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‘Jaws’ has been secretly Jewish for half a century

JL;DR SUMMARY Steven Spielberg's "Jaws," celebrating its 50th anniversary, holds more Jewish elements than initially perceived. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish CultureYiddishkeitHollywoodDocumentarySteven SpielbergJawsRichard DreyfussMartha's VineyardCarl GottliebPeter Benchley

Places mentioned

Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, United States
"...Jaws based largely on her blue bandana. But while Steven Spielbergs film remains a cultural juggernaut, the first blockbuster and a text examined closely by devotees, little to nothing has been made about a conspicuous head covering in an early crowd scene, where a man in a beige polo and checked shorts is wearing a blue kippah. I spotted the detail while watching Jaws @ 50, National Geographics new documentary about the creature features turbulent production. This background player appears during a discussion of the productions almost exclusive use of Marthas Vineyard residents, and is himself proof that Jews were a feature on the New England island well before Alan Dershowitz and Larry David were seen spatting at a convenience store. But thats just skimming the surface of the films Yiddishkeit."

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Cairo Item ID 56652
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-07-11 05:30:50 UTC
Curated 2025-07-11 08:31:54 UTC