Author: Rhubarb
"Jaws" is actually a Western movie
"Jaws" was released in the mid-1970s and was Spielberg's first truly famous work.
At that time, the new Hollywood "bad boys" returned to the embrace of genre films and tried to unearth new genre elements. The "Jaws" born here seemed to be a terrifying disaster film, but in fact it combined the concepts of western films with The paradigm is applied to it, telling the western story of a modern society.
1. The theme of "Evil does not suppress righteousness"
Whether it is the early westerns of John Ford or the later super-westerns such as "Noon", the basic theme can be briefly described as the conquest of primitive barbarism by modern civilization.
In the film "Great White Shark", because the sharks killed the residents of the seaside town, the sheriff and others decided to kill them. The battle between humans and sharks is actually technology (especially the addition of scientists) , civilization and primitiveness, The process of savage resistance.
In the end, the sheriff and others successfully killed the shark, that is, justice successfully defeated evil, and the peace and order of the town can continue to be maintained in a happy ending .
2. Character pedigree of westerns
1. Positive people camp
(1) Sheriff
In traditional Western films, the sheriff is undoubtedly the representative of bravery and justice.
In this film, the sheriff who came to the small town from New York, a very contemporary city, is the one who brings law and order to the local residents.
Regarding the initial shark cannibalism incident, in order to ensure the safety of residents, he always insisted that the beach should be closed to the outside world, and the interest group represented by the mayor further expanded the deaths in pursuit of profit, which prompted the sheriff to decide to hunt. Catching sharks.
In the final "big duel", the great white shark was successfully killed by the sheriff's hand, completing his character mission.
(2) Old sailor
In the film, the old sailor can be regarded as the representative of the old cowboy .
He makes a living by fishing and is the only person in the town who can hunt sharks. The old sailor has the common characteristics of an old cowboy, skilled, calm and unruly.
However, his fishing method is traditional, thinking that one person, one rod, and one boat are enough. In the climax of the movie, the death of the old sailor at the mouth of the shark may imply the director's denial of the old part of the film tradition in the past.
(3) Marine biologist
If what the old sailor rendered was a castration, then the marine biologist represented Spielberg 's affirmation of the future.
The addition of biologists gave the film a modern color and played an important role in the story. His scientific conclusion made the sheriff believe in the real existence of the great white shark, and once made the sheriff "useless a hero" in the process of hunting and killing.
In the end, only the biologist and the sheriff survived. As the two swim away, what is reflected is the fusion of tradition and modernity, which coincides with the direction of the late New Hollywood.
2. The villain camp
(1) Mayor
As mentioned earlier, the mayor and others represent capitalist interest groups , which are similar to the bankers and big capitalists in Western films.
When sharks threatened human life, the mayor continued to open the beach for profit, which made the sharks even worse. From a macro perspective, it is the human desire that angers nature , and the great white shark is the image of evil in human nature. .
(2) "Great White Shark"
The great white shark is actually an ideographic symbol, similar to the desperate bandit in Western films, symbolizing violence, barbarism and selfish desire.
At the beginning of the movie, with the help of the contrast of warm and cold tones, the close shots of the characters and the rapid music, the great white shark is full of mystery and horror.
Because human behavior further angered nature, the mayor and others' selfish desires were projected onto this huge "monster", which made the righteous party represented by the sheriff to confront and discipline this human evil.
Third, the heroic adventure story
The stylized story of bringing civilization and order to the savage world in the west and defending the safety of the people in the small town in the western film "coincidentally" with this film.
This task is completed by the character represented by the sheriff in this film, and combines the "golden fleece" narrative mode . The team of the sheriff, old sailor, and marine biologist is to hunt the great white shark. This purpose started the adventure together.
This is also in line with the optimism, freedom, fearless independence, and adventurous spirit embodied in the history of the western development of the United States .
Nowadays, watching this film can not help but reminiscent of Peter Bogdanovic's "The Last Movie".
The same is the western story, one is the death of the sad and decadent western spirit; the other is the positive and optimistic western spirit integrated into contemporary society.
View more about Jaws reviews
