This article is a look back at Jaws 20 years after it revolutionized the industry. While the film was very important at the time for its media attention, the concepts that went into Jaws would be long lasting. Jaws became the first blockbuster as a result of the advertising campaign and all the hype leading up to its premiere. By drawing so much attention to the film, the risk of the film would be minimized, while it could have major potential for drawing in huge crowds. According to the article, another key element that went into the popularity of Spielberg’s Jaws was the simple plot concept. Spielberg was reported as saying, "If a person can tell me the idea in 25 words or less, it's going to make a pretty good movie." The story of Jaws is simple and straightforward, and as Pevere points out, the final one third or so of the film is simply three men on a boat, attempting to kill a shark- as basic as it comes. This idea, mixed in with impressive technology and the occasional comedic relief works to make Jaws the first Hollywood blockbuster. As opposed to other articles on Jaws, this piece fails to mention the power of Spielberg’s images and the effects they had on viewers, perhaps a source of the films success. Instead the article focuses on the power of this recipe for a profitable film that Spielberg seems to have created with Jaws and will continue to reuse in future box office hits such as Jurassic Park. This article is unique because it is exploring Jaws more as a machine and not as an individual work of art. While it was greatly successful, Pevere breaks it down to its core and finds it to be simplistic. According to him, the simplicity, the media attention, and the technology worked together in order to draw in huge crowds and this concept is reproducible. Contrary to many other pieces, this article doesn’t find the attraction to sharks as a cause for the film’s popularity. Many other articles discuss the fear audiences felt so that it impacted them in their own lives while this one looks at it from the other side, explaining that perhaps the reaction came about for other reasons.

    This article is a look back at Jaws 20 years after it revolutionized the industry.  While the film was very important at the time for its media attention, the concepts that went into Jaws would be long lasting.  Jaws became the first blockbuster as a result of the advertising campaign and all the hype leading up to its premiere.  By drawing so much attention to the film, the risk of the film would be minimized, while it could have major potential for drawing in huge crowds.  According to the article, another key element that went into the popularity of Spielberg’s Jaws was the simple plot concept.  Spielberg was reported as saying, "If a person can tell me the idea in 25 words or less, it's going to make a pretty good movie."  The story of Jaws is simple and straightforward, and as Pevere points out, the final one third or so of the film is simply three men on a boat, attempting to kill a shark- as basic as it comes.  This idea, mixed in with impressive technology and the occasional comedic relief works to make Jaws the first Hollywood blockbuster.  As opposed to other articles on Jaws, this piece fails to mention the power of Spielberg’s images and the effects they had on viewers, perhaps a source of the films success.  Instead the article focuses on the power of this recipe for a profitable film that Spielberg seems to have created with Jaws and will continue to reuse in future box office hits such as Jurassic Park.  This article is unique because it is exploring Jaws more as a machine and not as an individual work of art.  While it was greatly successful, Pevere breaks it down to its core and finds it to be simplistic.  According to him, the simplicity, the media attention, and the technology worked together in order to draw in huge crowds and this concept is reproducible.  Contrary to many other pieces, this article doesn’t find the attraction to sharks as a cause for the film’s popularity.  Many other articles discuss the fear audiences felt so that it impacted them in their own lives while this one looks at it from the other side, explaining that perhaps the reaction came about for other reasons.

    This review is a very well written piece that does a great job breaking down the aspects that make Jaws the masterpiece that it is, but also pointing out its flaws.  This article is worth noting because it explains how Jaws left such a shock on viewers and why it was so powerful even after audiences left the theater.  There are many horror films in many genres that haven’t had nearly the same impact as Jaws and this article provides a possible explanation.  Nesbit attributes the films success to the way Spielberg was able to set up scenes and master the art of suspense. It wasn’t only the gruesome images that had a lasting impact on the viewers, but also the element of surprise and not knowing exactly when the dreadful images would come.  This is a very important aspect to Jaws that made the film so influential.  Everyone knew at some point there would be bloodshed, yet the road there wasn’t so simple.  Spielberg used the prevalent theme song to build up the threat of violence, however its portentous tune didn’t necessarily mean something bad was immediately coming.  It was his way of putting the audience on the edge of their seats.  Numerous times he would intentionally mislead the audience, hyping them up for extreme violence, only to be children scuba diving or adults horsing around.  This technique added another dimension to the film, and added to its overall power.  If the film relied solely on freaking out the audience with shark attacks there’s no way its impact would have been felt the same way that it was.  As Nesbit points out, “Spielberg doesn't serve up mass quantities of blood and gore. He knows it's the anticipation of horror that brings suspense; there are relatively few killings.”  This technique works to make the ocean seem so gripping; every time it is shown there is the potential for something terrible to happen, yet it is unlikely.  Perhaps this is the lasting image that led to such an increase in the fear of sharks, as people could relate to shark attacks likely not occurring, however there would always be that mystical possibility.

This Washington Post piece by Manny Fernandez describes the “bedlam” that took place after the release of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws.  This article is an interesting look at the effects of Jaws on the summer of 1975, both on and off screen.  The film dominated the summer, as people of all ages were anxious to see the vicious shark and often times were willing to buy tickets way above face value.  Not often can a ticket normally sold for $2.50 at the box office be worth $8 outside the theater, however this demonstrated the enormous demand to see the first big Summer Movie.  Douglas Gomery called the phenomenon “shark mania,” where people were obsessed with the movie and couldn’t help but to enjoy the fear that Jaws was instilling in them.  The film’s horror had lasting effects, as “people wouldn’t go out much deeper than waist-deep” into the ocean after seeing the film.  Even though shark attacks have always been uncommon, Spielberg’s film was jaw dropping to viewers and certainly gave them something to think about. The mechanical shark devised by Spielberg generated quite a bit of excitement among movie-goers as sharks were being put in a new light that would be difficult to forget for the remainder of the summer months. It is very interesting the role Jaws played in causing fear among beach dwellers, as shark attacks have always been unlikely.  People were drawn into Jaws for its appeal and enjoyed being frightened on-screen, however it is clear that when the audience saw Jaws there was something deeper that was drawing them in, as evident by the incredible viewers responses.

Jaws became a Hollywood hit immediately upon its release in 1975. There are many reasons for its stunning success, one of the most important being the fear it instilled in audiences. It worked so well because of the power director Steven Spielberg had over audiences to keep them constantly scared of the shark images that would come next. This power worked not only to make Jaws so popular at the time, but also to have long term effects. The following articles touch on how Spielberg worked to make the film so effective as well as the films impact long after viewers saw Jaws, with a focus on the perception of sharks.