Jaws Scene Study
Story:
The story of Jaws begins in a small beach town in New England called Amity Island. The town begins to fall victim to fatal shark attacks. In response to the unending attacks and false kills, the mayor decides not to close the beach down in fear of a suffering economy. As a result, three men - police chief Martin Brody, oceanographer Matt Hooper, and shark-hunter Quint, are ever-determined to take this killer shark down permanently.
Scene:
Hooper entering the shark cage in order to incapacitate and put down the killer shark.
In this scene we see Hooper suiting up and entering the shark-proof cage being lowered into the ocean to confront the great white shark and lethally inject the shark with a hypodermic spear. The shark brutally attacks the cage and tears right through it. Hooper in desperation drops the spear and fears for his life. He stabs the shark gruesomely and narrowly swims away to the sea bed as the shark continues to rip away at the cage. As this scene progressed, music cues indicating the shark's oncoming presence was played, and as the shark attacked, we see and hear Hooper's fears fully realized as his eyes widen through his scuba gear and we hear his muffles as he tries to defend himself against this deadly predator.
Cinematography:
The cinematography in this scene was near perfection in my opinion. There is so much intention with each shot of the scene. To exaggerate the danger and horror aspect of this scene, we go from the calm sounds of the water and dialogue between characters to almost a silence and the muffled sounds of the ocean. It is dark and the audience gets to look at Hooper in the cage from the outside in for many moments. The scene sets the tone quickly in the fact that something bad is going to happen. It also gives the impression at times that we are seeing from the shark's perspective. The zoom in on Hooper's eyes to exaggerate the horror he feels and then the immediate cut to the shark in the camera's face, as well as the chaotic shakiness of the camera as the two fight creates a sense of terror and desperation for the scene which I found amazing to pull off. Especially without the convenience of CGI, it really emphasizes the creativity of the scene to invoke horror using practical effects.
Cultural relevance:
This scene, as well as the movie, is iconic. We learned that the movie Jaws was THE first summer blockbuster hit and it has the numbers to prove. With a budget of $9 million, the film grossed $476.5 million, marking it as one of the most successful movies of all time. This film pioneered horror into the modern scene due to its successes, as well as the grounded-ness it presented with the film's main antagonist - a great white shark, which is something people can encounter in real life, adding to the film's horror aspect. It makes the threat feel real and dangerous when watching. The characters in the film also don't feel like characters, they feel like real people and this adds to the charm and realism of the movie as well. Considering this, it makes sense as to why Jaws was considered not just a blockbuster hit, but THE first blockbuster in cinema.
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