Episode 26 - JAWS - Afterthoughts

 Duh Dah........

There is an endless variety of filmgoers out there and you undoubtedly know many different ones. Ones who seek a humanistic experience from their movies or those who want excitement with their popcorn, there are so many different types. We all seek different things from film on different days. However, I do have one simple way of breaking most down into two categories: those who allow themselves to be entertained and those who don’t. Jaws is a perfect example of how to see this difference in viewers.

Spielberg’s near-disastrous but in the end masterpiece Jaws is a tour de force for film goers. It inspired future generations of filmmakers but also the box office and Hollywood by giving birth to the “summer blockbuster”. Ask anyone who was going to the movies that summer in 1975 and they can tell you that lines went down city blocks and that people were sitting in the aisles to see this movie. Since then, the summer blockbuster has lost the ingenuity that it once possessed and evolved into the earth’s destruction every season (cue the smashing of the Golden Gate bridge and jets flying over). Jaws demonstrates all that goes into making a film and all that can go wrong. The production diaries, which you can buy, are a testament to dedication and sanity. All of these mentioned filmmaking miracles that were achieved are all ignored when someone says something along the lines of:

 “You can tell the shark is fake”

Words cannot describe how profound that clarification can be for the rest of us when someone lets us in on their astute analysis. Be sure to thank them when this happens. Give me a break folks; of course the shark is not real. Typically wild beasts are not trained thespians. Beyond the simple and obvious reasons why that is a stupid remark to make about a 40 year old film, it also lets us know who can and cannot enjoy movies. These are the same people who have

never been "scared" by a movie. That is very admirable that you didn’t actually fear for your life in a controlled environment like a movie theatre watching a fictitious story on the big screen. These are the people who just do not get it. When you encounter them, immediately just nod in agreement because any form of debate or further conversation will only leave you scratching your head on why they even go to the movies.

Watching movies with enjoyment requires some viewer effort. You do not have to psyche yourself out but you need to be open to the movie. I have never actually feared for my safety with a scary movie, but I have let it get under my skin.  I LOVED every minute of it and that is why we are all here, the love of the big screen. For every movie that scares you, there will be 3 people to tell you that it didn’t affect them. Their loss. If you go in to any movie thinking it is going to be bad or not interesting, then it will almost always be bad and uninteresting for you. However, if

you allow yourself to be told a story, to be enlightened or simply entertained then you can appreciate a film like JAWS. Its classic 3 acts of storytelling is a treat every time I watch it and to learn all that occurred to almost end this movie before it was done is jaw-dropping (pun intended). So next time you are excited to talk about a horror movie you watched and your friend says for the 100th time, "wasn't scary", just nod and in the future quit talking to them about these movies, there are millions out there who actually enjoy them (including the three of us).

Hopefully this detour is welcomed because honestly, we talked about the JAWS films enough on the show. I see this as one of the best examples as a catalyst for what type of viewer someone is. If you watch Jaws and your main reaction is to talk about the shark looking fake then you are missing everything…

Until next time…

Beware of the moon

The Professor