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CBC
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Jaws attacked 50 years ago, changing how we look at movies — and sharks
Social Sharing Summers have never been quite the same since June 20, 1975, and it's all thanks to a "mindless eating machine" that terrorized moviegoers and beachgoers alike. That was the day Jaws hit theatres, ushering in the era of the summer blockbuster and becoming a pop culture phenomenon that still resonates 50 years later. Steven Spielberg's classic tale of a great white shark stalking the waters off an island beach town in New York state and devouring unsuspecting swimmers, broke records and became the first film to cross the $100-million US mark at the box office. The film was credited with helping "revitalize" the movie landscape in what was a slumping year, The New York Times reported at the time, as people lined up outside cinemas for hours. Since its release, we've come to expect a summer chock full of action-packed films that thrill and chill. What sets Jaws apart, even today, is how it influenced not just the movie industry, but the real world, too. There's a reason we're still talking about Jaws, says Charles Acland, a communications studies professor at Montreal's Concordia University and author of the book American Blockbuster: Movies, Technology, and Wonder. "It is an expertly constructed motion picture," he said, but it also got into our heads and made it "hard not to think about sharks for a few years and maybe even ever since." WATCH | The official trailer for Jaws: Jaws made us imagine our deepest fears Chris Lowe was around 11 years old when the film came out. He grew up on Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts where it was shot, swimming and fishing in those same Atlantic waters that became the fabled hunting ground for the ocean's most notorious apex predator. Jaws didn't frighten him because he watched it being made, and a lot of familiar faces from his town made it into different scenes. But he certainly got a kick out of how scared others got. Lowe also knows a thing or two about sharks: he's the director of Shark Lab, at California State University Long Beach, and has been researching sharks for 30 years. He says the film actually influenced him and a lot of other shark biologists. WATCH | Learning about misunderstood predators in Maritime waters: Shark nerds are on a mission to reveal the 'jawsome' lives of Canada's Great White Sharks 1 year ago Duration 2:35 According to Lowe, very little was understood about great whites at that time — something Spielberg played to in the film. "What made that movie work, believe it or not, was the fact that you rarely saw the shark and the storytelling allowed people's imaginations to run wild," Lowe said. You don't actually see the shark, a 7.6-metre animatronic beast nicknamed Bruce, until 81 minutes in — during that unforgettable, "You're gonna need a bigger boat" scene (don't worry, it's embedded below). In total, it's only on screen for about four minutes. But Lowe says that was, and still is, enough to make people think twice about going into the water. He says people who've seen Jaws can almost hear the eerie "dun dun" of the iconic score by John Williams when they go for a swim, leaving them wondering what's lurking beneath the surface. For Lowe and his friends, the terror Jaws inspired wasn't the worst thing in the world in the summer of 1975. "Nobody else would go in the water that summer," he said. "So, we had a lot of the beaches all to ourselves." WATCH | Chief Brody meets Jaws: We're gonna need a bigger blockbuster Jaws, based on Peter Benchley's bestselling 1974 novel, came to define what we now think of as a blockbuster. It raked in more than $260 million US worldwide during its initial release — a huge sum for that time, and still a lot. Adjusted for inflation, that works out to more than $1.5 billion US. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, including best picture (it lost to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), best editing, best sound mixing and best original score (all of which it won). For better or worse, it spawned a series of sequels and inspired an entire genre of shark attack films — from the suspenseful Open Water, to the gory but implausible Deep Blue Sea, to the downright absurd Sharknado franchise (Lowe is a big fan). However, Acland says it's a misconception that the movie was the first Hollywood blockbuster. Before Jaws, he says, the word blockbuster was a promotional term used to describe epic films like Lawrence of Arabia and Ben Hur. Then, with its ubiquitous marketing campaign and a remarkable 14-week run at the top of the box office, Jaws became an event for moviegoers young and old. Acland says the film "colonized summer," which suddenly became a time for an "entertainment heavy movie." In its wake, horror, sci-fi and action flicks came to dominate the season. Taking the bite out of shark fears Like blockbuster releases, sharks have become a fixture of summer culture thanks to Jaws, says Lowe. The film has often been blamed for stoking fears about sharks and blowing the risk of attack out of proportion. "I think Peter Benchley and Steven Spielberg both felt really bad about how it influenced people's attitudes toward sharks," Lowe said. Fatal shark attacks are rare. The Florida Museum of Natural History's International Shark Attack File confirmed 47 unprovoked shark bites on humans worldwide last year — only four were fatal. That's one less than the number of people killed in Jaws. By the time the movie came out, Lowe says, the great white shark population had already dwindled due to over fishing. He actually credits the film with bringing more attention to the species, ultimately leading to conservation and protection efforts that have seen populations grow since the 1990s. Sightings, including off Atlantic Canada, have also increased, which Lowe says is helping people understand that sharks aren't "as dangerous as they've been made out to be." Because of that, he says it might be difficult for a film to have the same impact today that Jaws did 50 years ago. "I think that the science, the data that we have really flips Jaws on its head and show that whole 'they're out to get you' thing is wrong."
