In the summer of 1975, American theater goers were exposed to teeth and buckets of blood. So chilling was the depiction of an evil white shark, beach goers would not step foot in the oceans. Much like in the movie, beaches were full of sun bathers and few ventured into the water.

Peter Benchley’s book released the year before, did well in sales. But the movie struck a nerve with water lovers across America and around the world. The word shark had always been a nerve tingler that got people’s attention. Much like when you hear the word, Fire. But before that summer people did not visualize what it meant to be attacked by the white slashing teeth of a shark.

The movie became a thriller with the great white attacking an unsuspecting victim from the deep blue. Poor Christy, who was filmed completely nude, or that is the way it appeared, got the male of the species into the movie right away. A death has never been created on screen any better than Christy gulping for air. That opening scene put movie goers face to face with Christy. The unseen creature pulled movie goers into her horrible death. You could almost hear her bones crushing, if you had a good imagination.

But in many ways it was kind of a documentary on the dangers and the nature of the top predator in the oceans. Throughout the movie details of the shark’s nature were revealed. Sharks attack most often ten feet from shore in three feet of water. Sharks are attracted by sounds. Tiger sharks will eat almost anything, including Louisiana 1972 license plates. White sharks were not often found in cool waters in the northern Atlantic. And most of all, if you anger a shark, he will repay you with a bite.

We know today sharks have changed their patterns of feeding along the coast. The water temperatures in the Gulf Stream have increased bringing White sharks and Tigers further north. Tiger sharks will still eat almost anything, but today they are filling up on plastic that won’t break down in their stomach. Micro plastic is penetrating their gills and slowly restricting the oxygen taken in by large sharks. And we have started to realize sharks may be the top predator, but they don’t hold grudges and come back later to eat you.

Jaws also introduced us to the U.S.S. Indianapolis. During World War 2. The ship was returning from delivering the atom bomb. On her return trip she was hit by two torpedoes and sunk in twelve minutes. Some eleven hundred men went into the water, five days later a little over three hundred sailors were rescued. Before this movie most people had never heard of the fate of the ship and her crew.

A television channel dedicates an entire week to stories about sharks and why sharks attack, also white sharks vs killer whales. Are shark populations declining? Twenty-four hours of teeth, blood and almost Jaws music.

The original Jaws was followed by four more and at least 20 shark movies. None had the impact that Jaws of 1975 had on the American psyche. Maybe because real events in the world were far more real, and horrifying than a mechanical rubber shark.

Today almost everyone alive will pause and listen when they hear those first few chords played on a base fiddle that opens the movie and informs the movie goers, here comes Bruce. Bruce was the name for the mechanical shark.

The production of the movie exceeded its scheduled budget and filming time. After the movie production closed, many felt it was going to be a box office failure. But once that opening music began on that first night, everyone changed their ideas of the movie’s success.

On this the 50th Birthday of Jaws, I feel privileged to have witnessed this movie become legendary in the movie industry. After the first few years when people went on a shark killing frenzy, and began reentering the water, the word on sharks became conservation. Peter Benchley, who wrote the book, became a champion for sharks. We have come to realize, we are more likely to be struck by lightning, or stung by bees. More people die from these accidents than shark bites, at least that is how I see it Through the Lens.