Media Literacy: Titanic - Movie Review Example

TITANIC Twelve years ago, I saw Titanic on the big screen and loved it. As I grow older I come to love it even more because I can further comprehend things I didnt then. Through time Titanic has gained the stereotype of classic cheese at its best, and I think this speculation is a little unfair from the viewpoint that Im no film elitist. I watch movies purely on entertainment and, surprisingly, I have very few favorites. I hate to know a lot about the key actors, because I believe movies are magic and when a magician gives away all his secrets, suddenly the mystery evaporates. And Im never the kind of person to base reality on the contents of a movie because, if that were the deal, the movie industry would be crap. I am genuinely interested in Jack and Rose, the main characters of Titanic. Their romance is not based on eternity and doesn’t consist of well-versed lines or cliches. They seem like real people brought together by difficult circumstances. Its refreshing to watch two people hawking loogies off the boat deck and having a great time together. There is sexual tension, but it doesnt dominate. It feels like one of those relationships that when the passion wears off you still have a deep, abiding friendship and love. And, above all, they dont assume they will love each other forever and dont let each other get in between living life to the fullest. They are just living day by day as are the rest of us. Trying to get by. Something that is so heartbreaking is the way the characters lose this innocence throughout the movie as the plot unravels. They change throughout the story and through their devastating experiences. We see Rose board the Titanic feeling trapped and bogged down by the superficial upper class society, and doesnt ever believe she can break free. But, by the end of the movie, she is free and goes on to live a very colorful life. On the other hand, we have Jack who is free and, well, a drifter. Hes gotten around a lot, but theres a very endearing innocence and good nature to his personality that casts a light-hearted feel on the first half of the show. Sadly, he doesnt live to see the day following the sinking and, while the ship is going down, its interesting to watch his facial expressions because I see pain, fear, and a sort of disillusionment. The special effects in this film are absolutely amazing. In the first half of the movie, our eyes are able to drink in the costumes and striking reconstruction of the actual ship. The second half always sends chills down my spine because it transports you to that time and place. The concept of the Titanic had always been ethereal and creepy to me, but to watch the movie gave life and raw emotion to it. Ill admit, its one of those movies that always makes me cry. Besides these things, there are other reasons I love this movie that are based on personal attachments and themes I live by, like nature and freedom that the movie emphasizes on. The fact that Titanic won eleven academy awards is outstanding and impressive, but it doesnt make me like the movie any more than I do now. What also makes this movie so interesting is that while there are fictional elements, they are mixed with historical elements as well. (So, to some extent, we are permitted to accept the fictional elements such as the Calvin, Rose, Jack soap opera as real.) It is interesting how we are told the story from the 100-year-old survivor Rose. We know of course from the beginning that Rose will somehow survive. But that doesnt mean that Rose wont lose someone she loves. While Rose and Jack are obviously the stars, other characters make good use of their screen time. The unsinkable Molly Brown who comes into money, but never sacrificed herself or her moral values, and kept her redneckish charm, and also the virtuous and the honorable Thomas Andrews to name two. While Calvin is not seen in a favorable light often, his character is at least a tad grayer that we would probably like to admit and I actually found Roses mother to be more repulsive. Basically, Roses mother (now broke) wants Calvin to marry Rose to re-establish themselves financially. Calvin, despite his faults is willing to do so. In all honesty, Calvin starts off no worse than anyone else in his position would probably be. Rose then begins her relationship involved with Jack, and Calvin gets abusive to the point where he nearly kills her. Im not trying to defend his abuse of Rose, or for that matter firing several gunshots in a rage. The movie allows a generous amount of time of just getting to know everyone, but this also provides a creepy suspense. (Obviously, we already know the ship is going to sink.) At about the halfway point, a conversation between Rose and Thomas Andrews reminds us that there are only enough life boats for half the passengers. This is some serious foreshadowing that the movie uses to build tension effectively. We can also see that Thomas Andrews wanted enough for everyone, but “certain powers” didnt take his concerns seriously. There are some romantic moments between Jack and Rose, and then the Titanic crashes. No one is really blamed for the accident. In the event we forgot the conversation between Rose and Mr. Andrews, Thomas faces Rose again and reminds us. One phenomenal thing about this movie is that it shows us the true horror of people dying. (Unlike many movies that glorify people getting killed.) Interestingly, the ship sinks for an actual hour or so. This is great in that we get to see the panic, tragedy, and horror of the crew knowing that less than half are going to survive. Rose finds herself not only in this situation, but in the climax in her situation between her mother and Calvin. (There is a predictable, but still shaking moment when Rose says: "Goodbye mother," which infers