CTV News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Edmonton's Nathan Fillion honoured at Concordia University
Edmonton Watch Edmonton-born actor Nathan Fillion spoke to graduates at Concordia University after receiving an honourary degree.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Climate
- Winnipeg Free Press
In the news today: Canadians facing extreme weather, major projects bill on track
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed… Extreme weather affected 1 in 4 people: poll Almost one in four Canadians were directly affected by extreme weather events over the past year, a new poll suggests. The Leger poll — released as Canada copes with its second-worst wildfire season on record — says 23 per cent of Canadians who responded said they were personally affected by extreme weather events like heat waves, floods, fires and tornadoes over the last 12 months. Among those who said they had felt the impacts of extreme weather, almost two-thirds reported being forced to stay indoors because of air quality concerns, while 39 per cent reported suffering emotional stress. Twenty-seven per cent of those who reported experiencing extreme weather said they had to postpone travel plans, while one-fifth said they suffered property damage. CO2 budget for 1.5 C could be exhausted in 3 years The world is on pace to emit enough greenhouse gas emissions over the next three years to blow by an international target to limit global warming to 1.5 C, according to a new study co-authored by a Canadian researcher who says the finding underlines the need for urgent transformational change. The study by more than 60 scientists says the 1.5-degree carbon budget – how much CO2 can be released while staying below that limit – sits at about 130 billion tonnes as of the start of 2025. At current levels, that budget would be exhausted in a little more than three years, the report said. Within the next decade, the budgets for 1.6 and 1.7 degree warming thresholds are at risk too, the report found. Concordia University professor Damon Matthews said 'every increment matters' in the effort to avoid increasingly severe climate impacts, from thawing permafrost to raging wildfires. Major projects bill on track to soon clear House Running roughshod over the environment. Spawning the next Idle No More movement. Picking economic winners and losers. Prime Minister Mark Carney's Building Canada Act is anything if not a magnet for criticism. The Liberal government's controversial legislation that would let cabinet quickly grant federal approvals for big industrial projects like mines, ports and pipelines sailed through committee in the early hours of Thursday. A House of Commons panel sat from Wednesday afternoon to after midnight reviewing Bill C-5 in a hurried study, as the Liberal government seeks to pass it through the chamber by week's end. Disabilities groups ask Liberals to amend tax bill Advocacy groups are asking the federal Liberal government to adjust its proposed tax bill to ensure people with disabilities don't end up paying more to the Canada Revenue Agency. Inclusion Canada says it favours Ottawa lowering the lowest marginal tax rate from 15 to 14 per cent, as proposed in the bill that passed first reading earlier this month. However, the group says the unintended result of the change is that tax credits for people with disabilities will decrease in many cases. That's because the credit — used to reduce taxes payable — is generated by a formula that is tied to the marginal tax rate, and by dropping that rate to 14 per cent, the credit shrinks. Affordability challenges plaguing renters: report A new report suggests Canadian renters continue to face affordability challenges even as asking rent prices have fallen this year, while those considering the leap to home ownership are taking a wait-and-see approach. Royal LePage's 2025 Canadian renters report, which includes results from a survey conducted by Burson, found 37 per cent of renters in Canada spend between 31 and 50 per cent of their net income on monthly rent costs. The survey of more than 1,800 renters in early June indicated that 15 per cent of respondents were spending more than half of their income on rent, while 37 per cent were spending 30 per cent or less. Rents have eased for eight consecutive months, but remain well above historical norms, according to the report. Families fear memories of Air India bombing fading Rob Alexander's father wasn't supposed to be on Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985. 'My mother had actually booked him on an Air France flight to go see his mother in India,' recalled Alexander, who was in his teens at the time. 'One of the guys that we knew, he worked for Air India and he wanted to sell my father a ticket very badly to get the commission or something. 'Eventually, he agreed.' Alexander recalled the small argument that ensued between his father and mother, and how she had to cancel his Air France ticket. An Ontario surgeon, Dr. Anchanatt Mathew Alexander boarded the flight in Toronto on the evening of June 22. Early the next morning, about 200 kilometres off the Irish coast, a bomb exploded, sending the Boeing 747 plunging 31,000 feet into the ocean and killing all 329 passengers and crew. The majority were Canadians. — This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
