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Boston Globe
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
The other ‘Jaws effect': A wave of shark science and conservation
Write to us at . To subscribe, . TODAY'S STARTING POINT 'Jaws,' the iconic 1975 thriller about a giant great white shark that terrorizes a small New England island town, still gets a lot of praise. It made director Steven Spielberg's career, left behind a two-note theme synonymous with dread, and effectively invented the summer blockbuster. The novel that inspired it, by Peter Benchley, But 50 years on, the book and film have also been chum for critics. Shark-fishing tournaments Yet that definition of the Jaws effect is at best incomplete. The novel and the film also led to a surge of shark science and conservation efforts that have begun to protect the animals from both ignorance and overfishing. Advertisement Fear and fascination That a movie about a killer shark catalyzed legions of scientists to study the animals suggests a strange truth about human psychology: things that scare us can also become objects of deep allure. John Mandelman, a scientist at the New England Aquarium, is living proof. He had a 'Jaws'-themed cake at one early birthday and was 7 or 8 when he first saw the movie. 'I remember being scared by the scenes that were more grotesque,' he said. 'But I also remember being really mesmerized.' Advertisement Mandelman's obsession wasn't just the shark; it was that the shark had transfixed every other character in the film, whether out of scientific fascination or atavistic fear. 'That really sucked me in.' He eventually realized that interest could become his career. He's now the chief scientist of the aquarium's Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life and calls 'Jaws' a 'gateway drug' for colleagues who also followed it into marine biology or ocean conservation. 'Sometimes people look at fear and fascination as distinct,' he said. 'I think in this case they're incredibly related.' The movie, which airs regularly and birthed a series of less-beloved sequels, has stayed current enough to inspire Mandelman's younger colleagues, too. So have more recent depictions of sharks in popular culture, like Netflix documentaries, viral videos, and Discovery's annual 'Shark Week,' Others have had similar experiences. 'After 'Jaws,' Peter received hundreds, really thousands of letters from people from around the world saying that they were terrified of the movie, but what it did was it really fascinated them,' said Wendy Benchley, Peter's widow (he died in 2006). 'Yeah, it scared people. But boy did it really keep sharks on people's minds, including scientists'.' True, both novel and film took liberties. Real-life sharks don't single-mindedly and repeatedly choose to attack people. Peter Benchley later expressed regret for casting his novel's antagonist as a rogue man-eater. (He doesn't deserve all the blame; highly publicized attacks in the early 20th century Advertisement Mandelman can overlook those inaccuracies because scientists now know much more about sharks than they did before 'Jaws.' Back then, the Navy From understanding to conservation For the public, however, knowing more about sharks didn't immediately mean trying to protect them. In 2000, Peter Benchley Both Benchleys had long cared about the ocean. Peter encountered sharks while fishing with his dad off Nantucket; Wendy spent summers in seaside Stonington, Conn. After 'Jaws,' they witnessed garbage-filled seas and shark overfishing firsthand. 'It jumpstarted our interest to really work hard on ocean conservation,' Wendy said. Half a century later, those efforts show signs of paying off. Federally protected since 1997, white shark populations Threats remain, including overfishing and climate change, which is warming New England's waters, straining the sharks' habitats, and drawing them closer to land ( Advertisement Still, Wendy is hopeful that 'Jaws' will continue to inspire efforts to restore shark populations and learn more about them. 'I know it makes it harder for people to swim,' she said. 'But it's definitely making a healthier ocean.' 🧩 3 Down: 97° POINTS OF INTEREST A Waymo vehicle on Merchants Row in Boston this month. Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff 'Utterly terrifying': A Vermont school superintendent, who is a US citizen, said federal agents WBZ shrinks: The Boston TV station Self-driving cars: Boston City councilors want to Gotta sell 'em all: A New Bedford man faces charges after he allegedly tried to Greenlit: The Trump administration approved Paramount's merger with a Hollywood studio after Paramount, which owns CBS, settled Trump's lawsuit against '60 Minutes' and canceled Stephen Colbert's show, which often criticizes Trump. ( Sanctuary cities: The Trump administration sued New York over policies that restrict city officials from cooperating with federal immigration agents. ( Other Epstein news: Much of the country wants Trump to reveal more about Epstein; in Roswell, residents want him to Advertisement Hulk Hogan: The wrestling star, actor, and reality TV host who endorsed Trump last year died at 71. ( Israel-Hamas war: Israel and the US recalled their peace negotiators, accusing Hamas of being unwilling to reach a cease-fire. ( Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky pledged to protect government agencies that fight corruption, reversing himself