History YMMV / Jaws

* SignatureScene: If there is any scene that encompasses ''Jaws'' as a whole, it's the death of Chrissie in the opening scene. Nearly every poster and cover of ''Jaws'' has the shark rising beneath the unsuspected Chrissie and the scene itself is used to exemplified the NothingIsScarier element by film critics and scholars alike, setting the tone for the rest of the movie. ''Jaws'' parodies will always use this opening scene first before spoofing the rest of movie's other iconic scenes.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: As Quint sabotages the Orca towards the end of the novel by pushing his boat's engines to the breaking point is he doing it because his pride can't allow the shark to die from drowning in the shallow water, is he genuinely oblivious to his boat because he believes it to be unsinkable or is he actually afraid the shark is gonna kill them all making him extra anxious to get back to Amity Island? Or perhaps, some combination of the three?

** Creator/StevenSpielberg himself was disappointed when he wasn't nominated for Best Director at the UsefulNotes/{{Academy Award}}s, as seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mgrxvTdl-Q&feature=player_embedded here.]] He keeps his complaining playful and lets his friends do most of it for him. Until he's then informed that the film only got four nominations, and then frankly points out that his film suffered from commercial backlash. "Everybody loves a winner, but nobody loves a WINNER".

** Along with ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars]]'', ''Jaws'' is listed as the moment that showed UsefulNotes/TheBlockbusterAgeOfHollywood was starting to overtake the Usefulnotes/NewHollywood. It was a far contrast to the counterculture "us vs. them \ TheMan" by going with the apolitical "man vs. beast", yet pulling off the simple story with the same artistry of fellow "film school geeks" like Coppola and Bogdanovich, elevating them into classic tales that still garner the respect of those who watch them. Yet then the studios decided that they'd get quick profits with similar big budget HighConcept movies, and decades later [[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-predicts-implosion-film-567604 Spielberg himself was among those disillusioned with the trends that his films had kicked off]].

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: From none other than UsefulNotes/BorisJohnson, Prime Minister of the UK, who pointed out that the mayor would be seen as a ReasonableAuthorityFigure in RealLife for his refusal to close the beach. (That said, Johnson was forced to resign as PM when it was revealed that he flouted his own government's COVID safety regulations in private.)
** Johnson wasn't forced to resign for his COVID rule breaches. He was forced to resign after it became public knowledge that he had lied about knowing that a member of his party whom he had promoted had sexual assault allegations against him, and then lied about having lied.

** One of the harshest example to hit this list is the story of "the lady of the dune" and her possible links to this movie. She was a woman who was murdered somewhere in the summer of 1974 in Cape Cod peninsula, and for decades, no one knew her identity. In 2015, Joe Hill, Stephen King's son, happened to look at the movie ''Jaws'', and saw an uncredited extra in the background resembling the woman's reconstruction made by the police. The extra from the movie was wearing same outfit the corpse was found with, meaning, if the two women were indeed same person, she was killed no too long after the shooting the scene she appears in. Her name was Ruth Marie Terry.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: For the film's 25th anniversary DVD release in 2000, a new 5.1 stereo sound mix was done. However, this new mix changed several sound effects from the original mono (such as gunshots, and the sound of [[spoiler:the shark bursting through the ''Orca'''s window after eating Quint]]), causing complaints from audio purists and original fans. Thankfully, later DVD and Blu-Ray releases added the mono option back.

* RootingForTheEmpire: Given how unsympathetic the main protagonists are and how real-life sharks face endangerment from humans, it's not hard to see the [[ThreateningShark great white shark]] as the true hero of the story. Creator/StevenSpielberg admitted that when he read the book, he disliked the characters so much [[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3400291.stm he wanted the shark to win]]. It's one of the reasons he applied some AdaptationDistillation for the film adaptation.

** Susan Backlinie only shows up for the very first scene, but her death is so horrifying it's usually the first thing that comes to mind when people mention the movie.

%%* SignatureScene: Five of them; the opening death scene, the ''Indianapolis'' monologue, Brody seeing the shark for the first time, [[spoiler:Quint's death]], and the shark's death. Why are they famous?

* RomanticPlotTumor: The illicit love affair, lasting one afternoon, between Matt Hooper and Ellen Brody. The subplot doesn't go anywhere because [[spoiler: Hooper is killed by the shark]].

* JerkassWoobie: Quint might be a brash, unpleasant guy. But the monologue scene shows the reason why he's that way as going to the war, seeing your ship get sunk, and then sharks attacking the survivors would traumatize and change anyone.

** Mentioning the Mayor keeping the Amnityville beaches open is often referred to in response to officials ignoring or downplaying a major disaster because of SkewedPriorities (such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which indeed involved keeping beaches open despite the danger).

** [[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/checkpoints/202005/examining-media-myths Shark populations were drastically declining years before either were released]], with the primary reasons ― finning, consumption, [[https://usa.oceana.org/blog/bycatch-spotlight-one-biggest-issues-facing-sharks-today overfishing and bycatching]] ― having nothing to do with fear. Additionally, sharks had [[TheDreaded a fearsome reputation]] prior to the book and film.

