Matthew German Dissertation 22354557 A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS THROUGH FILM LANGUAGE OF STEVEN SPIELBERG’S JAWS 1975 MED3225 Matt German (22354557) May 2016 Alan Molyneux (dissertation supervisor) A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of BA (Hons) 1
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(Finished)A Discourse Analysis Through Film Language of Steven Spielberg’s Jaws 1975
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Matthew German Dissertation 22354557
A DISCOURSE ANALYSIS THROUGH FILM LANGUAGE OF STEVEN SPIELBERG’S JAWS 1975
MED3225
Matt German (22354557)
May 2016
Alan Molyneux (dissertation supervisor)
A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of BA (Hons)
The written account that follows is original in form and content and may be made available for photocopying and for inter-library loan
the information about character position given in the establishing shot.” (Bordwell,
2002 p.17). This is done to help perpetuate the action while still giving the audience a better
sense of the setting. Separate shots of other characters entering the water, such as Alex racing
past his mother etc. are used to tell the audience who is in the water, thus who is in danger.
The focus is returned to Brody, who is situated in a mid shot framed to the right
showing negative connotations. This is then cut with an in camera vertical wipe as a beach
goer walks past Brody’s field of vision, resulting in a MCU of Brody. “This technique of
imitating optical devices within the shot seems to be a variation of Spielberg's preference for
creating graphical matches at the beginning of his film. The imitation of optical devices in the
film functions as a play on the difference between what is filmed and how it is filmed.
Although no more than a formal play with film techniques, this device is nonetheless
understated and does not draw attention to itself” (Buckland, 2006) p119. Using this shot
allows the audience to see the little details in the actor’s expression, we see Brody trying to
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look out to sea as people walk past making this difficult. This exacerbates his emotional state
as he tries to concentrate on the ocean. Unlike before, Spielberg uses shallow focus to help
the audience identify with the intended subject, even though there is a lot of commotion on
screen. It gives the audience time to analyse and contemplate his expression and what it
means. The film then returns to Brody’s POV of the ocean, again transitioned using an in
camera wipe. This shows us that Brody is concentrating on one swimmer in particular. This
informs the audience that there is something worth focusing on, building tension in the
audience as they expect something to happen.
This turns out to be a miss direction on Spielberg’s part as we see an obscured object
motioning towards the swimmer replicating a shark creating tension as the audience are
unaware of what the object is. All they can do is assume. By using an angled shot with the
swimmer at the bottom of the screen enhances this as it indicates the vulnerability of the
character laying, unaware in the water. This shot cuts back to Brody’s reaction on the beach,
leaning forward in his chair suggesting that the danger is immanent.
This technique operates as a false alarm as the object turns out to be a man wearing a
swimming cap. The effect given is a build of tension with an unexpected outcome creating a
small rise in drama without resulting in releasing any of the tension that had been built during
the scene. Each event builds on the last as Spielberg plays on the audience and the
anticipation of an attack.
When a character approaches Brody and attempts to engage him in conversation,
Brody is shown to still have his attention on the ocean. To show this Spielberg utilizes an
over the shoulder shot (OSS) from behind the other character showing Brody’s head moving
up and over, clearly looking over the character’s shoulder. This is again cut with this new
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character in a CU, framed to the right with a woman in the ocean behind him framed on the
left, once again using deep focus allowing the audience to see everything.
Without warning, the woman in the background starts to scream, which alerts Brody.
The OSS turns into a close up (CU) as the camera quickly tilts up as Brody stands to his feet
revealing Brody’s emotion as the camera focuses on his face. The urgency of his expression
matched with the haste of his movement and the speed of the camera enhance the actor’s
performance giving an appropriate and dramatic emotional response. However, this is just
another false scare as Spielberg builds the tension. Brody’s reaction is again juxtaposed with
what he sees, has it turns out that the woman is fine as another, unseen beach goer had swum
from behind her underwater and then, took her by surprise by lifting her out of the water on
his shoulders. Spielberg relaxes the event with a WS of Brody slowly sitting down.
This system is repeated once again as the old man who we though were a shark earlier
approaches Brody as the film now alludes to Brody’s aquaphobia, this is used once again to
distract Brody and the audience. However, Spielberg alters the technique lowering the tension
slightly by pulling the camera out. He uses a similar shot to the CU but, he positions the
camera so the frame has more space around the character Brody is speaking with, allowing
some of the tension to be released. Still framed on the right in deep focus with the ocean in
the background to the left, but this time some kids are playing in the background. At this
point we also get diegetic sounds of people listening to the radio. These techniques are used
to lull the audience into a false sense of security.
