Commercial Aesthetic of Titanic - Case Study Example

How useful is Maltbys notion of a commercial aesthetic in assessing (blockbuster) films like Titanic? Introduction Titanic has been one of most successful films of cinema industry. His ‘creator’ James Cameron has been related mostly to adventure films like Aliens and the Abyss. In these films special effects have been extensively used. However, in Titanic special effects were just ‘indirectly’ intervened in the film and mainly in the end when Titanic is starting to sink. In this context, it has been noticed by Tasker (2002, 82) that ‘prior to Titanic, it was possible to say that Camerons genre was science fiction or action (or some combination of the two), but his most recent film (referring to Titanic) currently holding the world box-office record of over US $1.8 billion in gross receipts appears to be a radical departure; this generic difference makes auteur criticism a useful framework for discussing Cameron as a director; as a set of organizing principles, it helps address how Titanic, a film that seems anomalous in the largely sci-fi and action-oriented works of the Cameron œuvre is actually very much in the Cameron groove’. On the other hand, Davis (2001) noticed that in Titanic ‘the dissonance created by Cameron’s simultaneous desires to reenact the grave dimensions of the disaster and to tell the story of his two young lovers as they race wildly and passionately throughout the ship ultimately repels many viewers who cling to the values of mimesis and the notions of high art.’ This paper focuses on the commercial aesthetic of Titanic as it was viewed especially by Maltby Richard in his book Hollywood Cinema the 2nd edition of which was published in 2003. In order to understand the comments made by Maltby regarding the commercial aesthetic of Titanic, a review of the film and its statistics was considered as necessary. On the other hand, the commercial aesthetic of Titanic is presented as viewed by other critics in order to achieve a comparative analysis of Maltby’s views on the particular issue. In this context, the views of Sandler et al. (1999) (especially those included in their book Anatomy of a Blockbuster) are also presented in order to support the argument for the commercial aesthetic of Titanic as a film of high commercial and art value. Maltby’s notion on commercial aesthetic Maltby (2003) presented his views on commercial aesthetic in the first part of his book entitled ‘Commercial aesthetic’. In this part, Maltby tries to highlight the difference between art and business especially with a reference to the film industry using Titanic as an example of the simultaneous coexistence of quality (art) and commercial value (business). In fact Maltbly has used Titanic as a justification in order to differentiate from his general view on the role of special effects on a film’s quality (Matrix is used as an example). More specifically, in accordance with Maltby Titanic should be considered as an excellent example of ‘commercial aesthetic’ as it combines the art (quality) with the business (profit). Furthermore, Maltby admits he ‘concentrates exclusively on mainstream American cinema’ (2003, 10) and ‘avoids critical reconstructions of Hollywood movies that overlook their commercial status’ (2003, 59). Indeed, in Titanic the use of special effects is not obvious like in other films of Cameron. Special effects and other visual aids have been used only in specific parts of the film – mostly in its end – without presenting scenes of ‘fiction’ just showing a ship going under the water. Compared to other films that have been criticized by Maltby as of their support by special effects (like Matrix), the Titanic is differentiated at a significant point. In order to understand the views of Maltby we should examine the theories of film as they have been developed throughout the years. At a first stage we should define ‘theory of film’. In this context, Tudor (1974, 8) presented an ‘indirect’ definition of theories of films stated that ‘the common thing among all theories of films is the desire to make general statements about the cinema; to advance propositions which transcend particular films and thence apply to film in general; minimally, then, the expression `theory of film has been applied to any attempt to make general assertions about the medium’. On the other hand, regarding specifically the representation of historical events in films Kracauer (1960, 77) supported that ‘unlike the immediate past, the historical past must be staged in terms of costumes and settings completely estranged from present-day life; consequently, it is inevitable that any moviegoer susceptible to the medium should feel uneasy about their irrevocable staginess’. The above author also found that ‘aside from their staginess, historical films have another characteristic difficult to bear with: they are finite; they obstruct the affinity of the medium for endlessness; as the reproduction of a bygone era, the world they show is an