Bellringer  Why do you believe people watch horror movies? Describe what elements you believe make a horror movie scary.  hlcux66s hlcux66s

Why Do We Become Scared?  Watch this V-Sauce video and consider all of the ways, we become scared. Think about how horror films utilize these factors.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) The Blair Witch Project was one of the first “found footage” horror films Found Footage is a plot device in which all or substantial part of a fictional film is presented as if it were discovered after an event has taken place. The film relates the story of three student filmmakers who disappeared while hiking. The events on screen are seen through the camera of one or more of the characters. This film lead the way for many films like Cloverfield and Paranormal Activity.

Terms to Remember  Cognitive Dissonance- is the feeling of uncomfortable tension which comes from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time.  Ambiguity-Uncertainty or inexactness  Vagueness- not clear or distinct to the sight or any other sense; perceptible or recognizable only in an indefinite way  The Uncanny: The opposite of what is familiar. It is a Freudian concept of an instance where something can be both familiar yet alien at the same time, resulting in a feeling of it being uncomfortably strange.  Motif: a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition.

Jaws  Released June 1 st,1975  Directed by Steven Spielberg (Schindler’s List)  Considered the 1 st summer blockbuster film.  Did not gradually release film to public. The studio opted to utilize a wide-release, opening everywhere all at once.

Troubled Shoots  Jaws was behind schedule and over budget, largely due to the mechanical shark breaking down too often. This forced Spielberg to become creative about how he used Jaws in the film. John Williams’ score became a character all its own.  Jaws, the shark, is only on-screen for less than 8 minutes in this entire film. By 1977, two of the most iconic characters of all time, Jaws and Darth Vader, combined for only 20 total minutes of screen-time.

Reception  Jaws won three Academy Awards for Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound. Nominated for Best Picture.  Highest grossing film of all time for 1 year. Until Star Wars overtook it. Made for 12 million, but generated 470 million dollars.  First film to break 100 million dollars.  Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

Reception Continued  Just as Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960) had made showers a new source of fear years before, Jaws created a terror of sharks that continues to this day, evidenced by the popularity of such pop culture events as the Discovery networks "Shark Week," a series of programs dedicated solely to the sea animal.  Reduced beach attendance in 1975 was attributed to the anxiety caused by the movie, along with an increase in shark sightings. It is still regarded as responsible for ongoing negative stereotypes about sharks and their behavior and for leading to what has been known as the "Jaws effect," inspiring scores of fishermen to kill thousands of the animals in shark-fishing tournaments.

Jaws as a Horror Film  Jaws, built on the mainstream appetite for horror, created by films such as The Exorcist, but gave us a monster that was, uniquely, neither human, nor supernatural, nor the result of mutation. Sharks are real. They're out there, swimming around, snacking on swimmers, right now. The movie's success is rooted in this terrifying premise, as well as in the inspiration taken, in terms of marketing and distribution as well as content, from the big monster movies of the 1950s.

Jaws as a Horror Film  By broad definition, a horror movie "provokes a feeling of fear, dread or tension in the viewer.“  But as a genre, many folks think of "horror" movies as more Poe-like... dark houses, creepy woods, vampires, werewolves, things like that. Maybe some blood and gore thrown in.  Of course, Jaws does have some dark and creepy and some blood and gore (bitten off leg with continuity-error sneaker). Still, it doesn't have that Lovecraft ambiance.

The Motif in Jaws  The sound is the main motif of the film. The two note music is heard whenever the shark attacks.  The music even at times stands in for Jaws, suggesting that the predator is approaching even if it is not seen on screen.  This cues the audience expectations, allowing the motif to build tension.

Critics  “I still find this film pretty terrifying.” Judith Lucy At the Movies  “Enjoyment derived from tension and fear, interspersed with brief breathers to allow nerve-relieving chuckles and smiles”- Alexander Huls Movie Mezzanine  “This is a suspense classic that leaves teeth-marks”-Peter Bradshaw Guardian  “One of the greatest horror films made. The opening sequence is not only a classic, it's still frightening nearly three decades after it was made.” Forrest Hartman Reno Gazette-Journal  “It was the beast that launched a thousand monster movies.” Christopher Null Filmcritic.com

Bellringer Using Jaws as your subject matter, discuss one of the following terms from day 1 as it connects to what you have seen in the movie so far.  Cognitive Dissonance- is the feeling of uncomfortable tension which comes from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time.  Ambiguity-Uncertainty or inexactness  Vagueness- not clear or distinct to the sight or any other sense; perceptible or recognizable only in an indefinite way  The Uncanny: The opposite of what is familiar. It is a Freudian concept of an instance where something can be both familiar yet alien at the same time, resulting in a feeling of it being uncomfortably strange.  Motif: a distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artistic or literary composition.

Review: Mood vs. Tone Tone: director/filmmaker’s attitude toward the subject matter as revealed through the events in the film. Mood- the feelings created in the viewer by a scene or movie as a whole. Tone- how the director feels Mood – how we feel when we watch

Review: Foreshadowing When the director gives implications or hints early in the movie that point towards something that will be extremely relevant as the plot unfolds. Foreshadowing helps the audience to accept the things that happen at the end of the movie.

Sound Trailer 1: Trailer 2:  How does each trailer’s music contribute to the film’s overall mood?

ACE Paragraph  After watching Steven Spielberg’s Jaws, explain how Spielberg uses various elements (sound/music, ambiguity, uncertainty, cognitive dissonance, surprise) to create a certain mood (identify it!) in the film. You should cite a specific scene as evidence.  Use ACE paragraph format.  Answer the prompt.  Cite your evidence  Expand/explain your evidence