New Jersey’s Possible Connection To The ‘JAWS’ Franchise

What is the New Jersey Connection to 'JAWS'?

It's been 49 years since moviegoers took the trip to Amity Island for the first time. 49 rotations around the sun since Bruce (The Shark) became the star of the first-ever Summer Blockbuster! Under the direction of Steven Speilberg, 'JAWS' was the first movie to ever hit $100 Million at the box office.

Following the success of 'JAWS', Universal immediately looked for a way to capitalize, and looked to make a sequel, 'JAWS 2'. This time, the work was not inspired by Peter Benchley's novel like its predecessor, making it, in some way, Hollywood's first true sequel. Simply make it bigger, badder, and add a "2" to it. Depending on who you ask, the movies that came after, 3-D, and The Revenge, could be (respectfully) forgotten about.

Throughout the franchise, those who lived on the East Coast could not help but make connections to their own home, which they would be right to. Although Amity Island is a fictional Island off New York, it was filmed in Martha's Vinyard. New Jersey, however, is rumored to have a much more sinister connection to the attacks on Amity Island -- a connection going back over 100 years.

Between July 1 and July 12, 1916, five people were attacked by a shark off the coast of New Jersey, with only one of the victims surviving their encounter.

Similar to the novel and movie, reaction to the news of these attacks led to waves of panic, and shark hunts aimed at killing a population of "man-eaters" erupted in New Jersey seaside communities. Resort towns had temporarily closed their beaches to protect swimmers. Similarly to the character Matt Hooper, ichthyologists were also called in for their expert opinion. These attacks caused them to reassess what was known about sharks at the time.

Another tragic, but ironic connection is that of Thomas Cottrell. A Matawan resident and Sea Captain, he claimed he saw an 8-foot shark in the creek, before the attacks. Like that of Police Chief, Martin Brody, his claims were dismissed and not taken seriously right away. Perhaps a little caution could have saved Lester Stillwell and Stanley Fisher.

Just like in the movie, the kind of shark responsible for the attacks was not known right away, while it is still not confirmed 100%, it is suggested that the less famous, but territorial and aggressive Bull Shark.

Fans of the movie will also point out that it directly references the 1916 attacks when Chief Brody and Matt Hooper are urging the Amity Island Mayor to close the beaches down for the 4th of July.

One can argue that the New Jersey Connection to JAWS is all too coincidental, and it would make a lot of sense. Unfortunately, the 1916 attacks DID NOT serve as the original inspiration for the novel.

Other than the name drop of the attacks in 1916, the New Jersey Connection to 'JAWS' ends there. Peter Benchley himself said in a book that his idea of the movie came from shark attacks in Massachusetts and New York.

While it would be amazing to have a direct connection to one of the greatest summer hits of all time, this is possibly just a case of art imitating life.

It's that time of year: summer playlists are being curated for 2024, and we have the best recommendations. Pop artists have been releasing albums and singles all year, so there is plenty to choose from.

In March, Ariana Grande released her seventh studio album, eternal sunshine, which includes fun songs using samples of popular late '90s R&B tracks. "true story" features instrumentation heavily influenced by the metal bass and iconic late '90s bounce in pop and R&B music. "the boy is mine" features a sample using R&B singers Brandy and Monica's 1998 hit song of the same name. The two make a cameo appearance as news anchors reporting on the rat crisis in Grande's playful music video.

Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department came out in April, with loyal Swifties patiently waiting for the double album to drop. The singer-songwriter's 31-song album features guest appearances from Post Malone and Florence + The Machine. Her album, unsurprisingly, was met with high praise by fans.

Then, in May, Dua Lipa released her third studio album with the '70s-inspired psychedelia Radical Optimism. The pop superstar already released singles "Houdini" and "Training Season" ahead of the release, and the rest of the record features more summer staples.

