Welcome to 50 Years of Jaws

 How many times this week did you hear that it was the 50th anniversary of Jaws?

Well, I’m here to mention it again. 

I’m a fan of the first Jaws movie. I haven’t seen any of the sequels except for Jaws 3D (though not in 3D) - and I actually kind of like that one. I have ridden “Jaws the Ride” at Universal Studios Osaka - this was a really cool experience ride that I only partially understood  since the “guide” only spoke Japanese. I think we rode it about three times. I also got a hat, which I still wear.

I did not like the Jurassic Park ride.

Jaws is not my favorite movie, but it is one that I can stream on a hot summer day and pretend I’m at the beach. Not that I want sharks to show up at my favorite beach, but one of the incidents Jaws is based on happened near my favorite beach town in New Jersey.

Side note: my favorite movie is a different Steven Spielberg movie that also features practical effect monsters.

Jaws changed the way people went to the movies. The term “blockbuster” (may the store rest in corporate afterlife) was coined because people liked up around the block to purchase tickets. Soon after, any “big” movie with a large audience was branded a blockbuster and advertised as such (gotta maximize those profits).

It also changed the way people viewed sharks.

Prior to the 1900s (the century not the decade), most people didn’t interact with sharks unless they were fishermen or caught in a shipwreck. 

However, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, seaside vacations became popular with the upper classes. Cape May became one of the first beach resort towns that New Yorkers flocked to. It was in 1916 when a series of shark attacks took place off the coast of Ocean City, New Jersey (this is explicitly referenced in the film). It caused a panic, like in the movie, but the casualties were spread out all along the south New Jersey coast.

More than half century later and there were far more people frolicking in the water. Peter Benchley came to regret his 1974 novel of the same name as the movie because of the increased fear of sharks. This fear may have led to more people killing sharks and causing their populations to decrease. Yes, shark attacks continue to increase, but that’s because humans are encroaching more and more into their territory, not because they like the taste of human. 

Consequently, Benchley became a shark conservationist and dedicated much of his later life to educating people about sharks. Apparently, there’s now even a shark named after him colloquially known as the ninja lanternshark (Etmopterus benchleyi), which was confirmed in 2015.

I consider Jaws to be an adventure horror movie - a very rare mashup in my opinion. Like many films by Spielberg, there’s a sense of wonderment and exploration that blankets the film through the horror of the shark attacks. Even John Williams score volleys between suspenseful and creepy (the shark’s theme) to whimsical and thrilling (Chief Brody’s ending theme while shooting at the shark). 

It’s also rated PG instead of PG13 (mostly because PG13 wouldn’t come around until Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom in 1984). 

Jurassic Park (also directed by Spielberg) has a similar adventure horror mix as Jaws, as does The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (though those two aren’t Spielberg’s). The scary parts are still there, but I feel like I’m on an adventure when I watch them.

And 50 years later, Jaws still holds up. The practical effects are great, the characters believable and relatable, and the shark is still scary. 

Fun fact: the shark’s name became Bruce on set after Spielberg’s lawyer. 

There were multiple versions of the shark, none of which worked quite right nor looked very good, which is why you don’t see much of the shark. This caused creative use of the camera and shots taken, adding to the film aging well. I saw a version of Bruce at Universal Japan as a kid (that same trip mentioned above). 

I’m also not afraid of sharks and never really was. My biggest fear in the ocean as a kid was seaweed. My grandfather told me seaweed was mermaid hair and that really freaked me out. I didn’t go in the water for three years. Drove my parents nuts.

I recently won a copy of “Robert Shaw: An Actor’s Life on the Set of Jaws and Beyond” from GoodReads. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m looking forward to cracking it open on a sunny day at the Jersey Shore. Maybe I’ll even pick up a copy of the original “Jaws” book too.

Happy 50th birthday Jaws. May Jurassic Park age as well as you. 

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y’all like hearing from me.

Welcome to Shark Week Facts

Last week was the annual celebrations of sharks on Discovery Channel. This year marks the 34th year of Shark Week - the first one airing in1988. Though I don't currently have cable, I am able to still celebrate through a few apps and other ocean created content. Currently, I'm typing up this blog post while watching the first blockbuster summer movie Jaws. 

I found this pattern on Pinterest. 

Jaws is a fun summer adventure movie - I don't personally consider it a horror movie. However, it is one of the major reasons humans began going after sharks for sport. After the movie's release in 1975, people went out on shark hunting sprees. In doing so, they decimated one of the oldest species still roaming the planet, harming ecosystems, and further throwing ocean life out of balance. 

Sharks can be dangerous, however we humans are entering their space when we go to frolic in the ocean. Sharks are unlikely to kill a person (you're more likely to be killed in a car accident than by a shark) and typically avoid humans. But if you enter their living room, expect them to be curious about your.

Discovery Channel's shark week originally meant to educate viewers on sharks. In recent years, however, it's been more interested in the entertainment side of educational programing. I remember when they started doing their fake mocumentaries on the Megalodon - an ancient shark that's been extinct for over three million years. These mocumentaries made it seem plausible that the Meg (it's "playful" nickname) might still be alive. It's not. Its extinct. 