Spielberg then uses a number of quick cuts of the kids playing in the ocean. A similar
montage technique he used earlier in the scene, however he varies the shots by using a mix of
CU’s, wide’s, MCU’s etc. This is done to pick up the pace but also to disorientate the
audience both visually and audibly. Spielberg then calms the scene with a couple of shots of
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Brody and Ellen as she tries to help her husband relax. Spielberg is combining elements as
the next shot shows the dog walker calling for his dog but with no dog in sight. This shot also
features Brody’s son Sean playing in the sand. This shot holds extra weight because
Spielberg devotes time to these seemingly irrelevant characters, but unlike most directors
who would have had these in separate shots, Spielberg combines them creating an image that
is pact with meaning, juxtaposing the foreground and the background. The shot is the only
one of the ocean that shows the vast emptiness of the sea, with no dog insight, possibly
foreshadowing what will happen next. He then shows us a single shot of the wooden stick the
dog was playing with earlier, floating in the sea. This makes the audience aware that there is
danger in the water.
Spielberg shifts perspective to a POV of the shark as it swims through the water, the
audience understands this as not only is this the first underwater shot of the scene but, we also
get the ominous, non-diegetic soundtrack that has already been associated with the shark at
the beginning of the film. A WS of the sea, with children playing is shown in the foreground
with the attack in the background yet, the view of the attack is obscured. To add weight to the
attack, the first cut we see is a WS of Alex’s mother showing her oblivious to her son’s fait,
with other character standing up around her to see what’s happening. This cuts directly back
to the attack with a shot of Alex being pulled under the water.
Spielberg utilizes a vertigo shot of Brody sitting in his chair. Perfectly timed with the
soundtrack. The point of this shot is to portray how not only was Brody right about there
being a shark, but also it shows that his deepest fears have also been realized. “One of the
main problems confronting filmmakers is how to film the psychological state of the character.
Spielberg’s solution to this problem in this scene is appropriate. He has used a pertinent
technique to convey the extreme psychological state of the character at this point in the
scene.” (Buckland, 2006 p.99). Panic then ensues, combining tight angle shots of the kids in
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the water with WS of the adults on the beach. Spielberg sneaks in a quick MS of Alex’s
mother into the sequence to remind the audience of which relationship they need to keep in
mind. Brody rushes to the shore line but freezes as he reaches the water due to his
aquaphobia, but still instructs people out of the water.
The WS of the beach, showing Brody instructing the beach goers out of the water
moves from his side to reveal Alex’s mother as she calls out for her son, walking back a forth
along the shore until she eventually walks into a CU. Moving seamlessly from a WS of the
beach to a CU reveals the distress of the mother, highlighting and emphasizing the detail of
the actors face and her performance. It also draws the attention from the crowd forcing the
audience to see her reaction. Spielberg finalizes the scene with a single shot of Alex’s float,
now deflated, torn and surrounded by bloody water, indicating to the audience the fate of the
boy proving that Spielberg’s method of showing rather than telling can be a far more
powerful storytelling device.
MUSIC AND SOUND EFFECTS
Music is often used by filmmakers to manipulate the emotion of the audience. The
main theme from Jaws, (1975) has been ranked as one of the most terrifying and as one of the
most memorable musical scores in film history. “The theme for Jaws, (1975) developed a life
of its own, becoming the sound of ironic danger. Such uses-quotation- both reinforce and
undercut the semiotic system of classical Hollywood film music.” (Kassabian, 2001 p.109-
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110) The sheer intensity of the music can even be considered to be as important as the visuals
of the film.
How John Williams, the composer of the film used music to characterise the shark is
quite incredible. By using music as a motif for the shark he gave the film a signature that not
only fits the nature of the shark but, is also flexible enough to allow Williams the opportunity
to guide the audience through each scene, usually using only music to indicate the presence
of the shark. For example, when the music is played fast and loud it emulates the shark as it
attacks, presenting a feeling that the shark is some sort of unstoppable force of nature, while
when the music is played softer and slower it implies that the shark is there, lurking,
somewhere.
At the beginning of the film the audience is presented with two points of view, the
shark and of the intended victim Chrissie Watkins. Spielberg presents a style of shooting the
audience will come to expect from the film, in particular the underwater photography and the
style of the music. This is important as the film gives its audience the tools needed to decode
the information provided in one scene. These threatening non-diegetic sounds tell the
audience that something bad is about to happen, creating the desired effect with its audience.
