JAWS: The Aftermath

Have you ever wondered what happened after Brody and Hooper made it to shore at the end of Jaws? What was the aftermath like? We get a few hints in Jaws 2, but many tantalizing questions remain. Here’s a little high-octane speculation on what may have befallen our heroes and the town of Amity after the credits rolled.

First, and perhaps most obviously, Brody and Hooper would have been heroes—and not just locally, either. Once the story of their climactic battle with the shark got out, they would have become minor celebrities, nationwide and overnight. Reporters were already swarming Amity in the wake of the first couple of shark attacks. The cardboard fin panic, immediately followed by the attack at the estuary—in which one man was killed and a group of kids were threatened—would have made for a sensational follow up that no media outlet could have resisted. Headlines like “Amity Mounts Shark Hunt Following Tragic New Attack” would likely have hit the news services before Brody, Hooper, and Quint even set out to sea; and following their return, triumphant in the death of the shark but with the loss of Quint and the Orca, reporters would have had a field day:

Amity Shark Killed after Sinking Boat, Killing Captain

Amity Shark Killed after Spectacular Battle at Sea

“The Shark was Chasing Us!” – Amity Police Chief

Brody and Hooper would have been the focus of the first reports, with an emphasis on Brody’s heroics and Hooper’s claim that the shark was a Great White of unprecedented size and power.

Amity’s Killer Shark - Record-Breaking Great White

“Fishermen have been telling stories about massive Great White Sharks for well over a century, but until now we’ve never had any direct evidence of a Great White exceeding at most twenty-one feet,” Matt Hooper, an oceanographer associated with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and a member of the Amity shark-hunting trio, told the Guardian today. “That situation has now changed. I study these animals for a living, and I was in the water with this particular shark, which tore my shark cage apart and nearly did the same to me. I saw this animal at close range, and as an expert, I’m here to tell you: this Great White was easily twenty-five feet in length and a good three tons.”

Amity Police Chief: “I Got Lucky. I'm Lucky to Be Alive.”

Amity Police Chief Martin Brody, formerly of New York City, and known throughout the island community for his reluctance to venture into the ocean, says that his spectacular rifle shot, which killed the shark by detonating a canister of compressed air trapped in the fish's mouth, attributes the shot to “pure luck”:

“Let’s get one thing straight. Yeah, I killed the shark. Okay. But I’m not kidding myself here. I mean, I’m no Wyatt Earp. I was scared to death. I had salt water in my eyes. I got lucky, that’s all. It was pure dumb luck.”

After the initial stories, the press would likely have gone on to highlight Quint and the loss of the Orca:

Slain Amity Fisherman Survived Infamous WWII Shark Attack

The Associated Press has learned that Amity shark fisherman Quint [full name currently unknown] was a survivor of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, a World War II heavy-cruiser torpedoed by a Japanese submarine after delivering components used in the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Following the sinking, approximately 900 of the ship’s officers and crew were left adrift in the Pacific for four days, during which time sharks killed the majority, leaving only 316 total survivors, including Mr. Quint.

“He told us the story while we were on the Orca,” Police Chief Martin Brody said in an interview by telephone this morning. “Fishermen can tell a good story. God knows I’ve heard a lot of them living on this island, including some from the war. But this was different. The way Quint told it, it was like you were there. But he didn’t brag about it, you know? He didn’t even bring it up. I saw what looked like a scar on his arm, and he said it was a tattoo he’d had removed: ‘U.S.S. Indianapolis.’ I didn’t even know what it was. Hooper, he knew, but I had no idea. God, what a nightmare that must have been for those guys in the water.”

Brody would have been the country’s most celebrated law-enforcement officer for a few weeks, and Matt Hooper would have become a prince among oceanographers, and likely a much sought-after lecturer. It’s entirely possible that Mayor Vaughan would have received a large envelope in the mail one day from Woods Hole and opened it to find a copy of National Geographic with Hooper on the cover and a note inside reading, “Suck it, Vaughn. Love, Matt.” Before long, publishing companies would have offered book deals to both Brody and Hooper. It’s questionable whether Brody would have accepted the offer—unless Ellen convinced him that it would be good for the boys’ college fund, and maybe a vacation far from the shore—but I’m convinced that Hooper would have jumped on it.

Reporters would also have sought out anyone else they could interview, especially eyewitnesses. These would have made for some interesting reading:

“I was just lying out on the beach with a couple friends, getting some sun,” said Susan Tomlinson (22), of Newark, New Jersey. “We heard somebody yelling, ‘The shark’s in the pond,’ but we thought it was a gag, so we didn’t pay any attention. Then this guy starts screaming, and we sat up and looked out over the water, and we saw a couple of boats overturned in the water, and there was a lot of splashing. All I got was a quick look at the guy before he went under. Even then, we weren’t sure it wasn’t a gag, until the police chief showed up with a lot of other people and got the kids out of the water. Then we knew it was real and we’d just seen some guy getting killed out there.”

Glen O’Connell (57), a local house painter and lifelong resident of Amity Island, along with a friend he identifies only as “Charlie,” attempted to catch the shark and collect a bounty, but the two men almost became victims of the creature themselves: “We baited a big pot roast and tossed it off a dock, if you can believe that. I thought it was a long shot, for sure, but for three thousand bucks, why not try, you know? Anyway, we attached this big chain to it and wrapped it around a post, thinking it was strong enough to hold. Boy, were we wrong. The shark hit that pot roast and took off and tore the dock right out from under us. Dropped us both in the drink. I got back up pretty quick, and I looked out and there’s the dock heading off toward Nova Scotia with Charlie still hanging on. Anyway, he got off and started back toward me, but then I see the dock start turning around, and then it’s coming back toward us, and all I can do is yell at Charlie to swim faster and not look back. I tell you, he almost didn’t make it. I’ll never do anything like that again, and I promise you Charlie sure won’t! I’m glad they finally got the [expletive deleted].”

