Impossible...?

In my previous blog post about Jaws, I had talked about Amity Island's mayor, who was a complete and utter jerk. As the movie progressed and tensions rose, he still refused to close the beaches despite the fact that a vicious shark was on the loose. It was the Fourth of July weekend; the mayor was focused more on raking in the cash from the tourist crowds than anything else. This aspect of the film struck me the most, because it truly represents how the world of business works. Often, people's' safety is compromised for the sake of a business's income - in this case, the town's. Once again, Stephen Spielberg did a fantastic job of making me feel like I was in the film itself, making me feel frustrated that the mayor was endangering so many people. I could tell that Brody was nervous about this as well, especially on Independence Day when there were hundreds of visitors on the beach.

The mayor even went to the extreme of begging an old couple that was trying to sunbathe to go in the water. Since the news about the recent shark attack had been heard all over New England at this point, he was vainly attempting to cover all of the bad press up, as if nothing had ever happened. As a result, it wasn't long before tons and tons of people were carelessly playing in the water. I distinctly remember, having never seen this film before, becoming anxious at this point. The underwater POV shots certainly didn't help my cause either. This cinematography was actually a trick, because although it seemed like there was a shark nearby all of the vacationers, it was in a much different spot where no one expected. There was an area called "The Pond," where Brody had told a bunch of kids to go with their boats instead of the main ocean. He was only looking out for them, but instead he had unintentionally put them in danger. Away from the rest of the crowd, the shark attacked the boys after a false alarm had been set off at the main beach. The boys were able to survive, but the adult they were with did not. Jaws is one heck of a shark!

Fortunately for Amity Island, Hooper and Brody were able to capture the beastly shark after a tumultuous fight, at the expense of Quint's life. Quint was a hardcore seaman, however the shark's power was just too much for the boat, causing it to fall apart. The sailor couldn't manage to hold on, and before he knew it he was dead. Brody made the intelligent move of grabbing two extra oxygen tanks that Hooper had brought on the boat, throwing them into the shark's mouth. After a few tries, he successfully shot at one of the tanks, causing it to explode. Jaws was dead. Brody and Hooper, still alive, immediately started heading back to shore. Amity Island was saved.

One of the most compelling aspects of this film is its realistic feel. Since it was created in the 1970s, there was no CGI (computer generated images) back then. Any images depicted in the film were real. Obviously the shark was animatronic, but this is still more real than a virtual rendering. Everything else was real as well, from the water to the town, to the beaches. Completely authentic. I think this is one of the primary reasons why it truly felt like I, the viewer, was a part of the film. Well done, Spielberg.