Ahh, Spielberg. Remember when Steven Spielberg was the greatest director on the planet? I sometimes forget that fact, since he hasn't directed a great movie since Saving Private Ryan 12 years ago. But he did rule the box office for over two decades with good reason, and that all started with Jaws.I never saw Jaws when I was a kid. Perhaps it's because I wasn't born when it was in theaters. And once it came out on video, maybe my parents thought it would be too scary. Regardless of the fact that I didn't see Jaws until after college, I was still fully aware of the cultural impact of Jaws. It created the "summer blockbuster" movie. It gave us great quotes like "We're gonna need a bigger boat." Its sequels gave us the tagline, "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water..." It was the main character's obsession on "Dawson's Creek." It's probably the reason we have Shark Week on Discovery Channel. And the John Williams score is one of the most recognizable pieces of movie music ever. Just two notes (duuuh duh) and you're immediately on edge, awaiting the danger lurking somewhere nearby, just out of view, ready to strike with nasty, big, pointy teeth.
On my most recent viewing of Jaws, though, I picked up on another pop culture reference that I had never associated with Jaws: Bad Hat Harry Productions.
Every week at the end of an episode of House, the medical mystery Fox series starring Hugh Laurie, there's a little cartoon for one of the production companies (Bad Hat Harry Productions) where one little cartoon guy says to another, "That's some bad hat, Harry." It's one of the tiny things that I'd always wait around for after the episode was over. It was just odd and out of place and amusing. Hopefully I'm not the only one who didn't realize that's a quote and scene from Jaws.
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