Jaws - DVD Cover Analysis
Media Language:
The most eye-catching object on the front of the DVD cover is clearly the shark, due to being
comparably larger than anything else. It is also brighter than its surroundings causing contrast, with the
use of low-key lighting illuminating it against the dark black/blue of the water. This also causes the
shark to appear menacing, and thus establishes the genre of the film, being horror/thriller. The use of
darker colours also sets the tone of the movie due to darker colours indicating possibly a darker plot.
Hermeneutic code is also established with the composition of the shark and the woman in the water,
as a size comparison can be made between the two, leading to the conclusion that the shark is
incredibly large, raising questions for the audience as to how it managed to reach that size. The
composition of the DVD cover also establishes a narrative, as the shark is clearly intent on reaching
the woman in the water. While simple, it gets the point of the movie across. The title for the movie uses a
sans-serif typeface, in red. This carries connotations of danger and blood, which allude to the attacks that
occur within the movie. The 'J' is also stylised to resemble a hook, or more particularly the end of a harpoon, which is used at the end of the movie in an attempt to kill the shark.
Representation:
Only one human is present on the front cover, being the woman swimming in the water. She is white,
and therefore only ends up acting as a representation of white people, or white women in general. Due
to the release of the movie being 1975, this was the typical kind of representation seen in most
mainstream films, and therefore is reflected in the DVD cover for the movie. The woman is also seen
to be naked in the water, though she is partially covered by the bubbles caused by her swimming. This
can be seen as a form of sexualisation, in an attempt to appeal to men, who are stereotypically most likely to be fans of the horror/thriller genre. While the woman on the front cover is not a main character, her death
spurs the events of the film, therefore giving her reason to be there instead of the actual main characters.
Even though this edition is the 30th anniversary version, the design of the front is almost completely the
same as it was at it's initial release, possibly due to the original cover being too iconic.
Audience:
As mentioned before, the DVD cover is designed to appeal to fans of the horror/thriller genre, through
multiple different techniques. Firstly, as mentioned before, the cover features a semi-naked woman and
therefore utilises voyeurism, in order to target a heterosexual male audience. Furthermore, this audience is
also targeted through the colours utilised on the DVD. No stereotypically 'girly' or bright colours are used on the DVD cover, and instead dark blue, black and red are used to set the mood of the film, and clearly
establish the genre as horror/thriller.
Industry:
The film was produced by Zanuck/Brown Company and Universal Pictures, and was also distributed by Universal Pictures. Jaws was directed by Steven Spielberg, who directed many other successful films, like
Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. Because of this, Jaws is able to draw in a younger audience due to the influence of Spielberg's more modern work, which could cause people to watch his older works, with
Jaws in particular. However, the main target audience today would still be men, as the way of marketing the movie hasn't changed even after so many years.
The most eye-catching object on the front of the DVD cover is clearly the shark, due to being
comparably larger than anything else. It is also brighter than its surroundings causing contrast, with the
use of low-key lighting illuminating it against the dark black/blue of the water. This also causes the
shark to appear menacing, and thus establishes the genre of the film, being horror/thriller. The use of
darker colours also sets the tone of the movie due to darker colours indicating possibly a darker plot.
Hermeneutic code is also established with the composition of the shark and the woman in the water,
as a size comparison can be made between the two, leading to the conclusion that the shark is
incredibly large, raising questions for the audience as to how it managed to reach that size. The
composition of the DVD cover also establishes a narrative, as the shark is clearly intent on reaching
the woman in the water. While simple, it gets the point of the movie across. The title for the movie uses a
sans-serif typeface, in red. This carries connotations of danger and blood, which allude to the attacks that
occur within the movie. The 'J' is also stylised to resemble a hook, or more particularly the end of a harpoon, which is used at the end of the movie in an attempt to kill the shark.
Representation:
Only one human is present on the front cover, being the woman swimming in the water. She is white,
and therefore only ends up acting as a representation of white people, or white women in general. Due
to the release of the movie being 1975, this was the typical kind of representation seen in most
mainstream films, and therefore is reflected in the DVD cover for the movie. The woman is also seen
to be naked in the water, though she is partially covered by the bubbles caused by her swimming. This
can be seen as a form of sexualisation, in an attempt to appeal to men, who are stereotypically most likely to be fans of the horror/thriller genre. While the woman on the front cover is not a main character, her death
spurs the events of the film, therefore giving her reason to be there instead of the actual main characters.
Even though this edition is the 30th anniversary version, the design of the front is almost completely the
same as it was at it's initial release, possibly due to the original cover being too iconic.
Audience:
As mentioned before, the DVD cover is designed to appeal to fans of the horror/thriller genre, through
multiple different techniques. Firstly, as mentioned before, the cover features a semi-naked woman and
therefore utilises voyeurism, in order to target a heterosexual male audience. Furthermore, this audience is
also targeted through the colours utilised on the DVD. No stereotypically 'girly' or bright colours are used on the DVD cover, and instead dark blue, black and red are used to set the mood of the film, and clearly
establish the genre as horror/thriller.
Industry:
The film was produced by Zanuck/Brown Company and Universal Pictures, and was also distributed by Universal Pictures. Jaws was directed by Steven Spielberg, who directed many other successful films, like
Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan. Because of this, Jaws is able to draw in a younger audience due to the influence of Spielberg's more modern work, which could cause people to watch his older works, with
Jaws in particular. However, the main target audience today would still be men, as the way of marketing the movie hasn't changed even after so many years.
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