Even though it is most commonly known as of the first modern horror films that has made its way on the top ten highest grossing films of all time, Steven Spielberg’s classic 1975 film, Jaws, illustrates the unquenchable human desire for purpose and wholeness which advocates that adopting the belief of “anatta” or “no-self” is the way to be liberated from this “fragmented state of unelightenment” (Sluyter 97-98). In the bigger picture, the main antagonist of the film, the shark itself, reflects us as individuals according to Sluyter. To be more specific, the shark is meant to symbolize our “fragmented point of view” we have of our lives and our constant search to remedy our emptiness by “trying to concretize ourselves” with impermanent items …show more content…
and sensations (Sluyter 97). I would have to agree with this point of view because as humans in today’s society, we have conformed to the idea that we need to work hard to form a path that only gives us a sense of purpose but to form a lifestyle that will allows us to fit in the rest of society and not be looked down upon.
Unfortunately, we have the tendency to go about this by developing attachments and cravings, which causes us to feel suffering during this process. This view becomes much more comprehensible if we make the connection that the shark symbolizes consumerism and materialism in our modern reality. Due to the central role money and economic forces plays within everyone’s lives, “the new shoes or handbag, the new boyfriend or girlfriend” is just like the shark as it “tears [our] innocence to pieces” which creates the unhealthy desire to obtain more than we require (Sluyter 99,101). As a result, we begin to exhibit the unsatisfiable and isolated persona of the shark who “relentlessly [consumes] one fish after another” (Sluyter 99). However, we must realize that attempting to create a sense of fulfillment through material items would be in vain because during our search for the sense of wholeness, we forget that it “ironically surrounds us like an ocean” (Sluyter
98). In relation to the film, the idea of receiving wholeness is to experience the realization that “if our hungers are allowed to run rampant, it will all be rape and pillage, and eventually everyone will be gobbled up” (Sluyter 101). We simply cannot be like the mayor within the film and be in denial that the notions of desires and development of cravings are occurring. Instead, we have to “deal with the voracious shark of self” before it is too late and brings us farther away from reaching that sense of wholeness or purpose. (Sluyter 101). In relation to our own lives, wholeness refers to the fact that we must ultimately accept that all feelings, material items, and events are all impermanent within our world. Therefore, we cannot allow ourselves to be “too caught up in petty domesticity to confront the deep stuff” which will allow us to live out our years on earth happily and be able to focus on what is truly important in our lives (Sluyter 103). There are multiple ways in which we are able to experience this realization, which is reflected by the actions of the three shark hunters within the film: Quint, Hooper, and Brody. Personally, I feel that I connect most with Hooper, the young shark expert, whose actions reflect the path of “gentle, systematic transformation rather than heavy moralizing” (Sluyter 108). Within the film, it is seen that Hooper likes being around sharks and “works with the shark’s nature rather than against it” by utilizing tracking devices and shark tanks (Sluyter 108). The reason I would take this path of working with my inner shark or cravings is because I believe I have a similar personality type as Hooper as I do not like to approach situations aggressively and enjoy utilizing my intelligence to figure out an efficient solution to the problem. Just like Hooper’s actions illustrate, I would “give [the self] something new to consume that will eventually kill its unbridled appetite” so that I may finally achieve that sense of wholeness one day and not let any of the mishaps that have occurred come to permanently define who I am in the future. Overall, the hidden messages within this film are very applicable to our lives today because we could utilize these messages to realize that “the self has no solid reality” which will not only allow us to act selflessly on daily basis, but also make it harder for attachments and cravings to develop (Sluyter 97). Consequently, we as humans will be able to live much happier within the “wholeness of [an] unfragmented being” (Sluyter 103). This is especially important towards me and fellow peers since we are still young, growing adults and learning these life lessons sooner will allow us to reach our full potential and avoid the feeling of suffering as we go through the game of Life. In the words of Buddha, “dharma is like a raft that we ride to the far shore of enlightenment” (Sluyter 111).
[2] Missing is a rather confusing film to follow at first. Admittedly, I had to view it a few times to understand what was happening. Perhaps the initial feeling after seeing this film is confusion. However, after having watched it a second, fourth, eighth time, what I really felt was anger. Each time I watched the film, the anger and disgust would grow, so much so that it pained me to watch it again. However, in identifying the cause of my anger, I began to realize many things.
Analysis of the Ways the Director Builds Suspense in the Opening to the Film Jaws
The article Why We Crave Horror Movies by Stephen King distinguishes why we truly do crave horror movies. Stephen King goes into depth on the many reasons on why we, as humans, find horror movies intriguing and how we all have some sort of insanity within us. He does this by using different rhetorical techniques and appealing to the audience through ways such as experience, emotion and logic. Apart from that he also relates a numerous amount of aspects on why we crave horror movies to our lives. Throughout this essay I will be evaluating the authors arguments and points on why society finds horror movies so desirable and captivating.
The best thing about movies like Godzilla and Tarantula are the metaphors. The saturation of metaphors is immense. This shows the importance of films like these in the cinematic industry. People have a way to express emotions and express fears. In the article” Looking straight at "Them!"
First I will highlight the brief journey through the horror genre and the conventions that have developed. Second, I will then show how these conventions are used in the film Jaws. Let’s start with the silent era, an era based on monsters, Frakingstien 1910, Dracula 1912, The Phantom Of The Opera 1925. Without sound, there was a heavy emphasis on make – up, adding to the horror and preparing the first convention, which is the reveal of the monster. Facial expressions and body language played big part in early horror movies as it provided the tension. A second convention was the ‘dark property in the middle of nowhere,’ using isolation as a way to build up tension.
