AP WAS THERE: ‘Jaws’ and the parental debates it set off
June 20, 2025
It didn’t take long for “Jaws” to make an impression. The movie that launched the summer blockbuster season and changed how people view sharks and the ocean also created a dilemma for parents. Was it a movie kids could watch? To help answer that, The Associated Press went to the film’s star, Roy Scheider. Scheider said the film might be too intense for sensitive children under 10, but his own 12-year-old daughter had seen the movie twice. Scheider noted he and his wife explained to her the parts that weren’t real. Linda Deutsch’s July 1975 story is a window into the way “Jaws” gnawed its way into the public consciousness.
