Life Imitates Art: The Covid-19/Jaws Parallel

Summary

The article draws a parallel between the movie "Jaws" and the real-life COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting similarities in leadership and public reactions.

Abstract

The piece discusses the eerie resemblance between the fictional events in the movie "Jaws" and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. In "Jaws," a shark's attacks lead to a public safety crisis, which is mishandled by the local government concerned more with economics than human lives. Similarly, the author points out that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a lack of concern from certain leaders, prioritizing economic interests over the health and safety of the population. The article underscores the ignorance and entitlement of some citizens who disregard public health guidelines for personal convenience, paralleling the indifference of the movie's characters to the shark threat. The reality of the pandemic's death toll is compared to the movie's shark victims, with a grim outlook on the resolution of the crisis, suggesting that, unlike in movies, real-life antagonists often evade consequences.

Opinions

The author believes that both the movie "Jaws" and the COVID-19 pandemic feature leadership that prioritizes economic interests over human safety.
There is a critical view of certain U.S. residents who prioritize their personal freedoms and conveniences over the collective well-being during the pandemic.
The article suggests that the true antagonists in real-life crises, unlike in movies, often do not face justice or suffer consequences.
The author expresses frustration with the mismanagement of the pandemic and the disregard for scientific advice in the push to reopen the country prematurely.
There is a sense of irony in the comparison between the movie's characters who ignore the shark threat and those in reality who deny or downplay the severity of the pandemic.
The piece implies that the pandemic has exposed long-standing issues of rights and entitlement in the United States, particularly regarding who has historically held power and privilege.

Life Imitates Art: The Covid-19/Jaws Parallel

Signs are a good thing. @rustyct1 @unsplash

A true case of art imitates life or reality is truer than fiction. Go with whatever adage tickles your fancy.

Movie: Shark kills girl, who decides to go swimming alone, at night, into deep water (Granted, it isn’t smart, but I’m sure it happens every day).

Reality: Virus kills people (‘Nuff said).

Movie: Mayor doesn’t care. The Mayor of Amityville didn’t give a rat’s ass who got eaten by the great white as long as the beaches were open for Fourth of July.

Reality: President doesn’t care. The Asshole-in-Chief could give two shits about people dying of Covid-19 in this country; just as long as he can protect the in-dust-try.

Movie: Island people don’t care. The residents of Amityville, who had not had a loved one eaten by the shark did not care that there was a threat to lives in the water. They wanted business as usual; casualties be damned. Honestly, I think far more beach-goers should have been eaten to prove a point to the dumbass citizenry.

Reality: Many specific U.S. residents don’t care. They are “tired” of staying in the house. They want to go out to eat and have beers and shit. They were protesting about their rights and this being a free country. First of all, this country does not give you the right to put others at risk, because you are exceedingly stupid, ignorant and entitled. And second of all, the exact ones screaming about their rights being taken away are the exact individuals who have had all the goddamn rights, since this country’s inception.

Movie: City Council opens the beaches for 4th of July.

Reality: Trump lead federal government pushes for a reopening of the country, despite the fact that science keeps telling them that it’s too soon. But ya know, money over people.

Movie: People get eaten (This is self-explanatory).

Reality: People die of Covid-19. Over 111, 000 deaths so far and rising. Actually it may be more than that since many states have been lying about the exact number of deaths at the hands of Covid-19.

Movie: A trio of characters band together to hunt down and kill the shark, which they do, but only two of the three survive.

Reality: ???

Let me tell ya, I don’t know how this ends, but it will not be a neat and tidy climax scene, where the antagonist dies in the end. Reality does not work that way. In real life, the true antagonists never suffer and they rarely die. Only those who are trying to do good in the world seem to die. Evil typically holds on forever.

For those of you, who don’t know what I’m talking about, check out Jaws on your nearest streaming service or boot-leg website. Not only is it an excellent move, you will immediately see that the parallels between it and this pandemic are uncanny.

And as for the Trump administration and Covid-19, we, as the people of this country, need to watch our own asses and care for each other, because this government are the ones that’ll be standing safely on the beach, while we get our asses chomped in half.