Today, people commonly turn a blind eye and a blind mind to the plagues that threaten to destroy Western culture and human identity, and that move silently beneath the face of placid waters.
More than four decades ago this summer, Steven Spielberg’s suspense thriller, Jaws, took the world by surprise as the pulsing two-note theme and the invisible aquatic menace plunged audiences into paroxysms of exhilarating terror. The instantaneous popularity of Jaws (1975) made it the highest-grossing film of all time (until Star Wars came along). Aggressive marketing and wide release dubbed Jaws the first of what is now known as the summertime blockbuster, and its commercial success remains well-matched by its historical impact. Jaws is a film that scars as well as scares, having driven swimmers out of the ocean and compelling them to malign the Great White shark for decades since. Though identified within the genre of horror, there is a surprisingly profound symbolic quality to Jaws that raises it above the mindless monster-slasher. It is not a shallow picture (despite the deep defects of the mechanical shark). The 27-year-old Spielberg, embattled as he was with production setbacks, probably did not intend to create a fable for modern society with Jaws; but his dedication to telling a story well elevated a potentially campy movie to a film with a cultural message that remains relevant to this day.
The value of Jaws as a cinematic social symbol, or film fable, lies in the phenomenon that the artistic expressions of popular culture—however wild or weird they may be—often unconsciously express remedies for popular corruptions. It is on a subconscious, allegorical level that Jaws is noteworthy, tapping into the primal corners of human existence and human economy.
The storyline is straightforward. The island town of Amity relies on its tourist season for survival. But when a woman’s remains are washed up at low tide, and the coroner assigns the cause of death as a shark attack, the chief of police, Martin Brody, (Roy Scheider), closes the beaches. The mayor protests the decision, convincing the medical examiner to assert that the tragedy was due to a boating accident and demanding that the beaches be kept open for the sake of summer dollars. After three more fatalities, however, the shattered town hires a hardened fisherman, Quint (Robert Shaw), to catch and kill the shark. The final act launches upon the high seas, as the crazed captain, joined by the rugged police chief and a quirky marine biologist, Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), hunt down the brutal leviathan in a desperate struggle that skillfully employs conventions from Moby-Dick and The Old Man and the Sea in a Hitchcockian chess game of man pitted against nature. It is straightforward storytelling; but by remaining true to the tale and keeping the narrative of characters and conflicts clear, the solidity of the film opens it to interpretations that go beyond the surface.
Forty-one years after its box-office-breaking release, Jaws still resonates with viewers and withstands serious analysis. One line of interpretation that renders the film a relevant and powerful piece for those engaged in the battle for Christian culture is the theme of a society determined to willfully ignore a prevalent, pervasive threat to humanity instead of facing it and destroying it. In the case of the plot, the problem of the shark is in almost every way undeniable and one that does indeed promise to destroy. Nevertheless, the powers-that-be steel themselves to explain it innocuously away, by hook or by crook. This pattern is only too familiar nowadays. From Benghazi to healthcare reform to the LGBT agenda, lies and false attitudes constantly downplay the dangers that threaten to tear civilization apart as it floats between Scylla and Charybdis, between modernity and collapse; and all for the sake of money, uneven-keel economics, and political correctness—until all are awash in disaster—even blood.
Jaws is a fable, or cautionary tale, for our times. Today, people commonly turn a blind eye and a blind mind to the plagues that threaten to destroy Western culture and human identity, and that move silently beneath the face of placid waters. But the jaws that gape beneath that surface are devouring jaws. The sacrifice of innocence for the sake of money and machinations must give us pause, as Hamlet says. Nature can, in fact, breed monsters. With the fall of nature, nature is no longer always natural. She can betray man, and it is her betrayals that man must resist at all costs. As in the film, the only way to counter such infiltrations is to take the risk of heroism—which is difficult in a society that champions insipid tolerance. The time has come to to call evil “evil” and to declare boldly, for instance, that a man is a man; a woman is a woman; the Truth is true; Goodness is good; and Beauty is beautiful.
