TB: Jaws ( 1975, Steven Spielberg )

Representation and Ideology

In this clip , the only social group represented is young adults. In the clip, they are sitting around a camp fire, playing guitars and talking to each other. There are no examples of negative behaviour, so the representation can only be seen as positive. The 'young' adults are however positioned as 'victim's to the shark. They are also portrayed in a way that shows them as inferior to the shark , due to the fact that the shark , throughout the film , is shown to pick them off , almost personifying the sharks intelligence.

The opening starts off with the classic Jaws theme music track, and positions the audience with the shark. Spielberg aims to position the audience with the animal, however, at the same time does not wish to reveal where it is (creating suspense and intensifying the atmosphere). The juxtaposition of the POV from the shark , to that of the students sitting on the beach instantly connotes to the audience that at some point in the next following scenes , they will be the victims.


Narrative

During the first scene , when the girl is attacked offshore , the style of narrative is set for the rest of the film. She is attacked by something , yet the audience does not see the culprit. Her body is thrown around with extreme vigour , to connote something of immense power to the audience. The shark is rarely shown , only at the very end is it revealed to the audience , to keep the sense of mystery. Also , an example of iconography , the sharks fin is used to portray fear and is symbolic of an attack. This natural predatory way of almost stalking its prey is used well , adding a human sense of playing with its victim. This personification of the shark adds to the surreal way it seems to hunt ( and eat ) its human victims.

This high intensity atmosphere is a trait shared by thrillers, in order to keep the audience watching and interested. In this film , although be it a little dated , every time there is a thrilling scene the dramatic and iconic theme music starts to play. This identification of the thrilling moments helps establish exciting features in the film to the audience.

Another technique used in this genre is the way certain characters have 'premonitions' about bad things that are going to happen , and yet , the majority of characters barely listen to these warnings. This is normally used because the audience then feels the frustration , usually portrayed thought the protagonists viewpoint.

A young girl then tempts a man to swim with her in the nearby ocean , this position of power is evident when he follows her to the edge of the sea. She uses her sexual nature to entice him, demonstrating her position as the dominating character in this scene. This ideology is quite residual, since it shows the woman objectifying herself in order to gain the male's attention.

Through out the film , the shark is actually used as the antagonist. The antagonist being the 'bad guy' in plots , which is interesting because it is not very often that an animal can be used in this way. I think that giving the shark this unnatural feel helps add to the suspense and unpredictability surrounding this animal. This unpredictability is common in thriller style genre's , because it keeps the audience on the edge of their seat , entertaining and exciting them.

Media Audiences
I think that the target audience would have been all adults at the time, appealing to a mass audience since it was the first thriller style movie to bring the audience into the killers ''domain'' in this case, the sea. The genre generally appeals to all audiences that would enjoy thriller.

Genre

• The film is of the thriller genre
• I think the generic expectations of the film are confirmed in the first opening 2 minutes, confirmed by the stereotypical teenagers shown on the beach.
• The characters also conform to these stereotypes, an example being both the town police chief and professional ''shark hunter''
• The personifyed nature of the shark add's to the thriller style , the intelligence of the shark makes the entire plot and storyline seem more , on level , than if the shark was purely acting on basic instinct.
• The ''sadistic'' way in which the shark seemingly ''plays'' with its prey , is iconic in the way a killer would toy with the victim in a thriller. This power exchange engages the audiences from the seemingly more ''helpless'' perspective view of the humans. This is ironic because rarely are humans positioned in this helpless way. It reduces us to nothing more than 'animals' this is exciting because rarely in modern day society are people shown as simple and as animals.

In conclusion to this product analysis , I think that Jaws definitely conforms to stereotypical thriller conventions ( an elusive character , dramatic music etc.) I also think its one of the best thriller style genres to successfully use an animal as the main protagonist , without turning the plot slightly towards horror and gore. It is this which I think sets Jaws apart from all other thrillers , making it a classic.