Analyse the ways that Steven Spielberg builds suspense and scares the audience in the first 20 minutes of the film Jaws

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Jaws

Analyse the ways that Steven Spielberg builds suspense and scares the audience in the first 20 minutes of the film 'Jaws'

On 1st January 1975, director Steven Spielberg unleashed the blockbuster 'Jaws' into the world of film. When a gigantic Great White Shark attacks the small, summer town of Amity (New England), new chief of police Martin Brody (Roy Sheider) sets out to stop the killer with the help of marine scientist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and shark-stopper Quint (Robert Shaw). Brody wants to close the beach, but with 4th July (Independence Day) looming - and the busiest time of the year- Mayor Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) has other ideas, saying: "Amity is a summer town, it needs summer dollars". The 124 minute film was based on the book by the Peter Benchley, who (along with Carl Gottlieb) wrote the screenplay.

In the opening sequence of the film, the audience are introduced to the presence of something in the waters of Amity. It starts off with the peaceful noises of dolphins and other sea creatures, as the camera flows slowly in the water, the fact that the camera is slow connotates peacefulness. Then,