I dug into @guynes.bsky.social's university press round-ups and found this interesting book about children in Spielberg's movies by @lindaruthwilliams.bsky.social. "...children have served to cast Spielberg as a sentimentalist, but...they are frequently framed as complex, cruel, and canny."
woah, totally forgot about that!
I saw JAWS in theaters yesterday so I was just thinking about how wild it is that Spielberg just straight up killed a kid on screen. And I saw EMPIRE OF THE SUN a few months ago and he really puts Bale's character through the ringer.
My god I loved EMPIRE OF THE SUN... rewatched JAWS recently and for whatever reason I found myself mostly bored with the last 30-45 mins.
I don't find the last bit boring, although the story isn't quite as propulsive as modern blockbusters due to the bit right before they hire Quint where the shark attacks at the beach the second time. It is necessary for character, though, because it makes it personal for Brody.
Yeah, I totally get that, and I actually like how slow a lot of the film feels, I just sort of find everything to do with the actual shark really blah lol