Jaws: New England, Steven Spielberg, and the Reel Twisty Summer of the Shark

In 1916, a cluster of shark attacks shook the New Jersey coastline, driving frightened sea bathers off the beaches at the height of the summer heat. In 1974, the release of a book by first-time author Peter Benchley emptied beaches and filled bookstores. Then, in June 1975, young director Steven Spielberg redefined filmmaking and the summer blockbuster when a little film with a big star started the Summer of the Shark, sending shockwaves of fear through beachgoers again. This time, they ran straight from the water and into theaters. Find out just how close Jaws comes to catching the truth of the real 1916 New Jersey shoreline terror. Research Resources: Reel Twisty Bookshop: Jaws Jaws, IMDB Stanley Fisher: Shark Attack Hero of a Bygone Age, John Allan Savolaine, 2016 The Daily Jaws: Jaws Shark Trust Global Catches, Exploitation Rates, and Rebuilding Options for Sharks, Marine Policy Novel Aerial Observations of a Possible Newborn White Shark in Southern California, Springer Nature Link Jaws: Book vs. Movie, Audible Blog Jaws: The 10 Biggest Differences Between the Horror Movie and Peter Benchley's Book, MovieWeb The State of Sharks, 40 Years After Jaws, Smithsonian Magazine How Realistic Is the Shark Science in 'The Shallows'?, Smithsonian Magazine The True Story of Jaws, BBC A Century Later, Memories of Fatal Shark Attacks Linger in New Jersey, The New York Times International Shark Attack File, Florida Museum of Natural History The Shark Attacks That Were the Inspiration for Jaws, Smithsonian Magazine Corrections, The New York Times (Sept. 8, 2001) Scientists Say Frenzy Over Shark Attacks Is Unwarranted, The New York Times Down the Shore; Claptrap, Not 'Jaws,' The New York Times Fifty Years After 'Jaws,' We've Learned a Lot About Great Whites, Smithsonian Magazine Steven Spielberg Regrets How 'Jaws' Impacted Real-World Sharks, Smithsonian Magazine Mexico Bans Great White Shark-Related Tourism on Guadalupe Island, Smithsonian Magazine Australia's 'Rogue' Man-Eating Sharks Actually Chasing Whales, LiveScience 'Extremely Rare' Sighting of Newborn Great White Shark Reported Off California Coast, Smithsonian Magazine How Jaws Misrepresented the Great White, BBC Spielberg Tells of Guilt Over Harm Hit Film Jaws May Have Done to Sharks, The Guardian 'The Shark Is Broken' Brings the Making of 'Jaws' to Broadway, Smithsonian Magazine 'Jaws' Turns 40: Surprising Facts About the First Blockbuster, CBS News 2 Weeks, 4 Deaths, and the Start of America's Fear of Sharks, National Geographic Overfishing Drives Over One-Third of All Sharks and Rays Toward a Global Extinction Crisis, Current Biology 'Jaws' 40th Anniversary: 40 Reasons Why Steven Spielberg's Movie Is the Ultimate Summer Blockbuster, Cleveland.com 'I'll Never Have a Clown in My House' - Why Movie Horror Lives On, Poetics Today Overreaction to Fearsome Risks, Springer Nature Link Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Steven Spielberg's 'Jaws' With This Sprawling Exhibition at the Academy Museum, Smithsonian Magazine Jaws: The Exhibition, Academy Museum of Motion Pictures Steven Spielberg Reflects on Jaws at 50, NPR Jaws Is Still Stuck in Our Teeth, 50 Years Later, NPR Jaws Shark Gets His Bite Back: A Love Story, NPR Hunting Bruce, Or, On the Trail of the Jaws Shark, NPR Jaws: Celebrating Sand, Sex, and a Really Big Fish, NPR From Junkyard to Museum: The Journey of a Jaws Shark, NPR Great White Sharks Come Much Closer to Swimmers Than Thought in Southern California, Smithsonian Magazine Chewing On the Complex Legacy of Jaws, National Geographic Jaws @ 50: The Definitive Inside Story, National Geographic Rogue Shark?, National Geographic Overheard: Do Shark Stories Help Sharks?, National Geographic Food Fights, Fake Blood, Obsessed Fans: When Jaws Invaded Martha's Vineyard, National Geographic John Williams Recalls Jaws, The Film Music Society How a 26-Year-Old Steven Spielberg Made Jaws…and Nearly Lost His Career in the Process, Literary Hub Bruce, Seattle Rep The Shark Is Broken Circles the Guts of Jaws, The New Yorker An Oedipal Fish Story on Broadway, The New Yorker The 40-Year Legacy of Jaws, The Atlantic A Turn in the Tide for Sharks and Their Public Image, Smithsonian Magazine Supporting Conservation Action, International Union for Conservation of Nature