In the news today: Canadians facing extreme weather, major projects bill on track
Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed... Extreme weather affected 1 in 4 people: poll Almost one in four Canadians were directly affected by extreme weather events over the past year, a new poll suggests. The Leger poll — released as Canada copes with its second-worst wildfire season on record — says 23 per cent of Canadians who responded said they were personally affected by extreme weather events like heat waves, floods, fires and tornadoes over the last 12 months. Among those who said they had felt the impacts of extreme weather, almost two-thirds reported being forced to stay indoors because of air quality concerns, while 39 per cent reported suffering emotional stress. Twenty-seven per cent of those who reported experiencing extreme weather said they had to postpone travel plans, while one-fifth said they suffered property damage. CO2 budget for 1.5 C could be exhausted in 3 years The world is on pace to emit enough greenhouse gas emissions over the next three years to blow by an international target to limit global warming to 1.5 C, according to a new study co-authored by a Canadian researcher who says the finding underlines the need for urgent transformational change. The study by more than 60 scientists says the 1.5-degree carbon budget – how much CO2 can be released while staying below that limit – sits at about 130 billion tonnes as of the start of 2025. At current levels, that budget would be exhausted in a little more than three years, the report said. Within the next decade, the budgets for 1.6 and 1.7 degree warming thresholds are at risk too, the report found. Concordia University professor Damon Matthews said "every increment matters" in the effort to avoid increasingly severe climate impacts, from thawing permafrost to raging wildfires. Major projects bill on track to soon clear House Running roughshod over the environment. Spawning the next Idle No More movement. Picking economic winners and losers. Prime Minister Mark Carney's Building Canada Act is anything if not a magnet for criticism. The Liberal government's controversial legislation that would let cabinet quickly grant federal approvals for big industrial projects like mines, ports and pipelines sailed through committee in the early hours of Thursday. A House of Commons panel sat from Wednesday afternoon to after midnight reviewing Bill C-5 in a hurried study, as the Liberal government seeks to pass it through the chamber by week's end. Disabilities groups ask Liberals to amend tax bill Advocacy groups are asking the federal Liberal government to adjust its proposed tax bill to ensure people with disabilities don't end up paying more to the Canada Revenue Agency. Inclusion Canada says it favours Ottawa lowering the lowest marginal tax rate from 15 to 14 per cent, as proposed in the bill that passed first reading earlier this month. However, the group says the unintended result of the change is that tax credits for people with disabilities will decrease in many cases. That's because the credit — used to reduce taxes payable — is generated by a formula that is tied to the marginal tax rate, and by dropping that rate to 14 per cent, the credit shrinks. Affordability challenges plaguing renters: report A new report suggests Canadian renters continue to face affordability challenges even as asking rent prices have fallen this year, while those considering the leap to home ownership are taking a wait-and-see approach. Royal LePage's 2025 Canadian renters report, which includes results from a survey conducted by Burson, found 37 per cent of renters in Canada spend between 31 and 50 per cent of their net income on monthly rent costs. The survey of more than 1,800 renters in early June indicated that 15 per cent of respondents were spending more than half of their income on rent, while 37 per cent were spending 30 per cent or less. Rents have eased for eight consecutive months, but remain well above historical norms, according to the report. Families fear memories of Air India bombing fading Rob Alexander's father wasn't supposed to be on Air India Flight 182 on June 23, 1985. "My mother had actually booked him on an Air France flight to go see his mother in India," recalled Alexander, who was in his teens at the time. "One of the guys that we knew, he worked for Air India and he wanted to sell my father a ticket very badly to get the commission or something. "Eventually, he agreed." Alexander recalled the small argument that ensued between his father and mother, and how she had to cancel his Air France ticket. An Ontario surgeon, Dr. Anchanatt Mathew Alexander boarded the flight in Toronto on the evening of June 22. Early the next morning, about 200 kilometres off the Irish coast, a bomb exploded, sending the Boeing 747 plunging 31,000 feet into the ocean and killing all 329 passengers and crew. The majority were Canadians. --- This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 19, 2025 The Canadian Press
