Stephen Speilberg

Stephen Spielberg has grown to be one of the greatest film directors of all time. He has directed many blockbuster films, including the famous Indiana Jones trilogy, Jurassic Park 1, 2 and 3, and more recently, War of the Worlds, Munich and Catch Me If You Can. The two movies I am focusing

on today are Hook- the answer to Spielberg's sons question - "what if Peter Pan grew up?" and Jaws- the blockbuster movie which influenced dwindling numbers at beaches across America the summer following its release. Stephen Spielberg was born in Ohio and moved around a lot while he was growing up. His parents divorced when he was young, which has been said to be the reason for some of the recurring themes in his films, which we will explore later. He directed his first film at 21, and has since developed into one of the most powerful and influential directors of all time.

Stephen Spielberg portrays many cultural assumptions through his films. One is questioning that just because humankind can do something, does it mean they should? This is strongly represented in Hook - just because Peter Pan could fight, crow and fight, does is mean he should as it lands him in trouble when he forgets the main reason he had to remember his past - his children. This cultural assumption is supported also in Jaws, when the town Mayor keeps the main beach open for the 4th of July, when in retrospect, he should have had it closed because of the shark attacks. Another of Spielberg's cultural assumptions is that humankind is arrogant and naпve in thinking that they can control the universe. This cultural assumption is backed up in Hook by the character Captain Hook, as he believes that by winning Maggie and Jack's love - which is Peter's universe - he will conquer Peter Pan. This cultural assumption can also be supported in Jaws, when again, the town Mayor refuses to close the beaches because it will detract from the town's popularity during summer.

Spielberg uses many discourses in his films to reflect his own attitudes, values and beliefs. For example in the film Hook, Spielberg positions viewers to see Captain Hook as the "bad guy" by using elaborate costumes to distinguish between good and bad, which supports Spielberg's belief that good conquers evil. Spielberg invites viewers to take Peter's side, as he is portrayed as the "good guy". Spielberg reaches this image by focusing

on Peter's reaction to his children's kidnapping, which positions the audience to take Peter's side of the adventure to get his children back and seek his revenge on Hook. In the film Jaws, the Mayor is seen as the "bad guy", because he is more concerned about the town's popularity rather than the sudden shark attacks on the beaches. Spielberg creates this greedy image by only showing the Mayor in a suit, even when he is on the beach, which shows that he is only solely interested in the business of the town.

Spielberg uses many different techniques to reel his audiences in to his films, mainly music and strong lighting in particular scenes. One of Spielberg's most famous pieces of music used in any of his films is the suspense reeking, shark-chase music from Jaws. To this day, this music is known worldwide as a symbol of fear and alarm. This famous piece of music is by John Williams, whose work is repeatedly used in Spielberg's films. Light symbolises mystery in Spielberg's films rather than the dark, which generally represents the unknown. This stems from a childhood memory of being shown a meteor shower for the first time, and not knowing what it was. This may also be of the reasons Spielberg often shows a shooting star somewhere throughout his films, which then represents a mystery or the unknown. Shooting stars can be seen in the sky behind Brody in Jaws, right when the shark returns to the boat after being tagged. This symbolises the mystery of the unknown, just as the meteor shower