Here's a summary of the key themes and opinions expressed in the Hacker News discussion about the Jaws book cover art, with supporting quotations:
The Sexual Subtext of the Art
Several users discussed the perceived sexual undertones of the original book cover design and the creative process behind it.
- Early interpretations and the shift in perspective: "Going from "it's a vagina with teeth, that's bad" to "it's a penis with teeth, that's good" made me chuckle... just sounds so typical of creatives." (cjcenizal) This quote highlights a humorous observation about the evolution of the art direction.
- Historical context of sexuality in art: "The creatives of that time were so sex-minded. There were countless references to Freud and Kafka, HR Giger designed monsters after anatomy and fertility. Sex in general seemed to be on the tip of the tongue of so many authors, writers, and directors of that pre-internet era." (echelon) This places the creative choices within a broader cultural context.
- Horror genre's use of sexual fears: "The Xenomorphs in Alien are meant to evoke the fear of rape and child birth. Unsuspecting woman alone in a vulnerable situation attacked by a vicious creature— I can see why they thought the penis angle fit better." (Spivak) This explains how the new direction plays into the typical horror themes.
- The persistence of sexual themes in modern media: " Knowing several creatives, it's definitely not less porny or horny, it's just differently horny and porny." (t-writescode). This challenges the idea that internet accesibility diminished sex in art.
Copyright Law and Ownership of Art
A significant portion of the discussion centered on the complexities of copyright law, particularly in pre-1976 contexts, and its impact on the Jaws book cover art.
- Copyright intricacies and the Jaws cover: "IIRC, there are some films in public domain for having "failed" to do this as well." (bredren) This introduces the issue of copyright failure and its consequences.
- Work-for-hire vs. individual ownership: "Not if you're an illustrator doing work for hire. It's not unreasonable or unusual for the company who commissioned the art to own the copyright." (karaterobot) This clarifies the different scenarios regarding copyright ownership.
- The publisher's role in copyright protection: "That was my takeaway as well. The weird thing is: since it's someone else doing the initial publication, their omission of copyright credits is costing the artist their copyright." (tanewishly) This highlights the vulnerability of artists when relying on publishers for copyright protection.
- Appreciation for older copyright systems: "God, I love pre-1976 copyright. So many formalities and intricacies. I’m kind of amazed that there’s so much from that era that remains in copyright." (nocoiner)
The Creative Process and Originality
Some commenters questioned the degree of Kastel's claim to recognition, given the contributions of others to the concept.
- Challenging Kastel's credit: "It feels to me that even ignoring copyright law, Kastel has a limited claim to the credit here. Art director Alex Gotfryd came up with the concept of the Shark and the Swimmer, while Paul Bacon did the original drawing." (enjeyw) This questions the extent of Kastel's unique contribution to the finished product.
Puns
The discussion humorously acknowledges the use of fish-related puns.
- Acknowledging the puns: "”… Kastel realized that there was something fishy about the painting’s copyright situation.” I see what you did there." (Reason077)
- Cutting back on puns: "My first draft had a lot more fish puns. I decided they were a distraction so I cut most of them. A few still slipped through the net." (ironicsans)
- Additional examples: "Wow! Thats quite a catch!" (genghisjahn), "You're going to need a bigger boat." (tanewishly), "Not to worry, I was still hooked." (lelanthran)
Anecdotes About Movie Props
One user provided an interesting story about the acquisition and recovery of movie props.
- Prop thefts: "Lots of irreplaceable props were suddenly "stolen" from productions. I was involved in tracking one down to return to Universal (now in a museum) and the guy who had it made a fatal mistake of boasting about it one time in a forum." (qingcharles) This offers a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes world of Hollywood prop management.