Jaws - A Film Ahead of its Time

Rating: 8/10 (6 April 2016)

Steven Spielberg's Jaws is certainly unlike any film I have seen before. Though I have seen it before viewing it in this class, it was a refresher on how ahead of its time it really was. With everything from the special effects to the sound effects to the believable props, it convinces the audience they should be on the lookout for sharks the next time they are in the ocean (even though it rarely happens in real life). Though this film is classified as adventure, drama, and thriller, I think it should be classified as more of a thriller than anything else. I say this purely because of the scenes where people are swimming in the ocean and have no idea there is a shark creeping up on them. This causes the audience to feel "thrilled" and scared for the victim but they cannot do anything about it. These scenes kind of reminded me of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. Even though the plots are completely different, both films portray the fact that the worst things can happen to us when we are most vulnerable. Whether it is in the shower, when we are sleeping, or trying to enjoy vacation, these films make some of us afraid to go through with every day tasks even though we should not be. Aside from the plot, I am impressed with how the film took off. For example, I cannot imagine going to a public pool and not hearing a kid sneak up on his/her friend while humming the Jaws "first victim" tune. To this day, people are still making Jaws references and that truly shows how big of an impact it made on history.