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, the “Jaws” Leitmotif (written by John Williams, who also wrote the Imperial March leitmotif for “Star Wars” as well as the music for “E.T.”, “Schindler’s List”, “Superman” and the “Indiana Jones" series) starts very quietly. Immediately all other noises cease. The camera shot starts to move faster and more sharply, it is from the point of view of the shark. As the music becomes faster and louder, the movement of the camera becomes faster and sharper. This shows that the Leitmotif and the camera correlate. As with all Leitmotifs, it recurs several times during the film, and connotates the shark’s presence. This is exactly the same as in Star Wars, as the Imperial March leitmotif (also written by John Williams) represents the presence of Darth Vader. As the music becomes louder and faster, the audience become more and more wary that something is going to happen, in short how tension is created.

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        As soon as the music has stopped, the audience is introduced to a group of teenagers. It immediately focuses on a young girl and boy.

Spielberg makes the audience specifically focuses on the girl, who

 says her name is Chrissie. The pair has  had a few drinks. As they run

off to the beach (and the sea), the boy

collapses, as a result of too much alcohol,

 this shows the audience that Chrissie is alone

 and unprotected. As she enters the sea, she swims

 further and further away from the shore: again this makes Chrissie even more isolated. ...

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