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Carbon budget to keep global warming at 1.5 C could be exhausted in 3 years: report
The world is on pace to emit enough greenhouse gas emissions over the next three years to blow by an international target to limit global warming to 1.5 C, according to a new study co-authored by a Canadian researcher who says the finding underlines the need for urgent transformational change. The study by more than 60 scientists says the 1.5-degree carbon budget – how much CO2 can be released while staying below that limit – sits at about 130 billion tonnes as of the start of 2025. At current levels, that budget would be exhausted in a little more than three years, the report said. Within the next decade, the budgets for 1.6 and 1.7 degree warming thresholds are at risk too, the report found. Concordia University professor Damon Matthews said "every increment matters" in the effort to avoid increasingly severe climate impacts, from thawing permafrost to raging wildfires. "It's become a question of how low we can keep the temperature peak, and can we implement measures to return from that temperature peak in the latter portion of the century," said Matthews, a report co-author and carbon budget expert. The 2015 Paris Agreement committed countries to pursue efforts to cap global warming at 1.5 C and keep it well below two degrees compared to the pre-industrial average, a guardrail to avoid some of the most catastrophic and irreversible climate impacts. The more ambitious target was pushed by small island nations and backed by an emerging scientific consensus, which showed it would reduce the risks of extreme heat, sea level rise and coastal flooding. "It's a notable political failure when we breach that level, that we did not manage to get our stuff together fast enough to solve this problem," said Matthews. "We need to have unanimous public support for really bold, ambitious system-changing action." The third annual Indicators of Global Climate Change report looks to offer several measures reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC publishes comprehensive assessment reports on the latest climate science every five to seven years. The report found that, between 2019 and 2024, global mean sea level had increased by around 26 mm. That's more than double the long-term annual rate of around 1.8 mm since the turn of the 20th century, said the report published in the journal Earth System Science Data. It also confirmed the findings of several other assessments that last year's global surface temperatures surpassed 1.5 degrees for the first time on record. It attributed about 1.36 degrees of that warming to human activity, driven by the burning of fossil fuels. Surpassing the 1.5-degree threshold in a single year does not mean the Paris target has been broken. But the report estimates continued emissions at current levels could cause human-induced warming to hit 1.5 degrees in five years. "The only way we're going to prevent even worse outcomes is to engage and keep pushing, keep implementing the things that are needed to transform the energy system and drive down emissions," said Matthews. The findings come on the heels of a G7 summit hosted by Canada, where climate change largely eluded discussion. A joint statement by the leaders about efforts to prevent and mitigate wildfires was panned by some climate groups and scientists for failing to mention how climate change has fuelled those fires. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mark Carney's support for new oil pipelines has also troubled some climate scientists. "We're not going to be able to drive emissions down if we keep building new fossil fuel infrastructure," said Matthews, who also sits on an expert advisory body tasked with helping the federal government hit its climate goals. That Net-Zero Advisory Body has recommended Canada adopt a domestic carbon budget set at between 10,000 and 11,000 megatonnes of CO2. At Canada's current emissions levels, that budget would be exhausted in roughly 15 years. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025. Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press Sign in to access your portfolio