This technique is repeated throughout the film building tension with the audience such as
with the attack on Alex Kidner all the way to the end of the film where Brody kills the shark.
Spielberg and Williams condition the audience in the way they think about the images using
music as an indicator. “Dramatic scoring maximally matches the visual events on the screen.
intensifies as the shark gets closer to the swimmer, and climaxes at the moment of the attack.
Rather than being organised as a reaction to other events in the film, dramatic scoring moves
concurrently with the action.” (Kassabian, 2001, p45).
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Williams did not want the main theme of the film to celebrate a red herring, he
wanted the music to signal when the shark was on screen. This restraint to advertise the
arrival of the shark and not to use music when it was not there gives the film the opportunity
to play with the expectations of the audience, as on occasion the audience is forced to
contemplate its absence. With the absence of music, the audience does not anticipate the
shark because they have conditioned them to think like this by installing the meaning through
repetition. For example, during the beach attack where Alex Kidner is killed Spielberg
presents a number of red hearings. “During these red hearing Williams never uses music,
only when the shark arrives towards the end of the scene does the audience hear the infamous
notes of the main theme. The Jaws, (1975) main theme magnificently exemplifies this point:
it serves its purpose of signalling “menace” from the first time it is heard” (Kassabian,
2001 .54)
Later in the film they start to advertise that the shark is there without using music.
When Brody, Quint and Hooper are on The Orca towards the end of the film, Brody is scene
throwing chum into the water in order to attract the shark. Out of nowhere with no build up or
indication the shark thrusts its head out of the water scaring Brody and the audience. The
music is only heard after the shark appears, not before. This technique works so well because
the audience is lulled into a false sense of security by not having the music before the event.
Now the audience know that the shark is there but the absence of music complicates its
meaning. The audience now know that an attack could now come out of nowhere with no
lead up to it making this attack and future attacks far more terrifying. The audience now
realise that all bets are off, an attack could come out of nowhere.
Besides the role music plays in enhancing the film, Sound effects also play an equally
important role. The use of diegetic sounds is designed to make the events of the film feel
more realistic. While the use of hyporealistic sounds are used to emphasise the emotion or
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action of a scene. During scenes where the shark is attacking many screams, water splashes
and other audible effects are synchronized together, some even coming from of screen. This
gives the audience a sense of realism with in the film, creating an illusion as if the audience
are there. Spielberg takes this effect even further. After the shark attacks the pond around an
hour into the film, Brody is seen running from the beach to the pond to save his son, Michael.
As he does the audience can hear a man clearly shouting “Somebody get a gun and shoot it,
doesn’t anybody have a gun?” Jaws, (1975). Most filmmakers would not bother with this
level of detail and would simply insert some stock audio of generic screaming. Spielberg
takes this level of detail to another level in this pursuit of realism, which combined with the
context of the film leads to a more immersive experience as the audience feels a real sense of
dread.
One of the most interesting techniques using sound while also remaining realistic is
what they do when they cut from above the water to underwater. By combining the use of
both clean audio and by muffling the sounds coming from beneath the water, Spielberg
creates contrast between the two elements. For example, When Alex is attacked, Spielberg
builds up to the attack by framing the scene from two points of view, combining underwater
photography with music with more traditional cinematic and clean audio. When he is attack
the camera cuts rapidly between shots taken above and below the water, the audio changes
depending on whether the camera is above or below the water alternating between clean and
muffled sounds, simulating what is happening of screen. This effect is used to disorientate the
audience while also terrifying them at the same time through simulating the act of drowning.
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EDITING
One interesting point that can be said about Jaws, (1975) is that it shows very little
while at the same time it shows the audience a great deal. More importantly it shows us what
we do not expect. In the title sequence, the audience observes a long moving underwater shot
exploring the ocean floor as a series of credits and title fade in and out of shot while the
infamous Jaws, (1975) theme builds in the background. This introduces these elements to the
audience, the music, the underwater photography and the unexpected. Just as the music is
about to hit it’s crescendo the film cuts to the beach party, substituting the epic orchestral
score for a harmonica playing a medley, this transition is jarring to the audience. “Cinema is
a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out”. - Martin Scorsese. The reason this works is
because it exposes the audience to something unexpected. The style of the opening is shot,
scored and edited to make the audience expect something to happen, but then they get
nothing. This editing technique sets an unnatural tone compared with it’s horror counterparts.
