Symbolism Of Power In Jaws

Jaws
The classic 1975 film, Jaws, takes place in a coastal New England tourist town. After a young woman is killed by a shark the police chief and the mayor have differing opinion on what to do about the shark. The police chief, Martin Brody, wants to close the beaches while the mayor, Larry Vaughn, does not want to lose any tourist revenue and overrules him. After another shark attack a bounty is put out for the shark. While a shark is caught it is not the one who has been terrorizing the community. However, the beaches open once again and there is another attack. Brody, along with oceanographer Matt Hooper and local fisherman Quint set out to find the shark.
One could argue that the film symbolizes the struggle for power in American society.

Not just between the shark and Brody but Brody and Vaughn. There is the obvious choice of the struggle for Brody to defeat the shark and in turn gain the power back over the people. As soon as the shark started attacking the power was shifted to it being more power and thus basically having control over the people, in the sense that everyone fears the shark more so then everything else. That’s not saying that people fear the sheriff but fear getting in trouble. You can clearly see this in the fake shark scene when everyone is afraid to go into the water because of the shark. This scene also brings us to the next power struggle which is that of Brody and Vaughn. Brody is trying to do what is right by closing the beaches but Vaughn does not want to lose money. In this scene you can see how Vaughn has the power to get people into the water but does not have the power to protect them, which Brody does. Brody symbolizes doing what is right which sometimes means giving up things such as money. However, Vaughn also thinks he is doing the right thing because since they live in a tourist town they depend on the summer months. In American society there can be the struggle to do what is right and to do what can be beneficial.
In Hollywood Blockbusters: The Anthropology of Popular Movies Wogan and Sutton focus on two points that of the Asian enemy and that of mystery. The idea that the shark represents an unseen enemy makes sense when looking at it as peopling not being able to distinguish soldiers from regular everyday citizens. This makes sense when looking at the scene where a tiger shark is caught and people believe that it is the shark attacking everyone because they do not see the difference between the sharks. The second point is that of mystery and wonder. The main characters are mystified by the shark even with the fear of what it has done.
My interpretation goes in a somewhat different direction. While the interpretation the other can somewhat connect to a power struggle. This is because there is the struggle to know what the other is. In American society we struggle to be the most powerful and we struggle with the fear of what we cannot see. While both of these are present in American society the struggle for power is talked about more so because in a way talking about the fear of others is a fear itself. All three interpretations make sense for Jaws but it depends on what scene one is looking at.