The first movie to scare the crap out of me. Released in 1975, I was 10 years old and just happened to be living in a coastal town in Oregon when I saw this movie in a theater. It would take years before I would look at the ocean the same way again. When we moved to Germany a short time after seeing the film, my 10yr old fears of the plane crashing on the long trip over the Atlantic changed to a hysterical fear of the plane crashing into the “shark infested” waters of the Atlantic.
The fear of sharks, rather the fear of “being eaten by sharks”, would continue way longer than it should have after my own dear Father managed to convince me of the existence of “freshwater sharks” that were known to inhabit all the area lakes, streams, and ponds near where we lived. Swimming in our local lake was now a terrifying experience as I stood in ankle deep water, shook uncontrollably in fear, and constantly scanned the water for the tell-tale fin knifing through the water of the shark that was sure to eat me.
Now, 35 years later, Steven Spielberg’s classic is tame by modern standards but is still a pretty chilling and scary movie. Another great film that will be classic decades from now.
And no, I have NOT swam in the ocean since this movie came out all those years ago. I did snorkel in the Carribean, only because I was assured that Great Whites did not venture that far south. I have since discovered that fact to be false….so I will never step foot into the ocean…..just to be on the safe side.