after Ukrainians protested a bill he signed limiting the agencies' independence. ( VIEWPOINTS Failing the test: Massachusetts' fourth-grade reading scores could soon converge with Mississippi's. Why isn't that Disillusioned: Veronica J. White became a bar advocate believing that everyone deserves representation regardless of economic circumstances. Massachusetts Brave new world: AI is fracturing the student-teacher relationship. Using it lets students avoid learning and erodes teachers' trust that students aren't cheating, BESIDE THE POINT 🗓️ For your calendar: The Cambridge Jazz Festival, a Tennessee Williams prison drama that the playwright never got to see performed, and more 🥀 Green thumb: Climate change is altering the kinds of plants that can survive in gardens and yards. If you want yours to thrive, 🐍 Elusive: Conservationists feared that the world's smallest snake had gone extinct. They just proved themselves wrong. ( Advertisement 🥂 Dinner with Cupid: She's a medical student, he's in the Air Force. Will they find 🏠 Close to home: Thinking about downsizing? This company can help with the packing — 'Happy Gilmore': Adam Sandler's 1996 comedy ⛺ Beyond s'mores: Use these tips and recipes to Thanks for reading Starting Point. This newsletter was edited by ❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at ✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can 📬 Delivered Monday through Friday. Ian Prasad Philbrick can be reached at
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Jaws' did what no movie could do today — it made the entire world terrified of the water
Shark! Shark! 'Jaws,' which hit theaters 50 years ago next Friday, is known for making many splashes. It was the first hit for a 27-year-old Steven Spielberg, the man who'd go on to become one of Hollywood's all-time greatest directors. And the innovative 1975 horror film is considered one of the earliest blockbusters. An estimated one third of Americans went to see it. Those are Super Bowl numbers. There's composer John Williams' 'duh-dun' score that everyone can hum, and the classic ad-libbed line 'We're gonna need a bigger boat' that everyone can recite. But my favorite feat of 'Jaws' is that the monster movie had such a powerful bite when it was released that it made the masses terrified to so much as dip a toe in salty water for months. Years! No major films come anywhere close to that kind of impact today. Sure, 'Barbie' got groups of friends to get dolled up in pink frocks, and 'Minecraft' pushed a few idiots to trash theaters for kicks on TikTok. But 'Jaws' actually changed how people lived their lives. During the summer of 1975, The Post wrote a lot of stories about the 'shark scare' along the southern coast of Long Island, from East Quogue to Fire Island, that was 'touched off by the movie version of Peter Benchley's 'Jaws'.' 'Jaws' was set in the fictional Long Island town of Amity. Suddenly, the real place was Sharksville, USA. This one's a real doozy. In August of that year, we reported that two police officers on a boat off Jones Beach encountered a 10-to-14-foot-long shark and started to open fire into the ocean — 15 rounds! — killing the fish. Imagine watching that unfold from your folding chair. 'Everybody clapped. But when we left they were still standing on the shoreline,' one cop said of the Jaws-struck crowd. 'You know,' the wannabe Roy Scheider added, 'if it weren't for the movie, this wouldn't be such a big deal.' But, boy, was it. Scientists believe 'Jaws' caused an entire generation to develop an irrational fear of sharks. They dubbed it 'the Jaws Effect.' And the fin-phobia extended far away from New York state. That same month in Carolina Beach, North Carolina, a tourism chief bemoaned, 'We feel this movie is adversely affecting our coastal economy.' Films can still hurt local economies today, of course. 'Snow White' did because nobody went to see it. The reverberations of 1970s smashes such as 'Jaws,' 'The Exorcist' and 'Star Wars' were enormous beyond what we can imagine now. Take the ingenious demonic possession picture. One shaken man who saw 'The Exorcist' in 1973 broke three ribs during a screening. He's not sure how it happened. Ticket-buyers were vomiting at their seats. A theater in Boston kept 'a stockpile of smelling salts' to wake up patrons who fainted. William Friedkin's landmark film went on to become a huge factor in the 'satanic panic' of the 1980s, which saw thousands of unsubstantiated claims of satanic ritual abuse ripple across America. Back then, blockbusters also rocked the Oval Office. When President Reagan announced his 1983 Strategic Defense Initiative, a plan to use futuristic technology to prevent a nuclear attack, the press jokingly nicknamed it 'Star Wars.' The moniker stuck. I'm pretty sure we won't be reading about 'the Lilo & Stitch law' anytime soon. Obviously, the world is different. 'Monoculture,' entertainment that's experienced by everybody, no longer exists. We're inundated by niche fare and Saltine retreads. Maybe a movie just can't pack the social punch that one could 50 years ago. Then again, no one expected 'Jaws' to explode the way it did. Implode, more likely. Production went 100 days over schedule and nearly $6 million over budget. Some thought its director would never work again. But the next time you sprint out of the water screaming because that fin you saw turned out to be a cute little dolphin, blame Spielberg.
