PEL Presents PMP#202: 50-Year-Old Jaws Busts Our Block

The Partially Examined Life Philosophy Podcast

Mark Linsenmayer

Casey, Paskin, Philosophy, Linsenmayer, Society & Culture, Alwan

4.6 • 2.3K Ratings

🗓️ 8 August 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Purported the first summer blockbuster, Jaws has now hit 50 years, and so we discuss this wonderful early Spielberg film, its ill-conceived sequels, some of the making-of docs, and the legacy of shark/big carnivore films that it spawned.

Is the film as flawless as it's made out to be? Are the sequels as awful as typically described? Mark. Lawrence, Sarahlyn, and Al discuss!

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Transcript

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0:00.0	It's pretty much pop, a culture podcast powered by a 30-foot mechanical undersea robot arm that usually doesn't work.
0:14.2	Today we're discussing the 1975 film Jaws and its legacy in light of the 50th anniversary of the film.
0:19.4	This is Mark Linsonmeyer. Always better in 3D.
0:23.0	This is Al Baker.
0:24.2	Every bit as English as Robert Shaw, but only about half is drunk.
0:28.6	I'm Sarah Lynn Bruck, the head, the tail, the whole damn thing.
0:32.7	This is Lawrence Ware coming to you from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
0:35.5	And in my life, I try to stay
0:37.5	jawsative. Jawsative. Jawsative. Repeat it. We'll get it eventually. Jawsative.
0:49.2	Well, someone had suggested this. Who suggested to this when this was coming up?
0:53.8	It was probably me, because I just loved this film.
0:56.3	And I like an excuse to talk about any kind of old film that we know is worth talking about rather than taking a risk on a new film that may not really be worth talking about.
1:05.4	Sure.
1:06.0	And I feel like we are very slowly getting, you know, a history of pop culture film through The Exorcist and
1:12.3	this, like, what were big things before we were aware of them. I mean, I was old enough to be
1:16.3	aware of the Star Wars thing, but not quite an old enough to be aware of Jaws. And in fact,
1:20.8	I saw Jaws 3, not in 3D on a TV, I think was the first Jaws film I saw at a pretty young age.
1:27.7	Oh my gosh.
1:28.5	That is terrible.
1:30.5	Oh, my goodness.
1:32.6	Wow.
1:33.6	You went straight for the worst one.
	...

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