A Philosophy to Journey - Part II: What We Fear
The film Jaws was released in the summer of 1975, becoming the highest-grossing film of all time and the origin of an irrational fear of sharks for generations of its viewers. This visceral fear came not through the imagery of the titular villain and its vicious attacks but through the implication of the shark’s presence. Composer John Williams’s foreboding score and director Steven Spielberg’s strategic use of camera allowed the viewer's minds to paint a picture of doom far worse than could ever be projected on a silver screen. Actual tragedy often pales in comparison to our imagined.
In the film, police chief Martin Brody is tasked with killing a great white shark that has been preying on the residents of his beach town. Chief Brody takes on his task, aided by oceanographer Matt Hooper, with grave reservation:
Mrs. Brody
Martin hates boats. Martin hates water. Martin - Martin sits in his car when we go on the ferry to the mainland. I guess it's a childhood thing. It's a - there's a clinical name for it, isn't there?
Chief Brody
Drowning. Isn't it true that most people are attacked by sharks in three feet of water and about ten feet from the beach.
Hooper
Yes, that's true.
Chief Brody
And that... and that before people started to swim for recreation - I mean before sharks knew what they were missing - that a lot of these attacks weren't reported?
Hooper
That's right.
Eventually, and after much coercion, Chief Brody ventures out onto the ocean to search for the man-eating shark. Brody goes where he least wants to, in the face of justifiable reservations.
Chief Brody as portrayed by Roy Scheider
“The world has changed too fast for our genetic makeup. We are alienated from our environment.”
Fear and anxiety were wonderful survival mechanisms for our ancestors but in our contemporary setting, their triggers have become overly sensitive, lowering the threshold for what we perceive to be danger. Imagine leaving your home and traveling miles away to realize you’ve forgotten your phone. You might think to yourself, “What will I do if I’m lost, get a flat tire, become stranded, and need to call for help?” Just thinking theoretically about the scenario might be enough to bring about angst. But, just because something feels dangerous, uncomfortable or scary doesn’t mean those feelings are valid. Or, that we need pay heed to them. Negative and positive emotions are symptoms of our analysis of a situation. They are not indicators of the accuracy of our analysis.
“Projection allows us to cheat evolution: it now takes place in our head, as a series of projections and counterfactual scenarios.”
Fear should be examined not as a warning, but as an invitation for further investigation. Why does a potential action seem like a risk? And if it is a risk, what is the reward? Risk and reward go hand-in-hand and it’s the tipping of their scales that determine their credence. Herein lies the obstacle, because we humans are bipedal walking contradictions. We require regular stresses to become robust in mental and physical fortitude, yet we house an outdated operating system that projects to us a multitude of ill fates, of which only a minute fraction might ever come true. We can’t lose what we don’t risk but:
“A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials.”
Chief Brody’s nightmare has come to fruition
The key is in approach. Chief Brody didn’t take to the ocean like the mad Captain Ahab, blind with hatred, throwing caution to the tidal winds. He did so with diligence, conviction, respect, and all the bravery he could muster.
“I try and turn fear into respect.”
Brody pursued his shark because the risk of his inaction outweighed the potential perils of his action. Whereas the reward for inaction was not comparable to the peace of mind he would acquire if he were to succeed. He ventured to where he least wanted to because to find a shark, you have to leave the safety of land, even if the mind’s machinations say otherwise. And, if in pursuit we find that the worst thing our brains can imagine does come to fruition, and we survive, then we may also find we are the better for it. That our analysis and associated fears were unfounded and that we were more robust than we imagined was possible.
“It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult.”
At the end of Jaws, the shark is dead, their boat has sunk and Chief Brody and Matt Hooper are left to swim back to shore:
Brody
What day is this?
Hooper
Wednesday... No, it's Tuesday, I think.
Brody
Think the tide's with us?
Hooper
Just keep kicking.
Brody
Y'know, I used to hate the water...
Hooper
I can't imagine why.
What stirs us is what is out of our element. Our whole being is nourished with curiosity about the unknown and the awe uncovered in its pursuit. We know this instinctively when we gaze upon endless blue oceans, snow-capped peaks, desolate deserts, faraway galaxies, or any other sight of man going where strong reservations might suggest he avoid. Our vision shows us where we want to go, our fear shows us the pursuit is worthy of our effort.
Coming soon: Part III: How to Sojourn