Ryan Sedgewick (13), of Providence, Rhode Island, was vacationing on Amity Island with his family, including a group of cousins, and was nearby when 12-year-old Alex Kintner was attacked and killed. Ryan’s family has provided the following statement from their son: “We were playing football in the water. None of us knew him, but we saw him go by on his raft. We heard him screaming. We stopped playing and looked and there was blood everywhere on the water and something was pulling him down.”

And what about Mayor Vaughn and the Amity Board of Selectmen? What fallout might they have experienced, and what might they have done to deflect criticism over the way they handled the shark fiasco? I don’t see Mrs. Kintner just going away.

Shark Victim’s Mother: “My Boy Should Still Be Alive”

Judith Kintner (42), mother of Alex Kintner, the second known victim of the Amity shark, is suing the town of Amity, Mayor Larry Vaughn, and the Amity Board of Selectmen for what she alleges was “criminal negligence” on their part in handling the shark affair: “They kept the beaches open. They knew that first girl, Chrissie Watkins, was probably killed by a shark. It was even on the police chief’s first report. He talked to the medical examiner and everything. But when Chief [Martin] Brody was going to close the beaches, they pulled rank on him and kept them open because they wanted to make money. I thought it was him at first. I thought he was the one who kept the beaches open. I even confronted him. I actually slapped him and told him my son was dead because of him. But then I found out it wasn’t him. He tried to close the beaches and they wouldn’t let him. If it hadn’t been for their greed, my boy would still be alive, and they have to answer for that.” Mayor Vaughn’s office and the Board of Selectmen have refused our requests for interviews, citing the advice of legal counsel.

How did Mrs. Kintner find out the truth? I suspect that, in the police chief’s office, Polly not only does the printing, but defends the chief’s reputation, whether he asks her to or not.

In the end, I believe that Amity would have settled with Mrs. Kintner out of court, with their attorney pointing out that no one actually saw the attack, the claim of a boat accident was defensible given that most of Chrissie Watkins’ body was missing, and given the rarity of shark attacks in local waters. Faced with dragging the situation out and incurring mounting court costs with an uncertain outcome, Mrs. Kintner’s attorney would likely have advised her to settle for an undisclosed amount.

Vaughn and the Board of Selectmen would also have made quite a show of honoring Brody, Hooper, and Quint, including giving Brody that “Man of the Year - 1975” award that we briefly see on Brody’s desk in Jaws 2. This would have created a show of Islander pride and unity, helping to quell possible outrage of their handling of the shark affair, especially when local business owners reflected on Quint’s warning about being on welfare the whole winter. “Amity,” as you know, means “summer dollars.”

The Setting for Jaws 2

In the wake of these likely outcomes, the setup for Jaws 2 doesn’t entirely make sense. Brody is treated far too dismissively. Yes, he embarrasses himself during the incident on the beach, but this is a local hero we’re talking about; and as he himself says, he’s “seen a shark up close.” Vaughn and the Board treat him like he’s a lunatic and do their best to shut him up from the outset. Even if they had no loyalty to Brody and little concern for the lives of beachgoers, however (which is believable of politicians), shouldn’t they at least have been concerned about the possible liabilities if they were wrong, given that they were in fact wrong the first time around? They don’t even tell Brody that they’ll consider precautions, not even to placate him. Instead, they dismiss him as contemptibly as possible.

All of this is setup for a serious scandal, friends and neighbors. Amity’s town government could have survived the fallout from the first shark affair, but surviving another one—especially when it could be shown that they failed to heed the warnings of their police chief—is extremely unlikely. The families of those sailing teenagers could have sued Larry’s seersucker pants right off of him, and Island voters would be unlikely to tolerate a second scandal when it all hit the headlines, as it inevitably would. In fact, you would think that Vaughn and the Board would have been worried about the news of Brody’s firing reaching the press, but they just kicked him to the curb, apparently without any kind of severance even. Brody is unlikely to have stirred the pot himself, but loyal friends may have decided to act on his behalf. In light of all of this, Larry Vaughn’s line, “What am I, an ass?” is seriously deserving of the response, “Well, if you’re going to answer your own question, Larry…” Furthermore, in my opinion, this outrageous treatment of Brody (not to mention his obvious infatuation with Ellen Brody) also contributes to Len Peterson (a mouthy Board member and Ellen’s boss) having one of the most punchable faces in film history.

On the other hand, we have a nice bit of continuity with the opening act of Jaws 2, where we find sport divers hunting the wreck of the Orca. This is exactly the sort of thing I would expect to see in the wake of the first film. Amity Island would be famous, with tourists coming to visit the scene of the attacks, documentary film crews arriving every few years to make retrospectives, and—at least initially—scientists and researchers descending on the island to try identifying any unusual factors that might have drawn an unprecedented predator like the first shark into those waters. After enough time passed, the town would probably open a small museum to commemorate “The 1975 Amity Island Attacks.” All of this would of course be blown up even further by the 1978 attacks, after which Martin Brody might have decided to take a book deal after all and use the money to move to a nice desert somewhere. I can see the dedication now:

To My Beautiful Wife, Ellen. Wanna get drunk and fool around?

A.J. Macready is the author of the retro-horror novel Descendent Darkness. He maintains a YouTube channel—The Atlantean Archive—where he focuses on retro horror, science-fiction, and fantasy books, movies, and shows.