{"id":1667,"date":"2014-05-17T08:36:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-17T08:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html"},"modified":"2014-05-17T08:36:00","modified_gmt":"2014-05-17T08:36:00","slug":"the-reality-of-jaws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html","title":{"rendered":"The Reality of JAWS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cNone of man\u2019s fantasies of evil can compare to the reality of Jaws.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was the line that opened one of the TV commercials for JAWS in 1975. \u00a0It was the movie everyone was talking about. \u00a0There are famous movies, legendary movies and great movies. \u00a0And then there are those historic movies. \u00a0Not movies about history, but movies that made history. \u00a0Gone With the Wind, Citizen Kane, King Kong (33), Star Wars, the Ten Commandments, The Godfather, The Exorcist, Easy Rider<\/i>, and of course JAWS<\/i>.<\/p>\n

At a time when many believed it would be endless years before the 100 million dollar mark was breached, when movies were aimed at general audiences, when realism was beginning to dominate and the R-Rating was allowing Hollywood to shatter taboos, a young Stephen Spielberg unleashed what many consider to be the greatest horror film of all time on an almost ill-prepared movie going audience.<\/p>\n

Much has been written about the movie. \u00a0And next to Citizen Kane<\/i>, few other movies have become as <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

known for the production as the finished product. \u00a0Everyone knows the mechanical shark didn\u2019t work. \u00a0State of the art for the day, salt water did it in, forcing Spielberg to adopt a more Hitchcockian approach to what would have been a \u2018monster shark eats people\u2019 disaster film of the mid-70s. Union problems, zoning problems, difficulties shooting on the ocean, cantankerous crew, bickering actors \u2013 Spielberg has said that for many months after the film\u2019s release, he would wake up in a cold sweat thinking he was still working on the set.<\/p>\n

And yet, when it hit theaters in the summer of 1975: movie magic. \u00a0Hollywood realized there was a whole new way to package and market films. \u00a0The Summer Blockbuster, whose bastard children are still alive today, was born. \u00a0Spielberg became a superstar. \u00a0John William\u2019s iconic score went down as one of the greatest ever composed for a film. \u00a0One of the greatest monologues in movie history. Martha\u2019s Vineyard officially became a major tourist spot. \u00a0And in the summer of 1975, revenues for the beach industry took a sharp plunge. <\/p>\n

And why not? \u00a0Even then it was recognized as better than your average horror thriller, garnering an Academy Award nomination (losing to One Flew Over the Cuckoo\u2019s Nest<\/i>). \u00a0And though some criticized the lack of character development among some of the cast (though usually not the principle characters), today it looks like a Shakespearean drama by comparison.<\/p>\n

Spielberg\u2019s insistence on filming on the high seas rather than a studio tank paid off, and the atmosphere and<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

the ocean become major players in the film. \u00a0Robert Shaw, Roy Scheider, and a young Richard Dreyfuss all give stellar and sympathetic performances. \u00a0Even though the movie relied on locals to round out much of the town\u2019s population, they actually pull their weight well. \u00a0And while the shark has gotten some ribbing over the years (sharks don\u2019t really have \u2018jaws\u2019), when looked at as a model, it really isn\u2019t far off an actual Great White. \u00a0It was just the lack of information saturation that movie makers today would have that the model builders then weren\u2019t privy to.<\/p>\n

Still, by the time the shark appears, it\u2019s lack of continual appearances keeps it menacing until the end. \u00a0The tension and stress of the movie keeps the audience alive, and just like other great films of the past \u2013 anything by Harryhausen, the original King Kong<\/i> \u2013 most are able to mentally transfer the images and remember that this isn\u2019t really a shark, but it\u2019s a character in the movie. \u00a0Just like Shaw wasn\u2019t really a fisherman, or Dreyfuss a scientist, so the mechanical shark was an actor. \u00a0And what an actor it was. \u00a0Though modern CGI creatures have the benefit of unlimited access to any scholarship about any topic, and \u00a0of course the limitless bounds of CGI graphics, few have ever sustained the menace or the horror that \u2018Bruce\u2019 the shark managed off the coasts of Amity all those years ago.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

Knowing the movie and its place in history and the quality of its production, it was inevitable that I\u2019d want to see it with the boys. \u00a0Our oldest had seen it a couple years ago. \u00a0But our next two youngest hadn\u2019t seen it yet. \u00a0So last weekend, busy with Mothers Day and preparations for Confirmation this weekend and \u00a0Graduation next, we set aside any major plans, popped some corn and sat down to watch JAWS. \u00a0I was curious to see how my boys would react. \u00a0After all, in 1975, unless you were able to see Rated R movies, chances are you hadn\u2019t seen much in terms of blood and violence. \u00a0JAWS made some people leave the theaters because of the blood. \u00a0I remember my then teenage sister being utterly freaked out by the huge amounts of blood. \u00a0But this is 2014. \u00a0My boys grew up on a diet of PG-13 violence, and have actually seen some select rated R movies (or scenes from them, for instance battle scenes from Gladiator<\/i>). Would this be old? \u00a0Would it be dated? \u00a0Would it be a bore?<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

