Talk:Jaws (film)

Criticism of capitalism, surely

The themes section does not go into the main point of the film, which is, glaringly, the critique of capitalism - the money-grabbing mayor, the townspeople who don't bat an eye after three people are killed, the idiot press. I think it should be included up front in the themes section. 1 2 [1] Anna (talk) 20:29, 24 July 2023 (UTC)

Calling it the main point of the film seems like a bit of a reach, but given that you've got some sources at hand and there's already a Themes section, why not layer it in? DonIago (talk) 20:58, 24 July 2023 (UTC)

I sincerely doubt the film was created as a critique of Capitalism. I'm sure you can find some college tenured professor who wrote a book or a paper claiming it's an allegory to the Mona Lisa or Robert E Lee or something. It's not difficult, which is why the 'scholarly criticism' section is so obtuse and ridiculous. Unless you can find Spieldberg or some of the script writers stating as such, it's like that episode of South Park where Butters writes a book about feces and the intellectuals are reading into it things that he never intended. 2601:147:C101:D320:7D5E:52D7:27C2:8D38 (talk) 10:11, 30 December 2023 (UTC)

Reversion of edit by Doniago

Thanks Doniago for reversion of my edit. However, since I am a beginner, I would love to know the reason for reversion. It would help me not to make edits which are unnecessary/not allowed etc. Thanks. Neotaruntius (talk) 03:57, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

Basically, I didn't feel your addition to the plot summary added anything helpful for readers. It seemed to essentially be a parenthetical comment without the parentheses. We shouldn't be adding text to the plot summary just for the sake of covering minor plot points, per WP:FILMPLOT. DonIago (talk) 04:43, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

There was nothing inherently wrong with your addition, but you added detail that was not essential to conveying the plot. It's true that such decisions usually come down to personal judgement, but in this case Doniago's revert was justified. If you wish to work on plot summaries then I would offer the following pointers:

• Read and apply WP:PLOTSUM;
• Bearing in mind that guidelines state that plot summaries should be 400–700 words;
• Focus your efforts where they are most needed i.e. articles without plot summaries, or those where the summary is excessively long i.e. over 1,000 words.

Betty Logan (talk) 11:20, 28 December 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 19 January 2024

In the final paragraph of the Legacy section, it says that Jaws 4 is considered one of the worst films ever made, despite being nowhere on the list. Could someone please remove the link to the page List of films considered the worst? 2600:1006:B01A:6C81:45DA:DC57:D5CB:FA07 (talk) 17:26, 19 January 2024 (UTC)

 Done I've reworded the sentence in the Sequels section per the cited source. Schazjmd (talk) 17:43, 19 January 2024 (UTC)

Thanks 2600:1006:B01A:6C81:45DA:DC57:D5CB:FA07 (talk) 18:11, 19 January 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 31 May 2024

Add List of killer shark films in See also and to repair Jameson, Fredric (1979). "Reification and Utopia in Mass Culture". Signatures of the Visible. New York and London: Routledge. pp. 130–148. doi:10.2307/466409. ISBN 978-0-415-90012-6. JSTOR 466409. S2CID 2800844. {{cite book}}: Empty citation (help): 2804:1B3:9601:37FD:B8A7:9863:C037:52B0 (talk) 07:09, 31 May 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Charliehdb (talk) 09:45, 31 May 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 5 July 2024

could you maybe just add a ‘Cast’ section to the drop down menus? all else is great! 2600:8804:84C1:EF00:D4D8:FE6C:F569:A054 (talk) 03:17, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. Betty Logan (talk) 11:28, 5 July 2024 (UTC)

Cast list

Considering this article's status as one of the best on Wikipedia, shouldn't it rework the cast list to be coherent to the way it's usually done? I don't know if it's a guideline, but 99% of the film articles has it right under the plot section, rather than in a lateral box buried several pages down. Kumagoro-42 (talk) 11:37, 2 August 2024 (UTC)

It may be atypical, but if anything something more than a barebones listing is encouraged per MOS:FILMCAST. DonIago (talk) 13:20, 2 August 2024 (UTC)

Per FILMCAST:

A basic cast list in a "Cast" section is appropriate for most stub-class articles. When an article is more developed, information about the cast can be presented in other ways. A "Cast" section may be maintained but with more detailed bulleted entries (ensuring that these do not force any line breaks that reduce accessibility), or 'a table or infobox (grouping actors and their roles) may be placed in the plot summary or in the "Casting" subsection of a "Production" section.

The cast section is much better integrated in this article. Other articles should be taking their lead from this one IMO. Betty Logan (talk) 00:47, 3 August 2024 (UTC)

Disagree. Sometimes I would like to go to Wikipedia and learn information, such as who plays Hooper, and I don’t want to have to read paragraphs and dissect the box office summary intro paragraph to figure this out Ecbonnell (talk) 16:23, 14 September 2024 (UTC)

At the very least the names of the characters should be included in the first paragraph along with their actors Ecbonnell (talk) 16:24, 14 September 2024 (UTC)

There is literally a list of actors along with the characters they play, in a section called "casting". You don't have figure anything out. Betty Logan (talk) 17:39, 14 September 2024 (UTC)

WHERE'S THE CAST SECTION???

How the f*(k is there not a cast section? I'm assuming it was deleted somehow. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2603:8000:7800:9F15:84B5:C86B:8FF6:980B (talk) 23:40, 1 October 2024 (UTC)

See discussions above this one. Schazjmd (talk) 23:45, 1 October 2024 (UTC)

Featured picture scheduled for POTD

Hello! This is to let editors know that File:Jaws movie poster.jpg, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for June 20, 2025. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2025-06-20. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! –Dream out loud (talk) 22:27, 18 November 2024 (UTC)

Jaws is an American thriller film directed by Steven Spielberg, based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. Released on June 20, 1975, it stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, who, with the help of a marine biologist (Richard Dreyfuss) and a professional shark hunter (Robert Shaw), hunts a man-eating great white shark that attacks beachgoers at a summer resort town. Regarded as a watershed moment in motion picture history, Jaws was the prototypical summer blockbuster and won several awards for its music and editing. It was the highest-grossing film of all time until the release of Star Wars two years later; both films were pivotal in establishing the modern Hollywood business model, which pursues high box-office returns from action and adventure films with simple high-concept premises, released during the summer in thousands of theaters and advertised heavily.

Illustration credit: Roger Kastel; courtesy of the Everett Collection; retouched by Crisco 1492

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