artificial creation radically shut off from the space-time continuum of the living, a closed cosmos which does not admit of extensions’ (Kracauer, 1960, 78). In accordance with the above theories the representation of historical events, as in Titanic in the specific case, has to follow a series of principles. However, it is possible for the film makers to be differentiated in accordance with the demands of the film, the difficulty level of the general environmental or other conditions and the required target (commercial or quality value of film). In the case of Titanic, as already noticed by Maltby, the commercial value has been combined with art and the result is a film of high ‘commercial aesthetic’ as it can be characterized in the context of existing film theories. Commercial success of Titanic and reasons Titanic has been one of the most known and commercially successful films of the last decades. The film is ‘distinguished’ at a first place by the actors that participate: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates and others very known in the international cinema industry. The film has been produced and directed by James Kameron, a director the name of whose has been connected with ‘classic’ adventure films like The Abyss and Aliens. The film has achieved a record level of tickets sold around the world. In accordance with a report related with the Box-office status of 1998 ‘consumers spent an estimated $250 million on purchase and rental of "Titanic" video in its first six days of release while it took more than five weeks for the movie to generate that much money at US theatres; an estimated 12-15 million copies were sold during the 1-6 September time period and the ‘Titanic’ video is on pace to top out at 22-23 million copies; After 38 weeks overseas, "Titanic" international box-office gross is at an incredibly high $1.2 billion; Add another $600 million of domestic box office for a collected worldwide total of $1.8 billion; Japan alone registers $187 million after 38 weeks’  (Titanic, statistics, 1998). However, its commercial success around the world was not the only achievement for the specific film and particularly for its creator J. Cameron. In the ceremony of Oscars (23/3/1998) Titanic won a record number of 11 Oscars after being nominated for 14 Oscars. In this way, Titanic ‘had tied the 1950 Black and White film "All About Eve" starring Bette Davis as the most nominated film in Oscar history (Academy Awards held in 1951); As for wins, Titanic has tied the 1959 film "Ben Hur" starring Charlton Heston which also won in 11 categories to share the spot as most honored film of all time’ (Titanic, statistics, 1998). The reference to the statistics related with the success of Titanic both in the commercial and the art ‘sectors’ has been considered as necessary in order to understand the comments made by Maltby especially regarding the commercial aesthetic of the film and its influence on the film’s success around the world. The reasons of the success of Titanic can be traced to many aspects of the film, as the high level of performance of actors participated, the accurate representation of the particular historical event and the use of special effects that created an exceptional visual result. However, the issue that made the difference in Titanic comparing the other films of Cameron is that the intervention of special effects can be hardly identified. It is for the above reasons that Titanic has been considered as a perfect example of ‘commercial aesthetic’ in the modern film industry. Titanic as a Commercial aesthetic example In the cinema industry, commercial aesthetic is usually criticized in the context of a complete analysis of the particular film. This means that the commercial aesthetic of a specific film cannot be completed without referring to all parameters related with this film including the role of various participants (writer, producer, director and actors). Regarding the particular activity (film analysis) it has been noticed by a report published by the Cornell University (2001) that it is not a ‘unitary activity’. More specifically, it is highlighted that film analysis ‘involves  in several  different, albeit  related, activities; these  include   the close  description  of form and structure  as factors in the making  of meaning and the  attribution  of values; the  interpretation  of  form, theme,  and thesis;  theorizing  about  the relationships  films have  to cultural  and  psychological  processes;  and  the  discussion  of film  within  the context  of  traditional   aesthetic  categories, e.g.,  beauty,  organic  form,, medium  purism  and aesthetic value  sui  generis’. In the case of Titanic, the commercial aesthetic can be derived by a series of issues especially by the performance of the actors, the use of special effects and the direction of the film in general. More specifically, it has been noticed that in Titanic Cameron ‘taps into our shared systems of culture and humanity at nearly every cinematic turn, including