Jaws

 

    As a shark movie fanatic, I hate to say that Jaws did not live up to the expectation. This was my first time ever watching it, and I just think the shark itself didn't move or act very much like a shark which took me out of the movie. However, after doing more research about the effect of the movie on society, it was more interesting to me. I think it was a fascinating concept for the time it came out and I think it's so interesting it caused people to change their patterns and skip out on the beach. 

    The story is obvious in that there is a shark attacking people at the beach and the police and hunters on the ship are trying to kill it so that people on the beach aren't fearful. I think the cinematography was good in helping to tell the story. For example, when the shark is in the water and there are hundreds of people in the water, the wide shot helps to foreshadow the havoc that is about to ensue. Also, when the kids are in the pond and it flashes between the shark fin and the kids, it really intensifies the dramatic irony and helps build suspense.

    Something we also talked about in class that I thought was effective was the music choice or the lack of music in certain places. The classic Jaws music is obviously important to build suspense, but the moments where there were no music, may have been even more effective. I thought when the scuba diver was looking at the ship wreck and it was silent, it made the jump scare even more apparent and unexpected. I thought the acting in the film and the storytelling was great and without it, I don't think the movie would have been nearly as much of a hit. But I think it's important to note that Jaws sparked a shark movie phenomenon and it laid the groundwork as the first blockbuster. There were 5 more Jaws movies made and there were so many other shark movie variations made all inspired by and using the same tactics as Jaws.

    I didn't think the movie was necessarily bad, I just think for how hyped up it was and it being the first blockbuster, it didn't live up to the expectations. I understand that CGI wasn't even developed yet and that was a huge part that threw me off so my suggestion when watching the movie is to keep that in mind and take it for what it is...an older movie.