A note. Difference between a Film Still (posed photograph taken for publicity during the shoot, usually lighting and actor positions are different than in the film) & a Film Frame (one of the single 24 frames per second taken from the actual film print).
Man Vs. Self
Chief Brody against his own fear of the ocean, against his failure to act
Man Vs. Society
Chief Brody (as an outsider) against the town of Amity (represented by the Mayor)
Man Vs. Man
Tom Hooper (Upper Class "Oceanographer") Vs. Quint (locale fisherman)
Man Vs. Nature
We didn't chat about this shot in class, though it is one of the more important narrative and visual moments in the film. For one this shot opens up the second act of the film and begins the adventure narrative aspect of the film. Secondly, the shot is both narratively and visually motivated. The narrative tells us that they are leaving the docks and going out to the ocean. Visually, the sharks jaws indicate that they will be in the Shark's territory now thus heightening and foreshadowing the danger the three outsiders will soon encounter on open water.
It's also a fantastic display of the man vs. nature concept and it suggests which one of the two has the upper hand (clearly, nature).
Man Vs. God
I don't particularly find a clear example of this in the film Jaws. Any suggestion seems to be more about Man Vs. Nature or Man Vs. Destiny. Though I could be wrong.
Man Vs. Destiny
Like the main figure in Coleridge's Ryme of the Ancient Mariner, Quint has somewhat of a curse on him after surviving not only the boat explosion, but also the shark attacks on his fellow comrades during his time in the war. Quint hunting sharks is certainly a revenge narrative, but one that has to come full circle in the film. Since Quint escaped his doomed fate once, he must confront that inevitable destiny by dying not only by shark attack, but almost as importantly, a shark attack as a result of a sinking boat.
Man Vs. Technology
We could comment on two things here. 1. The technology of the old boat fails the crew. but also interestingly 2. Spielberg's own fight with technology. Spielberg has recounted how the mechanical shark consistently failed to work during the filming of the movie. Many critics have argued that this was for the better as the less we see of the shark the more our suspense is heightened. In many ways, the yellow barrels stand in for the sharks, and when they pop up or speed around the boat, the audience and the characters are often just as frightened or excited as when we see the actual fish.
---- and not considered, but I appreciated the Joke on Thursday:
Man Vs. Food
JAWS BURGERS
