Henry Ibsen's 1882 play, Enemy of the People, and Steven Spielberg's iconic film, Jaws, both address the same central theme: a power struggle between needs. of the individual and the needs of the majority. As Thomas attempts to persuade the town's citizens to close the baths, their economic livelihood, his argument evolves from a plea for public health to a speech of a stupid people, whom he emblematically characterizes as “tyranny of the majority”. Jaws, based on this play, centers on Sheriff Brody, a character who, like Thomas, sympathizes with the victimized individual. Brody, however, goes through a lot more inner turmoil related to his decision, evolving into his decisiveness. In Enemy of the People, Thomas presents himself as the sole defender of the needs of the individual, using a technical and increasingly dismissive tone to communicate his point and express his contempt for the "tyranny of the majority." However, this style of argument, singular in its outlook and hostile in its appeal, simply alienates Thomas from his town and defeats his ultimate goal, which is to save those in danger. Conversely, in Jaws, the champion of the individual is represented by Sheriff Martin Brody, who draws his passion not from philosophical grudges, but from sympathy for the victims of shark attacks and obligation, as sheriff, to save them. This multifaceted, emotional and protective approach of the protagonist Brody, aggravated by the presence of real victims, effectively frightens and therefore convinces the inhabitants of the danger of the shark. Unlike Thomas, Brody actually appeals to each individual within the majority, allowing everyone, as part of the masses, to prioritize their individual safety. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay As the play progresses, Thomas's language becomes increasingly technical, elitist, and accusatory, isolating him from the very people he is trying to convince and ironically, cementing his motivations less on the victims than on principle. Brody, however, speaks less than Thomas and with more hesitation, empathy, and awareness of the complexity of the debate, which makes his plight more legitimate. Starting hesitantly, Brody gives in to pressure from Mayor Vaughn and his townspeople, misnaming Chrissie's cause of death and opening the beaches. In the ferry scene where the mayor makes his first demands, the shot is taken from Brody's point of view, depicting Vaughn's clamoring, literally "an in-your-face style of persuasion" (Spielberg). Then, after Brody gives in, the sheriff is filmed from a high angle, portraying him as weak and vulnerable (Spielberg). This cowardice seems to make Brody ineffective, and originally, it does. However, darkly admitting a few days later that Alex's mother "wasn't wrong" to blame her for her son's death, this horror marks a turning point in Brody's confidence (17, Benchley). This linguistic evolution establishes him as a true protagonist and demonstrates his important internal debate which gives weight to his strong opinions. Additionally, the presence of victims adds urgency and realism to his claims; Ironically, without death, he would not have the power to prevent death. This is perhaps the biggest obstacle to Dr. Stockman's argument: he has no victims. Unlike the shark, the danger of bathing still only exists hypothetically, which makes Thomas' fate less impactful. However, much to Thomas's discredit, he is unable to recover from this ironic setback. Rather than using therhetorically to arouse the same fear of baths that sharks naturally create, he consistently favors the pronouns “I” and “we” over “you,” grouping individuals separately from the masses (Ibsen). What Thomas does not realize and does not make the townspeople understand is that the masses and individuals are not past. Those harmed by bathing will inevitably come from the masses. Too absorbed in the one-versus-many debate to recognize it, Thomas fails to appeal to people's individual fears and so his argument comes across as elitist and divided compared to the interests of the city. Furthermore, as Thomas states: “May the [majority] perish!” Let the people die", he personalizes the city's refusal to accept his discoveries and his motivations turn less towards the individual victim than towards a particular individual: himself and his contempt for the decisions of the people (72, Ibsen ). Essentially, he deviates from his most sincere initial goal, that of warding off disease, and defends his unrealizable dream of overthrowing the majority. Brody, meanwhile, remains focused on the shark and the victims. He does not philosophize his argument, but relates it to the townspeople. Instead of "asking for a lesson...on the facts," Brody speaks little and frankly expresses his distress as he solemnly listens to Mrs. Kintner and desperately runs to save his son (67, Ibsen; Spielburg). During these two scenes, the wallah-wallah calms down, as if Brody's sincere devotion to individuals appeases the demands of the majority (Spielberg). This perceived sincerity protects him from accusations of false motives being leveled against him. More importantly, although Brody prioritizes the interests of the individual over the wealth of the masses, he recognizes that the masses are made up of individuals with fears as personal as his own; and his signs of sincere and personal concern (perhaps inadvertently) appeal to these same fears, thereby reinforcing his serious goals. Additionally, Brody never loses sight of his goal: a desire to save people from the shark. And, by sticking to this cause, he legitimizes it. Thomas Stockman, on the other hand, quickly launches into philosophical accusations, repudiating "popular democracy" and ultimately destroying its original goal of saving individuals (70, Ibsen). Brody begins with insecure hesitation, saying, "We're going to try to use, uh, shark spotters on the beach" rather than closing the beaches, and only progresses to assertive passion the more he witnesses more attacks (17, Benchley). Death is his motivation. Just as a shark jaw frames the scene of Brody leaving to finally achieve his goal of vindicating victims and protecting others, the shark jaw also frames his ultimate goal: he wants to help at-risk individuals without walking away larger, more hostile ones. proposals (Spielberg). Thomas, however, fuels his passion through contempt for the majority and not through concern for individuals. He attempts to assert his elitist superiority and "earned the right to be called a [civilized] man" through his speech, rather than attempting to attract empathy or fear from the crowd (Ibsen, 69) . Thomas can come to the conclusion that "he is the strongest... because he is alone", but his goals ultimately fail (98, Ibsen). This is not the case with Brody, as he appeals to the majority rather than rejecting it. Although the city never gives in to closed beaches and shark hunting, Mayor Vaughn's frantic insistence "that he was acting in the best interests of the city" suggests he fears imminent criticism from the population (28, Benchley). In this turning point, the mayor finally authorizes the shark hunt and the emotional persistence of.