Jaws (1975) and the Five-Act Structure

Fig 1. Jaws (1975) poster

Jaws (1975) is a horror film that tells the rather graphic story of a monstrous, killer shark that terrorizes
the quaint community of Amity Island.

The first act which pertains to exposition; the work showcases and explains the key characters, setting
and how the world works. In Jaws (1975) the film starts off suggesting Amity Islands nature as a resort
town and place of respite and vacation with a group of young people camping on the beach. The calm
serenity and playful atmosphere of the group and two members who go into the water is disrupted
by one of them being killed by the eponymous shark being the Inciting Incident of the plot. The
exposition continues throughout the introduction of the protagonist, Chief Martin Brody, and how he
interacts with the rest of the town, acting also as audience surrogate and introducing us to the town
and its residents.

The exposition comes to an end when the characters discover the remains of the girl who was killed
by the shark. News of the discovery soon reaches throughout the town and panic ensues. This could
be considered the inciting incident and thus jumpstarts the rising action of the film, otherwise known
as the second act. From here on the events that unfold lead up to the climax with more people being
killed, and havoc generally brought upon the island. The Mayor soon gets desperate after coming to
the realization of the situation he allows Brody to do what he believes is the appropriate action. Brody
along with an oceanographer by the name of Matt Hooper consult and hire fisherman Quint.

A climax, the third act, is reached following the trio setting out to hunt the shark on Quint’s boat. After
attempting to lure the shark out with chum it finally attacks. However, they fail in their attempt and
rest for the night. To their shock and horror, the shark attacks the boat, ruining the engine and
damaging the boat.

The fourth act, falling action, is reached later after the skirmish. After Quint and Brody attempt to fix
the ships engine, Hooper is sent down into the water to try tackle the shark. He fails, however, and it
goes after the boat. Quint is killed in the chaos. Brody eventually kills the shark by shooting a
pressurized gas canister caught in its mouth.
The film’s final and fifth act, the denouement also known as the resolution is short but manages to
tie up loose ends. In particular whether Hooper managed to survive his ordeal with the Shark. He and
Brody reunite among the ruins of the Orca, Quint’s ship, and paddle across the sea. The one thing the
film does not tie up is whether the two do indeed manage to reach home, although the bright and
cheery music and visuals of the scene could imply that they do very have an absolute happy ending.

Image Bibliography

Fig 1. Jaws (1975) poster [poster] (1975) At: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073195/ posted on:
30/08/2000 Accessed on: 13/12/2019