Relatively close to this attack is the next one which is significantly different. There is a swift change in atmosphere – it is the 4th of July. This is America’s Independence Day, which is well known as being a family-friendly day filled with celebration, laughter and fun; it is no doubt that many families would then gather on Amity Beach on this day. The date of this attack plays a very important role as it goes against all expectations the audience have, making the events that follow more shocking to the audience.
This next attack is set after Chief Brody has found out that there is a very large shark in the sea of Amity Beach, and so he is anxious as many people have gathered on this danger spot after the owners have refused to close the beach. As the beach is very busy due to the date, it creates a fast pace and an atmosphere of excitement. Chief Brody is here to watch and guard the beach, however he is often distracted. The first sign of anything unexpected happening on this day is a scream from a girl; we find out this is a false alarm from a girl playing, although this makes Chief Brody even more nervous. As well as this, an old friend of his stops by to talk, his wife massages him and a child in the sea has on a hat which looks like a fake shark.
Happy sounds fill the air, with children laughing, people talking and the Chief’s son singing “The Muffin Man.” We see a long shot of the sea and people playing, followed by a close up of a young boy, Alex, who is in red shorts, on a bright yellow lilo. These colours are used because they stand out. As all of the 4th of July celebrations are going on, the theme tune begins. This is very different from the happier sounds heard, and it is a key example of contrapuntal sound. The underwater silhouette of a large figure moving is seen; this is the shark. Alex is suddenly getting pulled away by this force. As the shark got nearer to Alex, the theme tune became louder and faster. What it is that’s attacking Alex is still unknown to the public, causing more surprise. He is seen being violently pulled and screaming with an underwater low shot of his flailing legs, and bright red blood is seen filling the sea. The camera does a close up on Chief Brody as he watches Alex getting attacked, highlighting hiss disbelief and guilt. We hear people on the beach shout and rush to the scene, devastated and struggling to get everyone out. Alex’s mother approaches the scene and is in disbelief, thinking her son is instead getting out of the sea rather than the one killed by the shark. All that is left of Alex is the deflated, destroyed lilo floating back to the shore, giving a sense of how dangerous this animal is.
The danger of this shark is prominent from very near to the beginning of the film. As the film first begins we are unaware of what this perilous force is because we are only shown unclear silhouettes. With the parallel sound of the theme tune played each time this silhouette is shown, the suspense is built up for this unseen terror. Whilst Brody reads a book on sharks, we are shown images of death, sharp teeth, blood and sharks – each one of these have connotations of dreadfulness and disgust, and this would build up the feeling of terror the audience already have. After research and help from Hooper, this shark is believed to be larger than the average shark and so thought to be much more dangerous. However, the predictions of the shark’s immense size are nothing compared to the reality when he is finally clearly seen. He is much bigger than any of them had anticipated, and the shock of seeing the men extremely close to the shark (when in the cage in the final scene) is horrifying. Not only is the sight of the shark awful, but the damage he can do also is. As soon as the shark is in proximity of the jetty, his weight causes it to start tipping, and he manages to easily destroy the whole boat. Only a creature of huge strength would be able to effortlessly get rid of the majority of a tough boat. The fact that the shark is seen as being able to kill any human it comes into contact with, and that it will go to any measures to kill make it something to be feared, and this is backed up by the amazing amount of blood and severed limbs shown in the final hunting trip scene. When the characters first hear about this shark, they seem amazed, anxious and scared, but all of this is dismissed in comparison to everyone’s actual reactions.
As well as this, Spielberg’s technique of false alarms of the shark and distractions in scenes during the film add to the suspense. The second attack, previously described, heavily makes use of this. Chief Brody in the second attack is seen as being uneasy and agitated, and the distractions used – his friend Harry coming to talk to him while he is keeping an eye on the sea (he tries to reassure him there is nothing to worry about) and his wife massaging him in an attempt to make him relax – only make the other moments when Brody is not being relaxed or distracted stand out more. When his anxiety stands out more, it makes the audience think he has a very good reason to be nervous, possibly an attack oncoming. Many of the times his anxiety stands out, no attack is oncoming. For example, his friend Harry wearing a shark-like swimming cap in the sea makes us think that the shark is visible in the sea and so Brody’s concern is seen more. Another significant example of this is right before the actual attack when a teenage girl is heard screaming. As she screams we only have a close up of Brody fearful which makes the audience believe this could be the actual attack, but the camera then cuts to her being splashed with water in the sea, the reason for her playful screaming. The use of false alarms and distractions is very effective both for building up tension and for emphasizing when an actual attack does happen.
Trepidation is grown throughout the film, and the careful choice of editing techniques, timing and contrast exaggerate this. Jaws makes use of various camera angles to be more effective and change our angle of perception. Close ups are used often to draw attention to a character’s expression or mood, therefore making the audience more connected to them. Low underwater shots are extensively used, especially in attack scenes. These frequently show a silhouette of the shark moving as the theme tune is played, and this adds fear. They are also used to show a victim underwater with makes us able to imagine that we’re them, making the situation they are in more terror-filled. As well as this, the way that the two first attacks are timed to be quite close together makes them have more impact. The audience will already be filled with anticipation and interest from the vague, brief but shocking first attack, only to again be astonished by another attack less than 20 minutes later. Before each attack, we are also shown each victim. When the victims are shown pre-attack, they are shown to be happy or carefree (e.g.: Chrissy is drunk and relaxed, Alex is celebrating and playing) and are then suddenly shown to be screaming, terrified and violently dying. Another use of the changing of our angle of perception is in the last scene when the men are in the jetty. The jetty is shown to be small, wooden and weak. Already, we are assuming that this jetty will put up no fight against any attacks. When the shark, which is easily double the size of the jetty, is shown are assumptions are correct and only made clearer.
Overall, I think that Stephen Spielberg was very successful at creating growing tension in Jaws. A scene that particularly stood out for me was the first attack. The way that the scene entirely changed atmosphere – from a typical teenage setting of a fun night with friends to a tragedy like Chrissy’s – really impacted me. The way that the two parts of the scene so harshly contrasted made it more suspenseful, and the fact that her friend walked right into the scene and saw it makes the scene connect more with the audience. Although this was my favourite part in regards to tension, each of the scenes were very well made, and each made use of great techniques, ranging from camera angles, music, false alarms and contrast.