* CommonKnowledge: There is a common notion that book and film have contributed to making sharks an endangered species; instilling such fear and hate on to them by mislabeling them as [[ThreateningShark vicious killing machines]]. This is a bit more complicated than it might seem.

** One of the harshest example to hit this list is the story of "the lady of the dune" and her possible links to this movie. She was a woman who was murdered somewhere in the summer of 1974 in Cape Cod peninsula, and for decades, no one knew her identity. In 2015, Joe Hill, Stephen King's son, happened to look at the movie ''Jaws'', and saw an uncredited extra in the background resembling the woman's reconstruction made by the police. The extra from the movie was wearing same outfit the corpse was found with, meaning she was killed no too long after the shooting the scene she appears in. Her name was Ruth Marie Terry.

** One of the harshest example to hit this list is the story of "the lady of the dune" and her possible links to this movie. She was a woman who was murdered somewhere in the summer of 1974 in Cape Cod peninsula, and for decades, no one knew her identity. In 2015, Joe Hill, Stephen King's son, happened to look at the movie ''Jaws'', and saw an uncredited extra in the background resembling the woman's reconstruction made by the police. The extra from the movie was wearing same outfit the corpse was found with, meaning she was killed no too long after the shooting of the movie.

* One of the harshest example to hit this list is the story of "the lady of the dune" and her possible links to this movie. She was a woman who was murdered somewhere in the summer of 1974 in Cape Cod peninsula, and for decades, no one knew her identity. In 2015, Joe Hill, Stephen King's son, happened to look at the movie ''Jaws'', and saw an uncredited extra in the background resembling the woman's reconstruction made by the police. The extra from the movie was wearing same outfit the corpse was found with, meaning she was killed no too long after the shooting of the movie.

* AluminumChristmasTrees: And literal on that first part! Quint crushing his beer can doesn't look too impressive now that they're made of aluminum, and a kid can do it. But at the time, they were made of tin, and it really was quite a show of strength to crush one, which makes Hooper crushing his paper cup in retaliation so much funnier. From a ''Series/TheRockfordFiles'' episode broadcast the year Jaws was released: "They switched to aluminum back in 63, now anyone can be a hero."

** The infamous scene where Hooper explains to some fisherman that the shark they caught is a tiger shark. The one fisherman's deadpan response "a whaaatt?" has gotten laughs out of a lot of audiences, not fir the reasons intended. As ''Creator/PeteDavidson'' said: "Did Spielberg just get his uncle to do that part?"

* CommonKnowledge: The book and film have contributed to making sharks an endangered species; instilling such fear and hate on to them by mislabeling them as [[ThreateningShark vicious killing machines]]. Except no, they haven't. [[https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/checkpoints/202005/examining-media-myths Shark populations were drastically declining years before either were released]], with the primary reasons ― finning, consumption, [[https://usa.oceana.org/blog/bycatch-spotlight-one-biggest-issues-facing-sharks-today overfishing and bycatching]] ― having nothing to do with fear. Additionally, sharks had [[TheDreaded a fearsome reputation]] prior to the book and film, going back to the time of Ancient Greece with tales of gods assuming the form of monstrous sharks to enact vengeance.

** Creator/RichardDreyfuss stated that Spielberg looped the screams of the opening sequence by diving Susan Backlinie's head into a water bucket -- [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waterboarding that's torture today.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: From none other than UsefulNotes/BorisJohnson, Prime Minister of the UK, who pointed out that the mayor would be seen as a ReasonableAuthorityFigure in RealLife for his refusal to close the beach.

** [[https://www.yahoo.com/news/owners-traumatized-dog-taken-shark-222711594.html As if what happened to poor Pippet wasn't bad enough. . .]]
** The film features Brody's young son being endangered while his father is at work. Skip several decades later, and [[https://www.buzzfeed.com/harrydreyfuss2/actor-harry-dreyfuss-when-i-was-18-kevin-spacey-groped-me?utm_term=.baDDL4Ax9#.th318lQR7 Richard Dreyfuss' own son was preyed upon by his father's boss for the play]] ''Complicit''... Creator/KevinSpacey.

* IAmNotShazam: ''Jaws'' is not the name of the shark. It had no name, unless you count [[ProductionNickname Bruce]]. On official merchandise or film articles, it is usually referred to as "The shark from ''Jaws''" or occasionally "The Great White Menace from ''Jaws''". Peter Benchley's name for the creature was "The Great Fish" or simply "The Fish." Averted in the 1987 [[VideoGame/{{Jaws}} NES game]], which actually does call the shark "Jaws".

* SignatureLine: Brody's summary of the situation after his first Bruce sighting ("You're gonna need a bigger boat") is one of the film's most referenced lines and the TropeMaker (or at least one of them) for GonnaNeedMoreX.

* SignatureLine: Brody's summary of the situation after his first sight of the shark ("You're gonna need a bigger boat") is one of the film's most referenced lines and being the TropeMaker (or at least one of them) for GonnaNeedMoreX.

** The shark's appearance in the "you're gonna need a bigger boat" scene has not aged well since the film's release. To modern audiences with any eye for visuals/art, it looks almost intolerably fake.