his stunning depiction of the ship itself- a twentieth-century icon of human fallibility-as well as tragic images of an elderly couple embracing as the water laps at their bed and the unforgettable vision of a doomed young mother in steerage reading to her children from Tir na nOg as the ship prepares to founder’ (Davis et al., 2001, 106). On the other hand, Berardinelli (1997) notice that ‘in each of his previous outings, Cameron has pushed the special effects envelope; In Aliens, he cloned H.R. Gigers creation dozens of times, fashioning an army of nightmarish monsters; In The Abyss, he took us deep under the sea to greet a band of benevolent space travellers; In T2, he introduced the morphing terminator (perfecting an effects process that was pioneered in The Abyss); Now, in Titanic, Camerons flawless re-creation of the legendary ship has blurred the line between reality and illusion to such a degree that we cant be sure whats real and what isnt; To make this movie, its as if Cameron built an all-new Titanic, let it sail, then sunk it’. The commercial aesthetic of Titanic has been also recognized by Sandler et al. (1999) who supported that the specific film combines a series of ‘advantages’ towards its competitors: famous actors, competent director and extremely effective special effects that can be hardly identified. In fact, the above authors support that the major characteristic of Titanic regarding all other films of its category is that it manages to combine the high quality of performing of its actors, the exceptional directing and the use of advanced technology. In other words, in accordance with the above authors Titanic has to be considered as an example of ‘commercial aesthetic’ as it combines the commercial aspect (business) with the high quality of art presented (aesthetic). For this reason, despite its duration it manages to keep the interest of spectator at extremely high levels until the end. It should be noticed here that Sandler et al. (1999) avoid making comparisons with other films of the same category, perhaps thinking that there could be no appropriate comparison with other films of the particular category. Conclusion Generally, we could state that although Titanic has been considered to be a commercial film – especially from certain critics that stated their view even before the release of the film to the cinema – in fact it has been proved afterwards that it is rather a drama containing strong sentiments and significant messages related with the society, the relationships and the human support in critical conditions. The difference of this drama comparing the other films of its category is that it contains scenes of high visual quality where the existence of special effects cannot be identified and the scenery becomes reality. Of course the use of visual effects and their role in the success of the film cannot be denied. As Berardinelli (1997) noticed ‘as important as the characters are, however, its impossible to deny the power of the visual effects; especially during the final hour, as Titanic undergoes its death throes, the film functions not only as a rousing adventure with harrowing escapes, but as a testimony to the power of computers to simulate reality in the modern motion picture; the scenes of Titanic going under are some of the most awe-inspiring in any recent film’. In the same context, Haflidason (2000) noticed that in Titanic ‘DiCaprio and Winslet fall for one another in some remarkably contrived scenes, but their inevitable fate is nevertheless very touching. Surrounding them is the opulence of a movie that is technically excellent. The sinking of the great ship is no secret, yet for many exceeded expectations in sheer scale and tragedy’. The presentation and the analysis of the above issues prove that Titanic has been an excellent example of high artistic and commercial value. Its creator has managed to combine the strong sentiments with the exceptional visual effects in a way that the spectator feels like being actually in Ocean. The above assumption has been also supported by the theorists of the particular area, like Maltby and Sanders et al. who all agreed that Titanic is an excellent example of commercial aesthetic. References Berardinelli, J. (1997) Titanic – A film review, available at http://www.reelviews.net/movies/t/titanic.html Davis, T., Womack, K. (2001) PERSPECTIVES - criticism on Titanic the motion picture. Journal of Popular Film and Television, 106-113 Kracauer, S. (1960) Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality. London: Oxford University Press Maltby, R. (2003). Hollywood Cinema. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2nd edition Sandler, K., Studlar, G. (1999). Titanic: Anatomy of a blockbuster, N.J.: Rutgers University Press Tasker, Y. (2002). Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers. London: Routledge Titanic (1998) Statistics, available at http://www.casenet.com/movie/titanic.htm Tudor, A. (1974). Theories of Film. New York: Viking Press Read More