Saturday, August 8, 2020

Jaws

I recently watched Jaws and noticed a small feature in one of the shots.  After three people have been killed in shark attacks, Chief Brody tries once again to convince the mayor to close the beaches in order to prevent more incidents.  The mayor stubbornly refuses, thinking that he's taking the best course of action for the sake of the town's businesses, which depend on summer tourism.  He says, "Tomorrow's the Fourth of July, and we will be open for business.  It's gonna be one of the best summers we've ever had.  Now, if you fellas are concerned about the beaches, you do whatever you have to to make them safe, but those beaches will be open for this weekend."  With that, he gets in his car and drives away.  Behind him, there's a road sign that reads, "One way."


To some degree, this sign echoes the mayor's obstinacy.  He's determined not to allow anything other than what he wants.  Additionally, Brody's facing the opposite direction illustrates this conflict visually.