Thursday, April 10, 2014

J is for JAWS: The Deep BLUE Sea

 The theme of my 2014 A-to-Z Blog Challenge is BLUES, PUPUS, and REVIEWS.
Tuesday & Friday - BLUES: Art, Movies, Music, & Police 

JAWS is a 1994 novel by Peter Benchley about a great white shark that preys upon a small resort town. Mr. Benchley’s motto was, “Save the sharks and we can save the ocean.” Unfortunately, I’m not sure who was listening.
 

The eponymous movie, starring Roy Schieder, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw, had a thread running through the story about facing your fears. Everyone has a healthy fear of sharks. But the sheriff had a fear of water, one he expressed as a ‘fear of drowning.’ When someone asked why a person who is afraid of water would live on an island, his less than logical answer added levity to the scene. “It’s only an island if you look at it from the water.” 

In 1976, the dead body of a 14 1/2 foot shark whose species had never before been detected was discovered in the Hawaiian Islands by an oceanographic research vessel and was dubbed a megamouth shark. 

We know so little about the vastness of oceans that I am pleased to have also learned
these 6 things about Sharks and People from JAWS on DVD: 

            1. A shark can swallow a metal license plate whole.

            2. A shark will chomp down on a scuba tank until it explodes.

            3. A reader/movie-goer is willing to ‘swallow’ anything
                        (suspension of disbelief) if the story holds water.

            4. Irrationality comes in all shapes and sizes.

            5. Fear isn’t a bad thing if it’s based on logic.

            6. Sometimes you’re gonna need a bigger boat.
 
Do you watch the Special Features on DVDs?

4 comments:

  1. Your review of Jaws makes me want to go back and either re-read the book or see the movie again.
    Interesting that when I originally read/watched Jaws I didn’t notice the “facing your fears” aspect.

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  2. That's why I like to watch movies on DVD, Lynda. There is always something new that I missed during the first viewing.

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  3. I haven't seen 'Jaws' since I was a kid. I remember it was horrifying. Since I grew up on a beach, I refrained from watching it every again-- I love to enjoy the beach as is, without those pesky memories of teeth-layers and attacks keeping me from enjoying myself. :D I love special features! I always, always watch the bloopers ;)

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  4. I didn't miss any of the Jaws movies and read the book. A real thriller back then. Thanks for the reminder. http://www.writer-way.blogspot.com

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