The Jaws franchise made you change your mind about going into the water, even on those hot summer nights. I do not know about you, but whenever I hear the word Jaws, I am transported back to my childhood, curled up with the blankets tucked under my chin and burying my face in a pillow. And to this day, whenever I want to go swimming at a beach, the theme music takes me right out of the water on safer ground.
Even though Great White sharks don’t usually appear in Rhode Island waters, there have been shark sightings in Narragansett and Watch Hill. ABC broadcast shocking footage on July 9th, when a Great White shark was swimming near Block Island, twenty miles off the southern coast, captured by marine researchers. The young Great White was swimming toward the camera. John Dodd, executive director of the RI-based Atlantic-Institute, knows that this is all a part of the ecosystem. Because of this sighting, I’m hesitant to go into the ocean because of the 1% chance a shark is nearby, waiting to make me its lunch.
Of course, the shark is just a reminder of my deep-seated fear, brought upon by this flick in my earlier years. Even though producers keep making shark movies, there’s nothing like Jaws. It all began with an idea — being stranded in the wide-open ocean with a predator — and you get a helpless victim, hoping to survive a lethal cat-and-mouse chase.
The Jane Pickens Theater is used to seeing crowds of up to 470 people every year for a showing of the bloodthirsty horror flick, and the crowd keeps getting bigger. People all over come to see Jaws for its annual event. Rebecca Imbimbo, the theater manager, shared her thoughts on the upcoming movie:
“We’re gonna need a bigger theater for our Jaws screenings this July, as Newport becomes Amity Island again for lovers of one of The JPT’s most popular films. Starting with our famous Jaws party on July 17 with live music, beer and wine tasting, and Jaws fun for the whole family! Whether you’re seeing Jaws for the first time or the hundredth time, seeing it on the big screen is not to be missed.”
Jaws was in production from May to October in 1974. Most of the shooting took place on the sandy shores of Martha’s Vineyard, including the opening shot with actress Susan Backlinie, who played Chrissie Watkins, an adored blond-haired teenager, throwing off her clothes for a dip, then ripped to shreds within the first few seconds in the water. It is movie magic! The now-acclaimed director Steven Spielberg was going to take this movie and run with it to create a cinematic breakthrough. A harness was placed on Susan’s cut-off jeans, and five crew members were on each side of her, as they pulled her from one side of the beach to the other to create the effect of a shark moving her quickly through those waters. The movie was released on June 20, 1975, which impacted beach visits that year.
The 25-foot-long mechanical shark is more than a symbol — it is the embodiment of terror. Created by Joe Alves and Bob Mattey, the animatronic flesh-eater became their prized possession as special effects artists, and ended up in the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Not only is it a universal symbol, but a cultural one, as well, bringing to mind all things that the shark represents: suspense, thrills and chills, and the unprecedented mystery of what is lurking beneath the ocean, a villain with sharp-razor teeth, and black hollow eyes. The shark looked like the real thing with realistic jaw movements and rubber skin made by mixing sand with the polyurethane paint.
Symbols draw the audience every time. And the characters are a reminder of who we are and what we are made of. Roy Scheider played Brody, the local sheriff; Robert Shaw played the fisherman Quint; and Richard Dreyfuss played the shark expert Hooper. It was a dream cast. Their chemistry on-screen was evident, especially as they managed to track down a Great White in a 42-foot-long lobster boat named The Orca. There were drunken, silly moments as all three men, delirious, sang songs, making light out of a serious endeavor: tracking down the deadliest creature in the ocean, not knowing if they were going to survive.
Surviving the shark is a monumental feat. Jaws has stood the test of time across generations. It is the reason you can stay up late past your bedtime to see what happens next, even if you have watched the movie a dozen times. I have found that the more I watch the movie, the more I find out how one can be gifted to tell universal stories, and tell them with suspense and passion. It’s in this revelation that I can’t wait to stream Jaws again and watch it till the sun comes up. Even if it is for the millionth time. Even if I know the story and nothing is a surprise. I will continue watching Jaws, clutching my pillow with my fingertips because watching it is just like the first time.