When the movie was over, and Dreyfuss had tossed out his final quip, as the credits ran I looked and my eighth grader was literally clutching the arms of his chair. \u00a0My oldest, who had already seen it once, was shaking. \u00a0My ninth grader laid back as if exhausted. \u00a0So what did they think? \u00a0My soon to be
\nconfirmed eighth grader was first to speak, and he summed up something I\u2019ve been think about since. \u00a0He said, \u201cYou got to like those guys. \u00a0You didn\u2019t want to see any of them killed.\u2019 \u00a0 The others agreed. \u00a0Far from two dimensional fodder, you cared about them. \u00a0Almost half the movie was spent getting to know the main characters, and even though common sense said that at least one of them had to go, you didn\u2019t want it to be any of them. \u00a0But it wasn\u2019t just that. \u00a0 It was intense. \u00a0How was it intense I asked. \u00a0Because it was, well, real. \u00a0They couldn\u2019t quite put their finger on it, but they said it wasn\u2019t just \u2018it was real because sharks are real.\u2019 \u00a0It was because the people didn\u2019t seem like today.<\/p>\n

I pondered that and pressed on. \u00a0According to them, today many (not all, but many) characters are not overly sympathetic. \u00a0Bad guys are supposed to be bad and get what they have coming. \u00a0Good guys are good guys, usually because they represent PC values. \u00a0Characters aren\u2019t real. \u00a0They\u2019re like types. \u00a0They are either supposed to get what they have coming, or not. \u00a0And even though the gore and violence is more, it isn\u2019t the same. \u00a0They just couldn\u2019t but their finger on what made this 1975 movie so intense.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

And yet, they\u2019ve encountered that more than once. \u00a0Not that they don\u2019t enjoy movies and TV shows today, <\/p>\n

<\/a><\/div>\n

but they have time and again admitted that, with few exceptions (Christopher Nolan being a consistent example), movies today lack something. They\u2019re not \u2018real.\u2019 \u00a0Yes, the acting quality in JAWS among the three leads is wonderful, and that helps. \u00a0But actors today are good. \u00a0Writers. \u00a0Directors. \u00a0What is it that so struck a nerve with my boys? \u00a0I\u2019m not sure. \u00a0To quote Quint when asked if he\u2019d seen a shark do this: I don\u2019t know. \u00a0But it\u2019s got me to thinking. \u00a0Thinking about the media pool in which our youngsters swim. \u00a0Maybe it\u2019s my boys. \u00a0Maybe others would just laugh and guffaw. \u00a0Maybe they would cheer whenever someone got taken down by the shark. \u00a0Part of me fears that might be true. \u00a0But I can\u2019t help but think it means something, and I\u2019ll be thinking about it over the months to come. <\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s not fair to compare what many (or at least pre-internet many) consider one of the greatest movies of all time to the entire package today. \u00a0 After all, there was more than one pile of lousy, superficial junk movies in 1975. \u00a0But for now, three men went into the water, two came out alive, and the reaction of my boys gave me something to ponder as I think of our culture, our society, and the world which we have given them as our oldest\u2019s graduation approaches. <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNone of man\u2019s fantasies of evil can compare to the reality of Jaws.\u201d That was the line that opened one of the TV commercials for JAWS in 1975. \u00a0It was the movie everyone was talking about. \u00a0There are famous movies, legendary movies and great movies. \u00a0And then there are those historic movies. \u00a0Not movies about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2805,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Reality of JAWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\""None of man's fantasies of evil can compare to the reality of Jaws."That was the line that opened one of the TV commercials for JAWS in 1975.  It\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Reality of JAWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""None of man's fantasies of evil can compare to the reality of Jaws."That was the line that opened one of the TV commercials for JAWS in 1975.  It\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daffey Thoughts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-05-17T08:36:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/files\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-7tdcb9EzRhY\/U3dUPLaUwBI\/AAAAAAAAF44\/HpciBm97-mQ\/s1600\/jaws-marquee-1975.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dave Griffey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dave Griffey\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html\",\"name\":\"The Reality of JAWS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-05-17T08:36:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-05-17T08:36:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/9de3f33a0818ebc53727444b649c82a7\"},\"description\":\"\\\"None of man's fantasies of evil can compare to the reality of Jaws.\\\"That was the line that opened one of the TV commercials for JAWS in 1975.  It\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Reality of JAWS\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/\",\"name\":\"Daffey Thoughts\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/9de3f33a0818ebc53727444b649c82a7\",\"name\":\"Dave Griffey\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/546cf1ab64797c201cc8ad19185f2e57?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/546cf1ab64797c201cc8ad19185f2e57?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dave Griffey\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/author\/dgriffey\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Reality of JAWS","description":"\"None of man's fantasies of evil can compare to the reality of Jaws.\"That was the line that opened one of the TV commercials for JAWS in 1975.  It","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Reality of JAWS","og_description":"\"None of man's fantasies of evil can compare to the reality of Jaws.\"That was the line that opened one of the TV commercials for JAWS in 1975.  It","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html","og_site_name":"Daffey Thoughts","article_published_time":"2014-05-17T08:36:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/files\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-7tdcb9EzRhY\/U3dUPLaUwBI\/AAAAAAAAF44\/HpciBm97-mQ\/s1600\/jaws-marquee-1975.jpg"}],"author":"Dave Griffey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dave Griffey","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html","name":"The Reality of JAWS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-05-17T08:36:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-05-17T08:36:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/9de3f33a0818ebc53727444b649c82a7"},"description":"\"None of man's fantasies of evil can compare to the reality of Jaws.\"That was the line that opened one of the TV commercials for JAWS in 1975.  It","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/2014\/05\/the-reality-of-jaws.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Reality of JAWS"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/","name":"Daffey Thoughts","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/9de3f33a0818ebc53727444b649c82a7","name":"Dave Griffey","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/546cf1ab64797c201cc8ad19185f2e57?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/546cf1ab64797c201cc8ad19185f2e57?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Dave Griffey"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/author\/dgriffey"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2805"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/daffeythoughts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}