Ian Macpherson
Film and TV 114, 10am Tuesday Section
Professor Kratzer; TA Matthew Perkins
15 December 2014
The spiritual warrior, the penance seeking assassin, the brave lawman, and the rogue patriot; all leading men on a quest riddled with dangerous obstacles. For each man, however, therein lie many unique challenges. These hurdles are shaped by specific narratives and themes, which work to shape the framework for the classic American action film as well as the Hong Kong action film. These two categories of action adventure are not only divided by a vast sea but by the motivation of each leading man and the desired end game of their individual journeys. In Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981), we see two different keepers of the peace. One lawman who is faced with the treacherous task of saving his entire town from terror and death. The other, an archeologist who is handy with a whip and who chooses to make his life’s goal to keep power out of the hands of those who would abuse it. Ultimately, both of these American action stars are fighting a battle to restore peace and balance to their world and in doing…show more content… In this case, it is a giant, bloody explosion. The explosion is a prevalent attribute of the action genre. It is so common to the genre that it can be seen in many promotional posters for action film. Just the image of an explosion can communicate to the audience what type of film they are looking at. In this final, climactic sequence of Jaws, Brody is in a man versus shark, one on one showdown and manages to detonate an oxygen tank that is lodged inside of the shark’s mouth. The blast rips apart the shark, launching blood infused saltwater high into the air. In the endings of both Jaws and Raiders, the external threat is defeated; good conquers evil and peace is restored to the community. It is a happy, simple, ‘Hollywood’