The Critique of Capitalism
The most pervasive theme running through Jaws is its indictment of capitalist ideology. The villain of the movie, after all, is not the shark but the Mayor of Amity Island, whose decision to keep the beaches open is not just tragic but tragically political. It is entirely a political decision that places the interests of the island’s business owners ahead of the safety of its consumers. The fear of losing precious profits from the 4th of July holiday crowd ultimately winds up biting the Mayor on his behind and, ironically, costing him far more than if he had simply done the right thing.
Gender Roles
Make no mistake about it: Jaws does far more than merely suggest that protection and security of the population is a man’s man’s job. Martin Brody is the Sheriff and his deputy is a man who seems underqualified for the job at the very least. When it comes time to catch the shark and kill the shark and save the day, there is a ratio of three men to zero woman among those charged with the task. As indicated, the Mayor’s job is to protect the island’s revenue stream. Mrs. Brody is a supportive and clearly intelligent woman, but serves the primary purpose of domestic affairs. Mrs. Taft, the councilwoman with the glasses, is shrill and visibly blanches at the mere sound of nails scraping across a chalkboard. Those nails, by contrast, can be found on the ultimate symbol of masculinity: Quint, the gruff, tough survivor of one of the most horrific Naval disaster in history and a man whose shop is adorned with the bones of his victories over the perfect predator.
No Man is an Island
Although there may be only men on the Orca as it heads out to bring home the shark, it is worth noting that they are three very different men with very different abilities. Quint would like to make capturing the shark a celebration of the individual, but—somewhat ironically—the forces of capitalism mandate that the great shark hunt becomes a socialist undertaking. Ultimately, Brody is seemingly the lone gunman who single-handedly takes out the shark, but appearances are deceiving. Without all three men working in tandem together, it is unlikely that Brody would ever have gotten into position to take that shot. Again, Jaws becomes a celebration of the ideological theories supporting the collective, situating it in direct opposition to the traditional American hero’s journey.
Innovation v. Tradition
This particular theme is situated within the conflict pitting Hooper and Quint in a contest for primal dominance. Quint represents the past and its traditional means and methods of doing things; his intense monologue recounting the sinking of the USS Indianapolis near the end of World War II solidifies his connection to the inexorable disappearance of established ways. Hooper is the new wave of the college-educated men of the sea embracing the latest innovations in technology to do things more efficiently and more effectively. Just as the sinking of an old battleship is symbolic of Quint, so is the cage into which Hooper climbs to try his way of beating the shark deeply suggestive. When innovation fails at doing what tradition has succeeded at for so long, the only response is to scramble away in self-preservation if one is not also well-schooled in the ways of those time-honored proven techniques.
Jaws
It may come as no surprise that jaws are heavily featured in a film of the same name. Quint's boat shack is full of them, representing a lifetime of shark hunting and characterizing the sea captain as the salty, aggressive mariner that he is, and the perfect predator to catch another predator. A shark tooth is the primary indication to Hooper that Ben Gardner's boat was attacked by a shark, and without it the Mayor is too skeptical of Brody and Hooper's warnings to heed them. Finally, when we see the Orca leaving the harbor, it's through the enormous jaw bones of a shark in Quint's shack, an excellent moment of foreshadowing since the Orca will ultimately be literally eaten by the shark.
Who Lives and Who Dies
Part of the horror and suspense of Jaws comes from not knowing which character is going to fall victim to the ravenous shark next. Chrissie is the obvious first victim to establish the conflict, but after that, the next victim on the beach could have been any number of people; the underwater shot even takes us past many thrashing legs before settling on Alex Kintner's. The later near misses of the fisherman dragged off the dock and of Michael Brody, both of whom could have easily been eaten for shock value (particularly Michael, who witnessed the killing of another man right in front of him), tells us that we can never be sure of what will happen when the shark is present, and that who will be next to die could be anybody's guess.
Ebb and Flow
Keeping with the maritime themes, Jaws undergoes many examples of ebb and flow with regard to character behavior and plot tone. In a film which gets the majority of its power from the tension it builds, the slow build-up and pull-back of anxiety and excitement is the method behind some of its most memorable scenes. For example, in the scene where Alex Kintner is killed, Brody switches between worrying and relaxing in stages as he sees what he thinks is a shark in the water, which turns out to just be Bad Hat Harry; hears the scream of a woman who turns out to be playing with her male friend; etc. He tenses, and relaxes, and tenses again, and relaxes, like a fist clenching and unclenching. This builds us up to the thrill of actual danger when Alex Kintner is finally attacked, and the climax of tension erupts. Another example would be the catching of the tiger shark and the moments that precede it. Brody is noticeably distraught through much of this time, worrying about the safety of the sailors, who by contrast are wild and cheerful, shouting, throwing chum, and driving their boats too close together. Interspersing these two moods creates an effective push and pull on the film's tone. When Brody sees that they've caught a shark, his mood finally flows into optimistic territory, from which it then ebbs right back out as Hooper suggests it's the wrong shark, and especially after Mrs. Kintner arrives and shatters the celebration completely.
