Suspense in the Film Jaws

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Suspense in the Film Jaws

The film is called “Jaws”, which is about a very large shark, that’s

attacking people in the town of Amity. The film is set in 1975 and is

building up to the 4th of July, Independence Day in America. With

Amity being a seaside town with a large beach and it coming up to

Independence Day, it is going to be more heavily populated for the

holidays, which is good news for a hungry shark.

I think Spielberg uses music very well to build suspense in this film,

the theme music is very good because the pace can be sped up or slowed

down to give the desired effect . In the opening sequence music is

used to build suspense the theme music starts off slowly and you don’t

even see the shark, but the music immediately makes you think the

shark is there and about to attack. Then the music gets faster and

faster and it makes you almost certain you are going to see something

like an attack or even a glimpse of the shark. It really builds

tension, but, then there is a jump shot to a party on the beach where

you can hear a mouth organ being played, this makes the audience feel

more relaxed after expecting to see a shark attack. There is also a

bonfire on the beach which together with the mouth organ creates a

scene where people are really happy and enjoying themselves.

The next scene is a girl swimming in the sea and with it just being

after the relaxed beach scene, we don’t expect much to happen. The

next is a point of view shot from the shark and then the theme music

begins. The music is now associated with the shark attacking its

victim. As the shark attacks the girl, her body is suddenly pulled

under, and then dragged helplessly pulled this way and then that way

on the surface by the unseen shark underneath. The audience are

transfixed and horrified.

Camera shots and angles are also very good at building suspense in

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