Jaws 2

Jaws 2 is the second installment of the Jaws franchise.

Summary

In the film and novelization, the original shark has supposedly been killed, and people are now heading to Amity Island once more. However, several people go missing, and a partially eaten Killer Whale is found on the shore.

As a result Chief Brody begins to believe that yet another shark is lurking off the shores of Amity.

The Second Amity Incident

During the years following the first 'Amity Incident', Martin Brody's eldest son, Michael, developed a keen interest in sailing hoping to inspire his father to return to the water.

In the summer of 1976, Brody began to feel another shark was responsible for a number of boating "accidents" in Amity, but as with the first Amity incident, once again his shark attack theory was dismissed by the re-elected mayor, Larry Vaughn and the town council.

Brody's refusal to ignore the problem finally leads them to dismiss him from the police force as acting chief. In an off the record interview with the NY times, Brody cites a cover-up due to mafia and real estate developer interests in turning Amity into a more commercial region. Brody had hoped the article would expose the long running underground corruption on Amity and lead to Vaughn's immediate impeachment. Unfortunately, the article was never printed, and the editor of the paper was replaced for unknown reasons.

Trouble on the water

Martin learns that Michael and his brother, Sean Brody, along with his love interest, Marge, are amongst a small group of teenagers on an unauthorized sailing trip. They are later eventually trapped out at sea after being attacked by the very shark Brody had once again warned the mayor about. A rescue is ordered, and a helicopter search finds the teens frightened and huddled on their small sail boats tied together floating out to sea. A futile attempt by the chopper to tow the boats leads to the shark violently attacking the chopper and sinking it instantaneously. Marge saves Sean from danger, but is killed by the shark. After these two events, all hope is nearly lost.

However, Brody later eventually locates the marooned group near a power station built on a rocky outcropping in the center of the ocean which locals had nicknamed 'Cable Junction'. After a short battle with the shark Brody is able to subdue the shark by electrocuting it with a loose power cable. In appreciation of Brody's efforts he is subsequently re-instated as Amity Police Chief, but nevertheless, is described by close friends as being a shell of his former self due to the ongoing ordeal with both political red tape and the shark(s).

Motion picture adaption

The film, Jaws 2, produced by Universal Pictures in 1977, and released in 1978 portrays the real-life incidents that took place during the Second Amity Incident. To this day some visitors to the island are unable to draw the distinction between fact and fiction or whether the Island of Martha's Vineyard is in reality called Amity.

Film Reception

Jaws 2 did fairly well at the box office. It received mostly positive reviews, but the audience eventually panned it expecting a more substantial follow-up to the original film, Jaws. The film was criticized in part for exposing the shark in too many scenes, in contrast to the original film which had kept it more mysterious to the viewer and hence more subliminally frightening.

Fact or Fiction

Following the 'Second Amity Incident', in or around 1978, former Martha's Vineyard police chief George Franks whom the fictionalized character Martin Brody in the film was based upon, was said to have last been seen at a lower Manhattan theater watching the film 'Jaws 2' in the back row during a midnight screening, and had not been seen or heard from since. It was purported that Franks had gone into hiding following threats from Island organized crime syndicates unhappy with the real estate deals gone sour due to dwindling tourism business. Last known whereabouts were updated new years eve 1993 when Franks was purportedly arrested for unruly behavior in a New Jersey hotel room and later placed into psychiatric treatment at the request of his extended family.

The 'Second Amity Incident: AKA 'The Second Blood Bath Summer' continues to be the subject of discussion and controversy among occultists, conspiracy theorists, and historians. Many are unable to draw the distinction between the film Jaws 2, and the reality based 'Second Amity Incident'.

Newspaper clipping

BLOOD BATH SUMMER ALL OVER AGAIN: POWER REINSTATED TO MOST OF ISLAND


After what a select group of local islanders are calling "The Second Blood Bath Summer", the attacks from a menacing rogue shark which staked a claim for the second time on this small island have ended. But, there is a large price to pay in the aftermath.

Power has been "switched" back on for many island residents after several attacks off the coast of the tiny island that witnesses described as relentless and brutal. Based on police reports a large predatory great white shark was isolated and corralled into a small area before being exterminated by an underwater electrical cable. Witnesses say the shark was lured in by chief Brody and took the bait before being immolated by the surge of electric current. That cable, cut the power to all of Amity for 2 days.

After two weeks, it seems island 5R7, or "cable junction" as known to islanders, will never be repaired in time for the ensuing cold fall. Wheather forecasts call for a much "more brisk" winter as well. In contrast to rumors, Mayor Vaughn assured the council that "A budget is in place, and things are all going as planned for the restoration" (of the islands cables). Police Chief Martin Brody commented "Everyone is safe, thats what matters". When asked about the power situation, Brody grinned and nodded towards the street. "I don't have power either. Youre asking the wrong guy. He went that-a-way."

When asked about the outage, local islanders had this to say --

"I have lived here 57 years and the past few have been a living hell, it's like something out of a hitchcock film." says Helen Mayhem of front beach.

"I have seen alot of things in my time, but for losing power after dealing with this shark nonsense is reprehensible"

Blood summer may be an awful memory for many, but for a few it will never end.

--

-Becca Waters, AMITY WATCH

Reference

• Jaws 2