‘Amity Means Friendship’

By Stefan Blitz

JAWS, unquestionably the most watchable film of all time, still attracts new fans every year five decades after it’s original release.

As a born and bred New Englander, the world of JAWS always seemed familiar. I haven’t spent much time on the Vineyard, but growing up, we would spend part of our summer in Gloucester, where my dad’s brother and his family lived. Days were spent down the road at the beach, evenings were spent with family talking and laughing.

I remember the rare shark sighting, but the beachgoers who swam in the chilly Atlantic Ocean were terrified of the more common jellyfish infiltration.

We celebrated the 4th of July in Rockport, a nearby seaside village notable as a home to a number of lobster fishermen and artists. Like Amity, the holiday was celebrated enthusiastically with hundreds of people, a parade, fireworks, and smiles.

But unless you had a 20-foot shark interrupting the summer season, there really wasn’t an awful lot of similarity beyond the environment itself.

Why is it still appealing to new audiences 50 years later? Keep in mind, although JAWS was the first summer blockbuster, the other top films of the year are still entertaining; amongst them One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Shampoo, Dog Day Afternoon, 3 Days of the Condor, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

But that really shows the difference between seeing a movie then and now. All of those movies as well as the other top grossing films of the year were good films.  And unlike today, art and commerce worked simultaneously to determine the success of a film.  A good film would get good reviews and Bring in good money. How popular is JAWS? In the summer of 1975 it quickly became the first film to earn $100 million making it history’s first blockbuster.

I think the film’s legacy as to why it’s still so popular today is simple, JAWS made the ocean scary.

We’ll never know if the film would carry that legacy if Spielberg’s mechanical shark worked.  Instead, we became afraid of what we can’t see lurking under the water.  It’s that fear of the unknown that feeds into our most primal fears.

Add to that the iconic and effective John Williams score and you’ll never look at the ocean the same way.

JAWS affected me as a child so much that I would never go into a swimming pool without checking for a shark first. Thinking logically that maybe the person whose pool it was had a shark and they forgot they left it in there, and it’s still hunting and feeding and under the surface where I won’t see them.

I’m pretty sure I saw JAWS 2 before I saw JAWS in the theater, but it’s still a film that captures your attention from the opening frames all the way through the end credits.

I think there’s a very childlike purity in sharks. Like dinosaurs, it’s an example of nature that’s unstoppable, but the difference is there’s an actual risk that I could have a shark encounter, where a dinosaur is just left to the imagination. A shark, particularly a great white, is the stuff of nightmares.

And despite the overscheduled and unexpected filming delays, Spielberg ultimately made a piece of work that will last forever. Although the shark is quite memorable, it’s not the first thing I think of when I reflect.

JAWS is a film of incredible little moments.  Everyone knows, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat”, but these are a few of my very favorite scenes:

Sean Brody Imitating His Father

After Alex Kintner’s death, Brody returns home, exhausted.  Thankful that both of his kids are ok, he sits at the dining room table with his younger son, Sean.  Sean watches his father and imitates his every movement, in a sweet moment of love and hero worhip.

Quint’s Indianapolis Speech

By all appearances, Quint is an enigma even to the citizens of his own community.  Taking on the bounty for killing the shark, he’s joined by Brody and Hooper on his boat the Orca.  At night, sitting in the galley drinking, and trading stories about their scars, Quint reveals that he was on the U.S.S. Indianapolis and tells the story of why he hates sharks.

The Amity City Council Meeting

After Alex Kintner’s death, his mother advertises a bounty for the person/persons who kill the shark that killed her son.  Mayor Larry Vaughn, who already nixed a decision to close the beaches, is sidelined when Brody announces the beaches will be closed.  As for members of the community, their concern is the lost revenue from tourists that will cripple the town.  The arguing amongst the  council comes to an abrupt stop, when Quint makes his first appearance.

Out to Sea

Brody, Hooper and Quint take off on the Orca planning to find and exterminate the killer Great White.  With a bouncy, light score from John Williams, we quickly see their confidence slip when the confront the shark for the first time.

Amity

Finally, the town is as much a character as anyone else in the film.  Following Chrissie Watkins’ death from a shark attack, we see Brody take charge, closing the beaches, and meet with the mayor who provides an unacceptable explanation regarding the situation at hand.