“The graphic matches full of thematic significance; the precisely blocked long takes,
something combined with deep focus or laterally tracking camera; the effective use of editing
to cut away from the point of interest as a means to increasing audience involvement (the
audience is on the edge of their seat, desperately wanting the film to cut back to the point of
interest); the use of heavily diffused backlighting; and the orchestration of character and
camera, cutting rate, and POV (especially in the scene on the beach depicting Alex’s death)”
(Buckland, 2006 p.108).
Some of the most basic meanings in cinema may be completely ambiguous. “Two
characters are discrete entities, in visual, auditory, and narrative terms. If they are in the same
shot, I can say that they are united (by being in the same shot) or separated (by the space
between them). If they are in different shots, I can say that the cut separates them (a cut is a
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break) or links them (a cut is a join)”. (Bordwell, 1989 p.251). Here Bordwell points out that
there is no one to one correspondent between any technique in film and any possible
meaning. Even the simplest of visual or audible message, such as they type of messages
Spielberg would convey can be interpreted in the same way. If we look at In Modern Times
(Chaplin, 1936) The first image we see is of sheep being herded towards the camera. This is
transitioned using a dissolve to show correlation with the next shot of people leaving the
underground. These two shots put together in such a way, conveys that in Modern Times
(1936) people are shown no more dignity than animals, as moving in herds to the factory is
no different to sending lambs to the slaughter.
However, two or more shots arranged together can make almost any meaning the
viewer desires. “Montage is an idea that arises from the collision of independent shots-shots
even opposite to one another” (Eisenstein and Leyda, 1969) p 49. For example, the famous
shot of the bone being thrown into the air and transitioning into a weaponized satellite in
2001 A Space Odyssey, (Kubrick, 1968) can be translated into a number of different ways.
Whether its shows the progression of man or mankind’s obsession of weaponry. Whatever
the intended meaning was, the interpretation is ambiguous. With Jaws, (1975) Spielberg
attempts to convey the information without confusion by presenting the story as it is. “The
picture for water and the picture of an eye signifies "to weep"; the picture of an ear near the
drawing of a door = "to listen" a dog + a mouth = "to bark"; a mouth + a child = "to scream";
a mouth + a bird = "to sing"; a knife + a heart = "sorrow," And so on. (Eisenstein and Leyda,
1969 P.30). However, despite this no matter how clear this information is, it is impossible for
the audience to interpret it’s meaning in the same way.
Another interesting point about the opening scene is that it shows us everything
except for the shark. “A shot presents us with an idea, or a sequence of ideas, and the cut is a
‘blink’ that separates or punctuates those ideas” (Murch, 2001) p 62-63. This is important,
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especially concerning that the audience does not see the shark for at least the first hour of the
films run time. What this does is allow the audience the opportunity to build a picture in their
own minds of what the shark would look like and how terrifying it is, based on the aftermath
of the attacks, instead of showing us what happens during the attack.
By delaying the aftermath Spielberg creates an uneasy atmosphere based on the
unknown. After Chrissie Watkins is killed by the shark, which we don’t see her until her
body is discovered on the beach four minutes later. “The secret of this lies in the fact that the
chronicle pace of the event is fitted to a severely tragic composition.” (Eisenstein and Leyda,
1969) p162. By leaving this event un-concluded it throws the audience into confusion. Before
we see the body we see Hendrix’s, Brody’s deputy face looking discussed and clearly upset at
what he has found. Then we see Brody and the boy run into frame, who then look with the
same expression. Only then do we see the body. By using restraint and clever editing choices
the audience get a more powerful response. To further this emotion, the very next scene starts
with a shot of the boy in the police station, clearly in shock.
The pace of the editing is possibly one of the most important techniques used in the
film. The restraint shown during the editing reflects Spielberg’s camera. “The blocking
served the purpose of “editing” the scene, but without the need for cutting together several set
ups. This is another scene devised during the filming” (Buckland, 2006 p.95). What this does
is help minimize the number of cuts in a scene, so that when an attack happens and the cuts
come much faster the scene feels more chaotic by comparison, Such as in the opening scene
and specifically the beach scene.
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CONCLUSION
Spielberg loads his audience with enough information to narrow the possible
conclusions made by the audience in relation to the intended meaning put forward by the
director. By combining all these elements from the blocking, to the editing, to the music,
Spielberg is able to paint accurate and vivid pictures into the audience’s mind translating a
more detailed preferred meaning onto the audience. While his attempt is by no means
flawless, as in some instances an audience will always derive what they want from a text,
Spielberg minimises the interpretation to such a degree that it could be argued that the
majority of his intended meaning for the film is conveyed accurately with little ground for re-
interpretation.
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