Many timeless novels have impacts on our everyday culture, not only as a book, but also through music or movies. Many popular novels have multiple adaptations, which shape how we approach their interpretation, in ways we may never even notice. In some films, humans are depicted as monsters, whether through their actions, or through the thoughts of other beings. In these films we find issues with our own society, and in turn see ourselves as monsters, and look for ways we can change, for the better. One particular novel that influences this side of Hollywood is Mary Shelley's “Frankenstein”. The ways Frankenstein influences pop culture can be seen in science fiction films in which humans are depicted as monster, and “monsters” are seen as more humane beings, such as I, Robot, and Ender’s Game.
During World War One, the amount of devastation was massive. The human welfare declined as well as progress in Europe. James Whale formed his surroundings during this time period into his personal adaptation of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”. The monster created by Whale is symbolic of a wounded soldier who has been forgotten and cast out or pushed to the side by an economy in depression. This film is characteristic of the post war years with hopefulness of reconstruction, the deterioration of community as well as the individual, and the erection of destruction. This theme of re-animation is presented through the utilization of death in economic and procreative positions. Whale’s creation of the Dr. Frankenstein character and his generative role in a dark underground laboratory can be seen in an emblematic arena that is analogous to the fighting on a battlefield. When one thinks of a battlefield, death is almost certainly the first thing. What is generally overlooked is the potential of battle and death being the first strides on the way to a new existence. The comparison between the laboratory of Frankenstein and the battlefield should both be of death leading to new life and a new beginning. However, in the 1931 film of Frankenstein, it is found that any fulfillment of this new existence simply returns the community to a harsher reality of unforgiving modes.
Mary Shelley’s novel Frankenstein is impressive, entertaining, and fascinating so is it no surprise there have been so many films and artworks influenced by her novel. Many of which have put their own spin to the horror novel, especially the character of the creature that remains one of the most recognized icons in horror fiction. However, there have been critics whom argue modern versions and variations have lost the horror and passion that is an essential to the creature. The start of the Creature is bound to one book. However, public impression of the Creature has changed severely since the publication of the original novel, leading to diverse styles and plot lines in its diverse film adaptations. People’s impression of the Creature have become so twisted and turned by time and decades of false film posters and article titles that most use the name “Frankenstein” to refer to the Creature itself, rather than the scientist who created him! It’s a shame! An understanding of literary history is a necessity to comprehend the truth of the Creature’s tragic history and how decades of film adaptations changed him into the hulking beast most people know him as today.
The horror genre is synonymous with images of terror, violence and human carnage; the mere mention of horror movies evokes physical and psychological torture. As remarked by noted author Stephen King “the mythic horror movie…has a dirty job to do. It deliberately appeals to all that is worst in us. It is morbidity unchained, our most base instincts let free, our nastiest fantasies realized.” (King, 786). At manageable intervals, we choose to live these horrific events vicariously through the characters in horror movies and books as a means of safely experiencing the “what if”. The horror genre allows us to explore our fears, be it spiders, vampires, loss of our identity, or death of a loved, under the most fantastic and horrible circumstances conceivable. King also points out that by watching horror movies we “may allow our emotions a free rein . . . or no rein at all.” (King, 784). According to psychiatrist James Schaller, by vicariously “experiencing contrived fears, a person develops a sense of competence over similar types of fears.” (Schaller). Horror films allow the viewer the opportunity to safely examine their fears safely and to the depth and extent they wish to do so. Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 provides the opportunity for the viewer to consider a diverse range of fears, with a little humor thrown in for balance, from the safety of a darkened room, a comfortable seat and in less than 120 minutes.
Sluyter, Dean 1st ed., ‘Cinema nirvana enlightenment lessons from the movies’ (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2005).
...nsumerism. The metaphor of “rivers of bright merchandise” gives an image of modern day consumerism because they reader can think of a river of just stuff that is not essential to life, this can also be interpreted as a nightmare. The metaphor continues by placing people below suffering beneath the deep piles (waters) of merchandise that drowns today’s culture. Those people are the once who only think about what they want, but not on what they needed. Then there are people that are floating along or “staying afloat” and do not be consumed by materialistic items.
While becoming the afternoon snack of a gigantic shark is not a pleasant thought, and neither is being murdered by a psychopath in horrific fashion, the key to understanding the hold that zombies have on our collective imagination is that not only is it easy to see ourselves in them, it is frightening to see how easy it was for another person to become a zombie – to lose herself or himself and everything that made them unique – and succumb to and fade into the zombie horde. At the same time, the way in which people react, the ways in which they become less human themselves when they come into contact with zombies and the zombie apocalypse is another horrifying way of losing oneself that zombies force us to c...
What word would you use to describe a tiny dog? Some people might call it cute, while the others might consider pups as naughty and rebellious. Now, how about a shark? What adjectives could you think of? In most cases, people deem sharks as dangerous, threatening and violent animal, but in reality how many of them have actually seen one? In fact, the impressions of a certain type of animal in most people’s mind, are primarily based on how the media portrays them. As an illustration, the impressions of the shark were deeply influenced by “Jaws” and it is probably why almost every person describes them as violent or cold-blooded. In art, animals are portrayed in ways to help convey particular messages to the audience.
Instead they rely completely on money to be happy. People often do not appreciate what they have, and they feel like they deserve better, and they complain instead of making the best of what they have. It is not necessary to be rich to enjoy life. Often those who have everything tend to live miserably. People can become too attached to money to the point that they forget about enjoying life and caring for their family. The theme of materialism is shown throughout the story of “The Rocking Horse Winner” to explain how being too attached to money can ruin people’s lives.
No one can stay in himself; the humanity of man, subjectivity, is a responsibility for others, an extreme vulnerability. The return to self becomes interminable detour. Prior to consciousness and choice, before the creature collects himself in present and representation to make himself essence, man approaches man. He is stitched of responsibilities. Through them, he lacerates essence.1