The fear most people have for sharks stems not from actual textbook knowledge of sharks but from Steven Spielberg's infamous summer blockbuster "Jaws." However it is not the actual shark (or the robotic shark used for the film) that creates such fear and anxiety, it is Spielberg's use of point of view that creates suspense out of scenes that do not even feature the actual creature of said fear and suspense (the shark).
In the beginning sequence of the film when the girl is going skinny dipping Spielberg uses a long shot to showcase the girl’s silhouette from the point of view of the shark. The girl’s body can be seen under-water as she is swimming around, the use of this point of view creating a sense of unease because the audience is becoming the shark. The shot that shows the girl seen from underwater, creates an environment not connected with a human-like point of view; this different point of view then creates a sense of deep unease due to its more predator-like nature.
Spielberg also effectively uses cross-cutting throughout this scene to create suspense by jumping from long-shots of the girl in the water to long-shots of the boy on the beach drunkenly trying to undress and join the girl. Though cross-cuts are more typically done with rapid speed Spielberg effectively shows the multiple lines of action of the violence of the girl in the water to the calmness of the boy on the beach by effortlessly switching between these two lines of action.
As Spielberg uses stealthy camera movement to follow the point of view of the shark as it gets closer and closer to the woman to build-up to her being attacked and subsequently killed by the shark only to cross-cut to the boy on the beach lazily sitting on the sand as the shores lap at his feet. The difference between the attack of one line of action compared to the calmness of the other creates an eerie sort-of suspense, especially considering the fact that Spielberg didn’t once show the actual shark during any parts of this scene only alluded to it through his use of point of view.
Spielberg heavily uses dramatic focus in the scene when Alex Kintner is floating on his raft while also using point of view to increase the suspense of the impending shark attack. Spielberg focuses on all the different happenings going on around the beach, the dog in the water, the old lady in the water, and then going back to a nervous looking Chief Brody (Roy Scheider).
Spielberg’s dramatic focus here shows the rambunctious nature of the beach and all the different distractions put in Brody’s way so as he cannot see if the shark is coming or not. By Chief Brody being on high alert and not able to see if the shark is coming or not, the audience is also put into that same state with Spielberg’s dramatic focus of shifting from one distraction on the beach to another only adding to the suspense of the scene.
Spielberg uses a L-Cut to transition from the shot of the man in a pale yellow polo calling out for his dog to a medium-shot of the dog’s abandoned wooden stick floating in the water with the owner’s cry of the dog's name still heard in the background. The shot of the wooden stick is significant because it is the transition shot to then going underwater and following the shark’s point of view, navigating through the many legs found in the sea.
The shark’s point of view along with John Williams music serves to create a thrilling sequence leading up to the bloody death of Alex by the shark. Once the shark attack starts Spielberg again uses the cross-cut of going from Alex being attacked by the shark to the bystanders on the beach, but unlike in the beginning sequence of the girl and boy there is no calm on the beach to contrast the violence at sea.
Whether you fear the main character in "Jaws" or not, there is simply no denying Spielberg's innovative, creative, and eerie use of point of view for the shark. Although the film is not as scary as it was in 1975, it still deserves all the fame and claim that attaches itself to the name. My only hope for you after reading this article, is that you'll cut the shark some slack (not his stomach open). It's not his fault you're so scared of him, he's simply a robot with a good point of view via his daring director.
