Jaws in January

Out of all the times to watch Jaws (1975), it's in January. I'm currently duking it out with winter sickness, not the prevalent flu and strep in my neck of the woods, but close to it...in the neighborhood. I have been on and off again dozing and combatting a cough, sore throat, and pressure headache so I turned on the television and Jaws was on. Despite clearly being a perfect summer 4th of July movie, and I have indeed fitted it in many early, mid, and late June, July, and August, Jaws just seems perfect for any time of the year. I picked right up with it yet again. The silent night-lit waves after the nude swimmer is pulled under the water, as she is being devoured--for the most part--Spielberg dares to paint us a beautiful view despite knowing what happens underneath it. Stories of shark violence, informative books on them, an expert (Dreyfuss) filling Brody and us in on bite radius while Quint pokes fun at him for being a trust fund college boy. Brody overcoming his fear of the water and hitting a carefully placed pressurized tank in the Great White's toothy mouth. The mayor begging for people to go into the water on Amity's Fourth Celebration despite what happened to two past victims at his very beach in that ocean just distant. The grieving mother who lost her child after agreeing to let him go back in for just ten more minutes. The outsiders coming in to hunt the shark. The busy island community with all their domestic and everyday problems, hoping Brody will help solve them. The rapport and arguing of three very different men after the same goal...a very big shark that behaves unlike it's species. For me it is the different pieces that make the whole experience worthwhile. Time spent in the coastal community, at the home of Brody, on the beach, Amity's waters, and out on the open water. The shark gets attention in all these places. Its presence dangerous and devastating. Brody just wanted to get away from New York. He got a shark instead

Brody: It doesn't make any sense when you pay a guy like you to watch sharks.

Hooper: Well, uh, it doesn't make much sense for a guy who hates the water to live on an island either.

Brody: It's only an island if you look at it from the water.

Hooper: That makes a lot of sense.