Why schools are like summer blockbusters

What keeps audiences coming back to the theater?

Roy Scheider as Brody in Jaws (1975) coming face to face with his fears.

This month is the 50th anniversary of Jaws, Stephen Spielberg’s rambling film about a man obsessed with killing a shark that wreaked havoc on his little New England town. The film (and Star Wars two years later) put the concept of the summer blockbuster on the map–a movie that  strikes a chord so deeply with audiences that it becomes wildly popular and a financial cash cow, maybe even becoming a cultural touchstone that stays with you for your entire life (can you hear the John Williams shark attack music in your head right now?). But with theater attendance down and schools facing chronic absenteeism, have we forgotten what makes an experience engaging and, yes, fun?

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