A few weeks later, Billie Eilish released her highly-anticipated third studio album HIT ME HARD AND SOFT. The instrumentation of the album is different from what fans are used to, with the addition of synthesizers. Prior to the album’s release, Eilish announced to her fans that she was “not doing singles i wanna give it to you all at once.”

That same day, actress-turned-pop star Kate Hudson debuted her first studio album with Glorious.

By the time June hit, both Meghan Trainor and Charlie xcx released studio albums on the same day with Timeless and brat, respectively. Trainor's sixth studio album features T-Pain on the track "Been Like This," and the two shared their mutual adoration for each other prior to the song's release. Charlie's album was highly rated by critics and fans alike and filled with summer hits.

Meanwhile, pop artist Sabrina Carpenter announced her sixth studio album, Short n’ Sweet, to be released on August 23rd. Lorde teased that her fourth album is coming soon with a cryptic spit post.

Following the major success of Carpenter's "Espresso" earlier this year, the pop star dropped another song perfect for the summer with "Please Please Please." The music video is [inlink id="relationship-with-barry-keoghan-please" text="even more of a summer vibe"], with Carpenter warning her beau, Barry Keoghan to not make an embarrassment out of her. The playful song features the iconic lines, "Heartbreak is one thing, my ego’s another. I beg you, don’t embarrass me, motherf—er."

The English singer-songwriter's latest album, brat, is a [inlink id="charli-xcx-brat-review-ratings" text="summer vibe in and of itself"]. However, if we had to pick just one for our summer playlist, it would be the album's closing track, "365." Charlie kicks off the album with a track called "360," so we love how she goes full-circle in ending the record with "365." The track is truly a club banger for hardcore partiers, with lyrics alluding to doing hard drugs, as well as bumping fire tracks. The lyrics include lines: "No, I'll never go home. Don't sleep, don't eat, just do it on repeat. Keep bumping that."

For those who are emo, but still want to have a chill summer track to add to their playlist, this track off of Billie's HIT ME HARD AND SOFT ticks off all those boxes. As soon as you hear the lines, "Open up the door, can you open up the door?" you can't help but sing and dance along with the funky bass and keyboards. The track is layered with Billie's voice echoing, as well as the use of a synthesizer and glockenspiel, making it one of those songs we constantly play on repeat.

This Tommy Richman track is about to take over airwaves all summer long. "Million Dollar Baby" hits every time, with Richman's falsetto voice proclaiming, "I ain't never rep a set, baby, I ain't do no wrong. I could clean up good for you, oh, I know right from wrong. 'Cause I wanna make it so badly, I'm a million dollar baby." Just released in April, the funk-tastic track infuses R&B with synths and a bouncy bass line, making it a perfect feel-good song for all ages to enjoy.

Trainor's latest album, Timeless, features her generic-sounding doo-wop/bubble-gum pop sound, but "To The Moon" is a completely different vibe. As the album's opening track, "To The Moon" kicks off with a violin and gives major Amy Winehouse vibes. Trainor sings in a sultry voice, "The girl of your dreams... Baby, that's me. I'm out of this world, no gravity." When the chorus comes in, the beat amps up into a trap beat, which gets you dancing.

Though "Houdini" is our favorite track off the pop icon's Radical Optimism album, "Illusion" has summer written all over it. The song's lyrics, "Ooh, what you doin'? Don't know who you think that you're confusin'. I be like, "Ooh, it's amusin', you think I'm gonna fall for an illusion," includes both a reference to her "Houdini" theme as well as the illusions you see in a desert, like a mirage. The music video completely embodies the type of summer we all wish to have, chilling at a pool with a bunch of hotties surrounding us.

Beyoncé's genre-blending track from her country-pop album features this super-fun track for the summer! Immediately when the song starts, you are hooked to join in on the ad-libs after Bey sings, "This ain't Texas (woo), ain't no hold 'em (hey!). So lay your cards down, down, down, down." You best believe we try to remember the square-dancing moves we learned in elementary school to give "TEXAS HOLD 'EM" the country flair it deserves.