Jaws

In honor of the impending Shark Week on Discovery Channel, and in salute to one of my GREATEST FEARS EVER, I have decided to dedicate this post to Jaws. I have had the pleasure of watching this film a great many times (once in Italian), and my most recent viewing has left me with two potent feelings: satisfaction and fear.

This film is so well done that it makes a mockery of every other monster flick. Anaconda, anyone? I assume I am not spoiling anything by giving away that the shark finally eats it. Literally. But what makes that ending so satisfying is, of course, the heroic struggle that the characters go through to get to that point. Old news. Everyone loves a good old-fashioned heroic struggle, especially if it's particularly arduous. That way, we get to sit at home in the comfort of our pajamas eating yesterday's pie and watching a rain-soaked Everyman struggle to succeed, and somehow feel good about ourselves. I'm sure we all felt as if we had personally fired that fateful shot into the tank of compressed air. But after watching this movie last night (in my pajamas, eating yesterday's pie), I have begun to appreciate just how complex a movie about a shark can be.

Let's start with the title: Jaws. Simple. Smooth. Straightforward. And yet terrifying. It doesn't matter what creature these jaws belong to, all we need to know is that this set of teeth exists somewhere in the world, and far be it from us. Even the fact that the title is "Jaws" and not "Teeth" says something: these are not just any teeth--these teeth will chomp you dead. It certainly stirs some primal fear in me. And when you really get down to it, aren't we all just afraid of being eaten in one sense or another?

And then there's the shark itself. I didn't realize this until I watched a documentary on the making of the movie, but the shark doesn't actually make an appearance until at least halfway through. We see plenty of people being dragged under, blood blossoming in the waves, their torn appendages floating about. But the shark remains aloof and mysterious, and that is the key. The only thing worse than seeing a shark swim by is to not see a shark you know is swimming nearby. Knowing the enemy relieves much fear (and let it be known that the only thing I fear more than sharks is dark, open water at night where there could be sharks).

And then there's the characters: Chief Brody (played by Roy Scheider), Matt Hooper (played by Richard Dreyfuss), and the infamous Quint (played by Robert Shaw). When I was younger, I perceived that Brody lacked confidence, Hooper was fussy, and Quint was grizzly. Now that I'm a bit older, those observations still hold true, but are much more rounded out.

Let's start with Brody. I think that when I was younger, I fell victim to what most of us experience: a preoccupation with failure. I find it interesting that all I could remember about Scheider's character was that he didn't know how to tie knots. I had completely forgotten that he was a darn good chief of police! Brody spends the first half of the movie on land where he is comfortable and competent. He is the voice of reason to the willfully ignorant mayor, constantly working to protect the islanders in spite of their own disinterest. But his competence gets swallowed up by the larger task at hand. He can close the beaches, but ultimately, someone must kill that shark. As a landlubber, Brody does not desire to go anywhere near the shark-infested water; however, since he commissioned Quint's ship, the police chief must hop aboard. It is at this critical juncture that his role as protector on land must give way to the rough-hewn direction of Quint.

Quint is the paradigm of brute masculinity. If his imposing figure and steely glare are not enough to stop you in your tracks, just watch him drink a beer. He knows the water like you imagine he would know a woman (in the biblical sense). He knows he is right, and woe betide you if you get in his way. He's the stereotypical manly-man. We learn later in the movie that his obsession with sharks grew out of his experience on the USS Indianapolis, a scene that still gives me chills. Shaw's character is a study in extremes, particularly in the identity of the masculine and the lengths to which humans will go to reconcile some haunting experience from the past. His brutal death is a rejection of the extreme in favor of the happy medium, as exemplified by Dreyfuss' character.

Matt Hooper is a smart, self-assured oceanographer with the means to pursue his goals. One night on the water in search of the shark, he surprises Brody by admitting that he pays for the boat, the gadgets, anything that strikes his fancy because he comes from a wealthy family. Better yet, he knows how to use the equipment, thereby proving he is not just a privileged dolt who wants to play in the paddling pool. He knows what it means to have a "shark problem," so it is no surprise that he and Quint continually butt heads. Hooper possesses the cautious demeanor of Brody as well as the know-how of Quint, but while Brody is eager to accept any help he can offer, Quint is quick to sneer at his smooth hands. It is only until they compare scars that Hooper and Quint can reach some kind of understanding.

I find Hooper's character quite interesting. He has the somewhat cavalier attitude that accompanies knowing your craft, but after he stumbles across the tooth of a Great White (and the one-eyed head of its victim) during a scuba dive, he begins to take things a bit more seriously. As he prepares to enter the shark cage at the end of the movie, he takes their finned foe so seriously he can barely spit. Thus far, Hooper has relied on his tools to help him, but the end of the movie reveals that his character extends far beyond that. He is forced to escape the shark cage when it is savagely attacked, thereby effectively stripped of everything but his wetsuit. Hooper's value does not lie in his toolkit but in his ability to be both cautious and worldly. He is the middle road between Brody and Quint. His role is to survive.

If nothing else, the scene where Brody blows up the shark is unforgettable. Picture it: the boat is sinking, the shark has already devoured at least one of the trio, somehow Brody has managed to feed it a tank of compressed air, and all that he can do now is hope to blow it up before he gets eaten. And it's headed right for him. I have to say that this scene is just so...stylish. Let me explain. Brody had previously sent a tank of compressed air rolling down the deck, only to have Hooper cluck about how dangerous that was, and to have Quint condescendingly tell him he should ask which rope to pull next time. Shooting the tank of air to the tune of "Smile, you son of a --" is a resolution of more conflicts than just the shark problem. (1) It is Brody's confrontation of his fear of water: as he literally sinks into it, water is certainly the last thing on his mind. (2) It is his application of newly acquired knowledge: he is able to rectify his past mistake by controlling the conditions under which the tank explodes and making it work for his benefit. (3) It is How Brody Got His Groove Back: the extreme environment pushes him to find his old swagger (and swear like a sailor) as he is ultimately forced to rely on his skills as a policeman. (4) Lastly, it is how the different representations of masculinity are resolved: Brody combines a bit of Quint's cavalier attitude and Hooper's "savoir faire" with his own protective impulses. Because it is Brody and not Quint who finally kills the shark, the ending proves that multiple displays of masculinity can be resolved within one person. To be masculine is not necessarily to be completely rash or authoritative. Rather, it is masculine to be brave (Quint), authoritative (Hooper), and cautious (Brody) when appropriate. Brody proves that to be masculine is to turn your weaknesses into strengths when necessity dictates.

So, as I said, this movie left me feeling both satisfied and fearful--satisfied because of the sheer brilliance of the storyline. And why fearful, you ask? Because I gleaned this nugget of truth from the script: most people are attacked by sharks in 3 feet of water 10 feet from the shore.

Happy swimming!