Blog Post 8: Three Act Structure of Jaws

           The first act of Jaws, or the introduction of the film, establishes the conflict of the film, poses a central dramatic question, and gives us essential background information about our characters and location. The catalyst of the film occurs in the opening scene when Chrissie Watkins is eaten by a shark and found by Chief Brody the next morning. We are immediately drawn to Chief Brody as a relatable, hard-working character who wants to kill the shark. Right away though it is apparent from the chief's interaction with the townsfolk that Amity island is initially more concerned with making money from their island guests than with chief killing the shark. The Chief tries to shut down the beaches, but another boy is soon eaten just before the first turing point. This poses the central dramatic question of the film which is will Chief Brody kill the shark?

           The first plot point in the movie occurs when Alex Kitner, a young boy, is eaten by the shark. This escalates the stakes for the chief and forces him to make the decision to close the beaches indefinitely against the wishes of the mayor. This event propels the film into the second act where the chief, Hooper, and Quint all hunt for the shark at sea. This second act continues to build off of the first act and complicates the chiefs mission since he is now on the water which is the shark's territory. This second act is also the first time that the audience gets a real good look at shark.

           The second plot point of the film takes place between the second and third acts of the film.
Hooper goes down into a shark cage to try to kill the shark with a poison dart. This dramatically raises the stakes for Hooper since nobody has yet faced the shark while actually in the water. This second turning points render the final confrontation between the shark and Chief Brody inevitable and begins the third act. From this point on the violence escalates as the shark destroys the cage, eats Quint, and sinks the boat. The climax finally occurs in the final minuets of the film as Chief Brody and the shark finally square off, and the chief blows up the shark. With the central dramatic question answered and the main conflict resolved, the chief and Hooper swim safely back to shore.