Other sensationalist programing made great white sharks seems a lot more dangerous than they actually are. True white sharks have the highest number of human fatalities (which is still a small number), but it's the temperamental bull shark that has the most unprovoked attacks against humans. That's primarily because they like to have their babies near estuaries and are known to be difficult to spot in muddy water. They also hang out off the coast of Florida, which is a popular beach spot. 

Sharks are cool and there are a lot of them. There are over 500 species of shark from the famous great white to the lesser known ghost shark. Some sharks are fairly standard looking like the blue shark or the tiger shark, while others look a little odd like the infamous hammer head shark, and then there are the absolutely nightmarish looking sharks like the cookie cutter shark or the goblin shark. Sharks can be tiny like the dwarf lanternshark - only getting to about 7.4 inches long - while the biggest sharks, whale sharks - getting up to 33 feet - eat the smallest ocean life.

Sharks haven't always been thought of as scary creatures of the deep. This is a much more recent development as more people spend time in the oceans. 

In some cultures, sharks prominent members of their folk lore, mythology, and religion. In Hawaii, there are sharks that are gods who are said to be the guardians of the ocean. Some cultures even think of sharks as the embodiment of their ancestors. 

As Shark Week 2022 comes to and end, remember that sharks aren't as scary as movies or dramatized TV shows make them out to be. They're pretty cool, mostly avoid humans, and are revered in some cultures. They are not mindless eating machines, but powerhouse examples of evolutionary specializations. 

And the Megalodon is not hiding out anywhere in our oceans.

I hope you can take some time to appreciate sharks. With climate change happening and human interference, shark populations are still in danger. The world's oceans need sharks and we should respect their awesomeness. 

Until next week. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like to hear from me.

Welcome to the Jersey Shore

Happy Father's Day!

When I think of my dad and his dad, I often think about the Jersey Shore. As a kid, I'd spend at least a week or two with my family at the shore, just as my dad spent his childhood at there.

It was awesome.

Ocean City New Jersey  - 2019

Though to be fair, I did spend a good three years terrified of the ocean because my grandfather had convinced me that seaweed was mermaid hair. My parents couldn't convince me for the world to get into the water and spent a lot of time at the playground with me instead.

Ocean City New Jersey (same location as above) - 2017

I want all of you to forget about what you've seen, heard, and witnessed regarding the MTV show "The Jersey Shore". First off, they're from New York, not New Jersey. Second, though I'm sure there are areas that resemble the show, I have rarely seen the actual Jersey shore look like it.

Probably because I more often than not go to the southern most tip of America's Armpit (I swear I'm not the one who came up with that, but I do think it's funny) to go to the beach. I'm hoping to change that. Driving all the way down the parkway is neither convenient or cheap, especially if I want to go with friends. There are nice beaches a lot closer to my current home that I'm hoping to go to.

However, the barrier islands along the Cape May county coast all hold a special place in my heart. Atlantic City, though, is to be avoided like the plague.

So here are a few fun facts about one of the oldest beach resort areas in the country.

1) Cape May is not only the southern most tip of New Jersey it is also the oldest beach resort community in the United States

2) The Jersey Shore was part of the inspiration for the 3 of the Walt Disney World Resort Hotels in Florida: The Boardwalk Resort, The Beach Club Resort, and The Yacht Club Resort. I've stayed at the Beach Club Resort and though I like the theme and recommend the resort, the Jersey Shore it ain't. They even have the Cape May Cafe, based off of the resort town.

3) Apparently Atlantic City has the longest boardwalk in the world. I still think Ocean City and Wildwood have better boardwalks (at least as far as my inner child is concerned), but kudos Atlantic City.

4) Speaking of Atlantic City, it is also the city the board game Monopoly takes place in. No wonder boardwalk costs so much.

5) Bruce Springsteen got his start in Asbury Park. Not only did he play in local establishments, but he also recorded his first album there.

6) Though not the true inspiration, the book Jaws references a series of shark attacks that occurred off the Jersey shore in 1916. A huge man eating shark did apparently prowl the Jersey Shore waters over a century ago, but shark attacks are fairly rare overall in the Garden State.

7) The last fatal shark attack in New Jersey was in 1926. Though there have been a few non-fatal shark attacks (the last being in 2013) and the Jersey shore is home to plenty of sharks (I've seen dogfish and small sand sharks), people and sharks rarely interact.

8) Wildwood beaches get longer and longer every year. They're not the longest beaches in the world or even in the United States, but walking out to the ocean in Wildwood is a hike unto itself.

9) The oldest still standing Light House in the United States is in Sandy Hook - which is also where New Jersey's only nude beach is located.

10) Ocean City New Jersey - not to be confused with Ocean City Maryland - is dry. If you want alcohol you gotta either island hope to Atlantic City or head to the mainland.

I hope I've given you guys some insight into the true beauty that is the Jersey Shore. I swear there's no where else on Earth like it.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.