JAWS and mRNA: An Analogy on How Injuries and Deaths Became 'Signals of Safety'

“You knew it. You knew there was a shark out there. You knew it was dangerous, but you let people go swimming anyway. You knew all those things, but still my boy is dead now.” - Alex's mom from JAWS

November 5, 2025: The film JAWS had an interesting effect on society. Prior to the film being released, Americans didn’t think much about sharks. After the film’s release in 1975, Americans developed an irrational fear of going into the water (any body of water) due to perceived risk of a deadly shark attack.

I was 5 years old when I first saw the movie JAWS. I can personally attest to this irrational fear myself, at the mature age of 5. After watching the thriller, I not only no longer wanted to go swimming in the ocean, but I didn’t even want to go swimming in our local man-made pond unless the lifeguard could assure me there were no sharks in the water.

Picture of 5-year-old me from 1978.

You may laugh at my younger self being fearful of sharks in ponds, but I can assure you that I witnessed the film-induced fear of shark-infested waters in my friends, teenaged family members, and even adult relatives.

JAWS and mRNA: an Analogy on How Injuries and Deaths Became ‘Signals of Safety’

The film JAWS begins with a late-night summer beach scene of a group of young adults drinking, laughing and flirting around a bonfire with the sounds and views of ocean waves behind them. As the evening progresses, one of the young women runs towards the ocean and takes a late-night dip.

And then…….(dundun dundun……dundun dundun…….dundun dundun….dundun dundun-)…a great white shark emerges from the depths of the ocean and -