It ’s no hugger-mugger thatmovieshave the power to radically touch on pop culture , and not always for the undecomposed . In the case ofJaws(1975 ) , which depicts a ravenousgreat whitegetting vacationers stuck in its tooth , it mean a upsurge in unfoundedsharkfears .
Nearly 50 yr following the celluloid ’s release , directorSteven Spielbergis acknowledging his self - intromit culpability . “ That ’s one of the things I still fear , not to get corrode by a shark , but that sharks are somehow mad at me for the feeding hysteria of brainsick sport fishermen that happened after 1975 , ” Spielberg read on “ Desert Island Discs , ” asSmithsonian reported . “ I genuinely , and to this day , regret the decimation of the shark universe because of the book and the film . ”
Jawswas found on the bestselling 1974 novel by Peter Benchley . Both the source stuff and the film — which was for a clock time thehighest - grossing moviein Hollywood account — made a mental imprint on the general public that shark were bloodthirsty wildcat . Some have blame it for the rise inshark fishing , either to catch their valuable fins or for sport , though it ’s not reset the film had a direct influence .
Speaking with CBS News in July 2022 , psychologist Gabriella Hancocksaidthat people are “ not innately afraid of sharks ” and that fear of them is “ see and socially enforced . ” The major perpetrator may be what mental health professionals have dubbed “ TheJawsEffect , ” with audience assuming sharks are as voracious as the one seen in the plastic film .
Jawsisn’t solely responsible : Mass awe of shark dates back to at least 1916 , when a freshet of attacks in New Jerseyresultingin four deaths made internal headlines . But such was the indifference to the predator that some hoi polloi believed sea turtle were to blame . ( The incident inspired Benchley to compose his novel . )
The occasional rampage aside , shark do n’t find oneself humans particularly interesting . The Florida Museum of Natural Historyrecordedjust 73 wanton bite worldwide in 2021 , with nine fatalities stemming from those motiveless attacks .
And despite its reputed carnage , Jawswasn’t nearly as gruesome as you might remember . It have a PG rating — although , to be fair , PG-13 valuation weren’tintroducedby the Motion Picture Association of America ( MPAA ) until nine year after the film ’s spill , in 1984 .
[ h / tSmithsonian ]
