect for Fourth of July viewing.
I first became acquainted with Spielberg’s iconic beast around age 7, by getting the ever-living s–t scared out of me on the Jaws ride at Universal Studios Orlando (may it rest in peace.) I avoided the film successfully until film class my senior year of high school, where my only choices were to confront my fear, or fail the assignments connected to it.
I sucked it up as best I could, and made it out alive (after a few jump scares; some from the film, some from the kid who sat behind me and thought it would be funny to scare me.) I thought “thank god that’s over with, I never have to do that again.” Wishful thinking, past me.
Less than a year later, I’d have to face off against Bruce again in my first college film class. This time, I knew what to expect, and the jumpscares still got me. The tension still felt like it filled the entire lecture hall, thick enough where even old Brucie would have trouble swimming through it. After that viewing, I grew to love Jaws. I watched it over and over and over again and threw in the bonus features and the “making of” documentary as well. After seeing how much work went into making the film that haunted my childhood, I respected it more than ever, and vowed to watch it every year on the Fourth of July.
To celebrate this summer staple, I proudly wear my Amity Island shirt from Yellow Barrel MFG as I watch the one movie I swore to avoid years ago. It is my goal to one day host a screening of Jaws where we can watch from the pool for a peak viewing experience.
Jaws has been scaring swimmers for 46 years, and I’ve got a feeling that it’ll be scaring them in all the right ways for decades to come.
Selected quote: “I used to hate the water.” “I can’t imagine why.” – Jaws