Jul 19, 2018
It’s been long enough since JAWS was released in theaters that there are people who may not be aware that it was based off a very popular novel at the time by Peter Benchley. Those familiar with the characters of Brody, Hooper, and Quint might be surprised to find how different the book’s versions are from the ones in Spielberg’s landmark film. Luke & James break the book down into four quarters and cover each chronologically.
Topics include: the story of how the novel came to be, Benchley’s turn to conservationism, the shark’s famous POV, info-dumps, the problematic representation of Ellen, the problematic rape fantasy, the effect returning to land multiple times has on the tension, Quint’s similarity to Ahab, Hooper’s different fate, and whether the ending felt satisfying.
Join them next week when they discuss Stephen Spielberg’s adaptation featuring Richard Dreyfuss, Roy Schneider, and Robert Shaw!
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