Steven Spielberg's Jaws
The Importance of Character Development In This Classic Shark Film
'Jaws' is considered one of the greatest cinematic masterpieces of all time. This is largely due to the time and concentration spent on the nature of its characters.
Based on the novel by Peter Benchley, 'Jaws' is a story about a series of random shark attacks and how the residents of a small community attempt to cope with it and then take action against it. Classically, this may be one of the most terrifying films of all time but it delivers on so many levels. As a result, characterization becomes key and though there are many important characters present, it is Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) who comes to be defined as one of the most complex and enigmatic men of the story.
Less Then Ideal Hero
The protagonist in Steven Spielberg's Jaws, Martin Brody, is a complicated and less then ideal ‘hero’. He is an extremely fragile character and is very much like a child, insecure and lacking. He has relocated himself and his family to the tourist laden area of Amity and has struggled to integrate himself into the defined boundaries of this community. He is as much a tourist as the conventional visitor is. He is a visitor in a foreign land.
As shark attacks continue to mount, Martin is unable to arrive at any sort of solution as to how to put an end to the chaotic terror gripping this ideal summer haven. It is at this point that the film averts its focus from spectacle and instead becomes a picture obsessed with the development of character relationships.
For reasons unknown, in the final third of the film, Martin decides (even though he is afraid of the water) to venture out onto a boat with the gruff, working class Quint (Robert Shaw) and the middle class intellectual, Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) to hunt down the shark. One has the sense he's going not so much to track down and kill this evil and maniacal shark but more to achieve some sense of physical and mental maturation for his own self-worth.
The Idea of Wilderness and Civilization
‘Jaws’ is as much a film about adventure and terror as it is about self-evaluation and self-discovery. These thematic issues are truly explored during the sequences between the three men on the boat. In typical Western films and Australian films (now in Spielberg films like 'Duel and 'Jurassic Park'), there has always been a necessary contradicting theme present. That is, the idea that although wilderness (land, sea, etc.) and civilization (suburbia, the city) are two opposing thematic elements, they are nonetheless crucial to one another and to the understanding of these complex stories. These two ideas cannot coexist but yet depend on each other to create tension and understanding.
As a result, Martin leaves the confines of a safe environment, governed by rules and authority and enters an uninhabited sea defined by lawlessness and connoting a Darwinian survival of the fittest type mentality. The fact that Martin enters into this uncivilized land is reflective of the man Martin desires to be. His journey away from the familiarity of civilization will truly test who he is as a person and as an individual.
As a result, Martin Brody will have to summon the courage and strength to survive while struggling to maintain a firm grasp on his psyche. He must learn to understand himself in an alien environment.
Conclusion
‘Jaws’ is a rich, methodically structured film that toys with its audience much in the way Alfred Hitchcock once toyed with his audiences. Spielberg seamlessly converts passive audience members into shockingly disturbed active participants. The film is filled with tension and delivers on spectacle but should be remembered for its focus on character. An attribute which is sorely lacking in modern day thrillers.