that they will probably never see each other again.) We are permitted sympathy for even characters we never met as they face their probable death. Their different ways of facing it are very interesting. (Story telling, playing music, simply waiting, or in one case, having a brandy.) Overall, its a phenomenal romance (in a historical setting) that reminds us not only of the horror of people dying, but that there is more to life than our own existence. I truly believe that Titanic won its Academy Awards for one reason and one reason only, because I believe struck a chord with modern day America, much like the recent Brokeback Mountain. Watching Titanic today I realized something throughout that I wasnt privy to before, or at least didnt take the time to notice. Titanic is less about a ship sinking then it is about a woman being set free from the chains that are binding her to a sinking ship (that ship being her life, not the literal sinking Titanic). Its something Ive always known and I assume everyone who has ever seen Titanic has known, but it wasnt until tonight that it really sunk in. Like Bill Paxtons character states towards the end of the film... "For three years Ive thought of nothing but Titanic, but I never got it." Thats how I felt tonight. Ive seen this movie plenty of times since its release but it was tonight, staring into Roses eyes that I truly got what this movie was all about. The love story between Rose and Jack Dawson is just a sideline, just a plot to keep you watching, but its the growth that Roses character undergoes, the release that she encounters that really is the basis of this extraordinary film. Rose is a woman trapped in a life she wishes to be no part of, a life that she never asked for yet was forced upon her by her overbearing mother and her controlling and manipulative fiancée. As everyone is aware, this film revolves around Rose and Jack as they live out an ill-fated love affair for a few days, defying all odds to be with one another, and as Jack sinks to the bottom of the ocean your left with a feeling of contentment, for even though Rose is losing the only man shes ever loved you know she has gained more in the past few days then shell ever gain in her lifetime. She gained happiness and the will to move on. You can read this in her face. There are two scenes in particular when you see this transformation in Rose. The first is when the boat is sinking and the lovers are at the back of the ship. They have yet to climb over the railing and Rose is looking to each side of her. She glances to her right and she sees a young woman gripping the railing for dear life and shes all alone. Rose looks up at Jack and then back to the woman. You can see in her face, Roses face, that she knows she has everything she needs with her at that very moment. She has no need for anything else, and you can see this growing pity for the young girl, there all alone, for she has no strength to survive when you have no one to live for. Rose has a reason to hold on. The second is after the boat has sunk, when Rose first realizes Jack has died. After the initial shock is over and she has stopped repeating his name she lays her head on his hand and closes her eyes, catching her breath, and as you can only imagine, contemplates whether she really wants to be rescued. Why should she live without the man she loves? But before the thought can fully cross her mind her eyes are open and you can see this conviction, this dire motivation to live. Jack gave her the strength and the reason to live, with or without him. He showed her that she doesnt have to be trapped; she doesnt have to be what they (her mother and her fiancée or anyone really) want her to be. She is her own person, and as we realized the moment she jumped from the lifeboat back into the sinking ship, Rose has taken hold of the life she should have never let go of in the first place. Everyone gets so wrapped up in the fact that Jack dies that they forget this isnt about loss as much as it is about life. As Rose states at the end of the film... "Jack saved me, in every way a person can be saved." A friend of mine told me that she hates this film for the reason that the love affair between Jack and Rose is unbelievable. I told her she missed the point, and that she did! Regardless of whether or not Rose `loved Jack, he was her everything because he was the only one who `gave her anything. Everyone around this poor girl was taking advantage of her, using her for their own personal gain, but Jack was the first person who ever saw her for who she was and looked for ways to make her happy, to `do for her and not take away. Rose loved Jack for setting her free. Its up to the viewer to decide whether or not these two were truly in love, but I think its foolish to believe that these two werent in one way or another more than just lovers. I personally feel they truly loved one another, for when Jack says, "winning that ticket was the best thing that ever happened to me" you believe him for you know hes right. But more so than loving him, she needed him, and thats a key point to remember. Titanic will always be remembered as cinematic genius, but lets not forget the reason we love this film so much. Titanic showed us so much more than a sinking ship, and gave us so much more than a glimpse at the terror of that fateful night. It gave us inspiration to live, reason to find meaning in our lives and live each day as if it were our last. As Rose toasts to her dinner mates... "Heres to making it count" and thats the point isnt it. As the final frames of this film roll on we see a desk cluttered with pictures of young Rose making it count, doing everything that Jack inspired her to do. She no longer lived her life controlled and afraid but she put caution to the wind and lived, plain and simple. Read More