The precedents of denial run deep, however. If a cure to the unhappiness threatening society is inconvenient to the markets, the malady is simply ignored—even though it is everywhere and obvious. What else can explain frantic Islamophilia in the hateful face of ISIS? Or the sanction of the secret slaughter of abortion? Or the normalization of both pornography and feminism? These are deep and dark waters. Evil lurks within their depths, seeking to devour like a lion as St. Peter wrote—or like a shark.
In spite of its pop-culture status, the message of Jaws yet rings clear: The ordinary man can rise to an extraordinary occasion and restore sanity and peace to a society slipping into a violent disorder, which is as indiscriminate in its victims as a killer shark. This old-fashioned American theme charges head-on against the newfangled American paralysis and pusillanimity that fears litigation if the truth is spoken, or blacklisting if a stance is taken.
After four decades, we are still going to need a bigger boat. And the only boat big enough for our predators is the Barque of Peter. And we all must sign articles for the voyage with the readiness to destroy that which would destroy us—and to do it with a will. In the salty cries of Captain Quint from the bridge of his creaky craft in Jaws, “Daylight’s wastin’!… Front! Bow! Back! Stern!… C’mon, chief, this ain’t no boy-scout picnic. I see you got your rubbers. Ha! Ha! Ha!”
The Imaginative Conservative applies the principle of appreciation to the discussion of culture and politics—we approach dialogue with magnanimity rather than with mere civility. Will you help us remain a refreshing oasis in the increasingly contentious arena of modern discourse? Please consider donating now.
The featured image is courtesy of IMDB.
This is a good article and a fine interpretation , however I cannot but admit to having an entirely different one on account of chance.
Some years ago, in the cold winter of the Northern December , I embarked upon a voyage of significant duration carrying me over most of the globe to Australia , where Christmas coincides with heatwaves.
Chance would have it that – like in some American romantic comedy – I was actually upgraded to Business Class for the duration of the flight (those Muslims do know how to take care of their customers!). I found myself , legs happily stretched out reclining in a deliciously comfortable chair at several thousand feet, sipping martini and eating fresh strawberries. The United Arab Emirates airlines being somewhat of a modern version of the sort of poshe and elegance of flight service we can watch in old footage of the 1950s.
All I needed now , I thought , was a happy relaxing summer themed movie to go with the liberal quantities of Martini and Strawberries.
Lo and behold there were absolutely NO such movies except one….Jaws.
Yes, Jaws.
Jaws has everything the winter weary sojourner to summer paradise could wish for: the casual laid back thrill of small town New England, the misty breeze of a lazy beach. The sunny faces of life on the seaside.
Yes, true, there is the killer shark chomping on the ocassional lovely girl or idiot guy, there is the eruption of panic or mania and the Moby Dick like drama of the ending.
But with the right attitude and refill of your Martini, it is easy to ignore all that and bask in the relaxing summer delight of this masterpiece of beachfront lore.
It’s all very well to say a woman is a woman and a man is a man, but the definitions of appropriate character and behavior vary from to some extent from land to land and century to century. Women are pitied or despised for a good reason – they cultivate qualities that are recognized as vile in men, and one person said that courage in women is often mistaken for insanity. Artificially forced equality where standards are lowered is wrong, but the answer is to push women to meet those standards, and part of it is attitude towards life, when all else is roughly equal. (The typical complaints about women in combat units can be solved by putting them in separate combat units like the kurds do.)
The first reference to roles was after the Fall as part of a curse on Eve that she would become dependent on Adam and he would rule over her. But Prov. 31 woman is rather manly. And her husband boasts near the start that she brings in money so he is not tempted by “spoil” (dubious gained wealth).
Quint’s complaint about the weaker and more fearful women of modern times who can’t handle anything is valid. A lot of women were “feminine” or what in a man would be called effete in the 1940s yet a lot shouldered manly burdens and did well at it, and earlier women were used to hardship even if they weren’t amazons.
Excellent article!