Talk:Jaws (film)

Casting table

I don't particularly see a reason for why a table is necessary for a casting list, when the prose is there, but it shouldn't have the deprecated infobox class applied. @Betty Logan, do you reject changing the class to wikitable floatright? SWinxy (talk) 03:52, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

The prose doesn't list all of the principal cast, and even if it did a simple listing is easier to digest. The table in the article precedes the existence of Template:Cast listing, but looks better IMO. If the template currently in use has been deprecated then I am sure there will be other suitable table formats available. I don't see why it needs to be ripped out of the article immediately. If you had just dropped us a note here the regular editors would have sorted it out. Betty Logan (talk) 04:07, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

It's not a template, but a table masquerading as an infobox. I hope you can understand that because of the amount of articles to go through, especially on articles with near-zero activity a year, it's ineffective to put a message on each talk page hoping for someone else to sort it out. Do you reject changing the class? Sooner or later it will break. SWinxy (talk) 04:19, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

Thank you. I know it doesn't look as good, but thank you. I apologize for being brazen. SWinxy (talk) 04:24, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

So as a person who came to this article to find out who played whom, I couldn't find that information because for some reason this is one of the few articles on films that does not simply list the cast in an easily readable format. Viciouspiggy (talk) 08:12, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

There is a cast table in the "Casting" section. In what way could you not find the information, and in what way is the information not in an easily readable format? It's not really clear what the issue is. Betty Logan (talk) 09:11, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

New York or New England?

Does the film ever specifically indicate that it takes place in New England? I thought the film, like the book, was set in New York's Long Island, even though it wasn't shot there. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 01:28, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

@Metropolitan90 In the scene where the newspaper reporter is talking to Brody after the death of the Kintner boy, he expresses concern about the $3000 reward that Mrs. Kintner is offering for the shark. He says that she's also advertising in ouy of town papers and that if they aren't careful "people will be coming in from all over New England." I guess you could argue he isn't literally saying that they too are in New England, but it is at the very least heavily implied. 50.72.38.127 (talk) 18:40, 6 July 2023 (UTC)

@Metropolitan90 According to two book sources: (1) The Fiction of America: Performance and the Cultural Imaginary in Literature and Film (2013) p. 221 ~ "The film is set on Amity Island, a fictional place off the Massachusetts coast..." AND (2) The Best of Universal (1997) p. 26 ~ "the sandy shores of Amity Island off the Massachusetts coast..."

Also, If you listen to Brody's radio broadcast prior to Alex Kitner's death, they announce the "ferry schedule for Martha's Vineyard, Amity and Nantucket Islands", the newspaper reporter (referenced above by another IP user) states after the caught tiger shark "I want to get on the state wire services (AP, UPI), see if Boston will pick it up". Additionally, Brody and Mayor Vaughn's cars have a 1972–78 stylized Massachusetts plate --> confirmed by Vehicle registration plates of Massachusetts. 2601:194:4100:78C0:19:B610:64D8:A7D6 (talk) 23:18, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

Good research! (Adding a ping for @Metropolitan90, it wouldn't have sent because you added it after you'd signed your comment.) Schazjmd (talk) 23:27, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

Thanks to all of you for looking into this. --Metropolitan90 (talk) 00:36, 20 July 2023 (UTC)

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)