USA Today
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
As predatory shark enters Florida surf, waders hold their ground (video)
A large shark attacked a pelican in the Florida surf recently, creating a spectacle but not generating the type of response you might except among waders. The accompanying footage, captured by Lisa McMillion at Pensacola Beach, shows what was believed to be a bull shark thrashing as it tried to pull the large bird underwater. Remarkably, only two swimmers rushed toward shore, but even they appeared to be laughing. The two women who figure most prominently in the footage were among waders who did not budge, despite the shark being only yards away. (Click here if footage doesn't appear below.) Perhaps they were unaware that bull sharks are notoriously aggressive and have been implicated in dozens of attacks on humans over the years. Or perhaps they figured the shark already had its mouth full. Surfer writes: 'Are Floridians numb to sharks? Sure seems like it, as recent footage showing a large shark just a few feet from shore, rampaging in the water, munching a pelican, and swimmers a mere few feet away…just standing there nonchalantly, and watching it all go down.' Louisiana radio station 97.3 The Dawg informed its followers: 'You can see some people rush out of the water as the shark approaches the shore, but two women closest to the shark were undeterred by this potential threat.' Nobody was attacked, but the waders' reactions might show that Floridians are, in fact, numb to the presence of sharks. Fun fact from the Florida Museum: 'Bull sharks were blamed for a series of attacks in 1916, which served inspiration for Peter Benchley's book Jaws, which Steven Spielberg turned into a blockbuster movie in 1975.'
Geek Tyrant
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Geek Tyrant
Video Essay Explains Why JAWS Was Lightning in a Bottle and Why It Can't Happen Again — GeekTyrant
In his latest video essay, Matt Draper dives deep into the turbulent waters behind Jaws , Steven Spielberg's 1975 classic that changed movies, how movies are made, and how they are marketed. The video explores everything from the troubled production (including the now-legendary malfunctioning mechanical shark, Bruce) to the massive cultural ripple effect the film created. He lays out how Jaws became the first modern blockbuster, not by design but by accident, shaped by limitations that forced Spielberg to innovate turning suspense into art. The video came with the followin note: 'A look back at 50 years of Jaws, revealing the history behind Peter Benchley's Novel, Steven Spielberg's blockbuster film, the many bad sequels, and the stories behind some of the most influential movies ever and their impact on both film and the world.' Draper also argues that the success of Jaws is impossible to replicate. The industry today is too controlled, too polished, too risk-averse to allow the kind of chaos that forged this movie's legacy.
New York Post
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
‘Jaws' author's widow reveals she still visits the film's shooting location 50 years later
The legacy of 'Jaws' lives forever for Wendy Benchley. Benchley, the widow of 'Jaws' author Peter Benchley and an executive producer on the new documentary 'Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story,' exclusively told The Post about the special connection she still has to the iconic film. 'So my wonderful husband, John Jeppson and I, we've been married for 12, 13 years, and we've been summering in Martha's Vineyard every August,' Wendy explained of the Massachusetts island where 'Jaws' primary filmed. 9 Wendy Benchley, 'Jaws @ 50' executive producer and ocean conservationist advocate. National Geographic/Chris Johnson 9 Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Scheider in 'Jaws.' Courtesy Everett Collection 'Yeah, so Martha's Vineyard is very much dear to our hearts and part of our life,' she added. 'We see all these sites all the time.' Wendy's late husband wrote the bestselling novel about a great white shark that was turned into a thriller film by Steven Spielberg. Peter died in 2006 at age 65. 9 Peter Benchley signs a copy of his 'Jaws' novel in June 2005. Christopher Polk Being involved in 'Jaws @ 50' gave Wendy new insight into the incredible success of the 1975 film. 'Peter and I, after 'Jaws', went on to live our life,' she recalled. 'Peter went on write more novels, we did a lot of expeditions with National Geographic, and we got into working with ocean conservation issues, and I did a lot of work with non-profits, and I have not been intimately connected to all of the fan clubs of 'Jaws,' and all of that happened afterwards.' 9 Wendy Benchley in her interview with The Post. New York Post 9 Peter Benchley with a picture of a shark in 1976. Getty Images 9 Peter Benchley for the 'Jaws' 30th Anniversary Edition DVD. Christopher Polk 'So for me,' she continued, 'there was that added fun and joy of reacquainting myself with the nuances of 'Jaws' and how brilliant Spielberg was with the techniques which the movie directors talked about. But also, I thought he was brilliant the way he had the local people and gave that great depth of character and all the wonderful faces that you saw and the people you got to know. I think that is one of the most powerful aspects of the film.' 9 'Jaws @ 50' director Laurent Bouzereau with Wendy Benchley. National Geographic/Chris Johnson 9 Peter Benchley holds the 'Pan' award from Pan books in 1975. Getty Images Wendy added, 'And that's also what Peter did in his book. The book was about a great white shark, but it was also about the people who lived on this island who needed to make money to get through the winter and about how there are different approaches to this menace that they couldn't control. So that is I think very much the heart and soul of what the book and the movie is about.' The ocean conservationist advocate was 'moved' by Spielberg's retrospective comments about 'Jaws' in the documentary. 9 Wendy Benchley speaks at the 2015 Peter Benchley Ocean Awards. WireImage 'That was wonderful to listen to him talking about it and in such a personal way,' Wendy stated. 'And honestly, I had not known and I don't think anybody really knew how traumatizing it was to him to make this film and to have the shark breaking down and to have it over budget. And I'm so glad that David Brown and Richard Zanuck just stuck with him and that he was able to finish it off.' 'Jaws @ 50' premieres July 10 on National Geographic and will stream on Disney+ and Hulu.
