My Thoughts on "Titanic"

Seeing "Titanic" for the first time, I was awed by the scale, the special effects, the costumes, etc. I was not at all impressed by the script (note that Cameron was not nominated for his screenplay!), and the inane "love" story was truly nauseating. The second viewing furthered my dislike of Cameron's whole treatment of this tragedy. It just was not fair to the men who gallantly gave their lives that women and children could live. If you read nothing else this year, please get a copy of Archibald Gracie's Titanic: A Survivor's Story. Although Gracie was wrong about the ship breaking apart (he thought it didn't), he was corroborated on just about every other point. First, there was not a huge panic on the ship as the lifeboats were being loaded. There was an unusual calm, with only a few women weeping. Next, no one (no one) was shot while trying to enter the boats. Lightoller did fire three rounds into the air to get people to step away from one of the last boats being loaded on the port side. And Murdoch did not commit suicide. Cameron got this ridiculous piece of nonsense from the testimony of a woman who said she saw Murdoch "put his hand to his head." Other witnesses, including Gracie, said that Murdoch was simply gesturing; he was later seen floating dead in the water (from hypothermia).

Oh, and remember those locked gates dividing steerage from first class? No one deliberately locked the steerage passengers below to keep them from boarding the lifeboats. Utterly and completely absurd. Captain Smith ordered that all women and children from every section of the boat be called up to the boat deck. His stewards obeyed that order. More women and children were saved from each class than men. All but three of the first class women were saved, and a very high percentage of the second and third class women made it off. Cameron took one small incident and blew it way out of proportion. One addled steward stood at the forward section gate, which divided first from second class and told people coming up that they had to go around another hall to get to the boat deck. The corridors in the lower decks of Titanic were so confusing, it is a wonder that many steerage passengers found their way out at all. But no one actively prevented their doing so!

I cannot understand how Cameron could so flippantly toss aside the honor and bravery of the great men who put wives, children and servants on lifeboats, stepped back and went down with the ship. I think it is a gross mishandling of history when one man can smear the reputations of men who cannot stand up to defend themselves. This is why it is important to go to the first-person sources and read what really happened. Yes, there will be mistakes in anyone's view of an event, but when you take them all together (read the Senate testimonies), you will find the Truth shines out like a beacon. Regardless of class and almost to the last minute, men were putting women and children on boats and calling for more to be put off the sinking vessel. We should honor their memory and mourn their loss.

And, of course, besides the historical accuracy problems, you have the whole story of the rebellious teenager who falls in "love" with a boy who lures her into the back of a car for a tryst before he drowns. If this is the defining moment of a girl's life, then she doesn't know what life is about. The character of Rose is selfish, and the overdone caricatures of her fiance' (Cal) and her mother are truly difficult for this viewer to swallow. If you really want to see this film's costumes without all the garbage, I suggest getting an edited copy from CleanFlicks.com. Otherwise, skip it and save your money! There are plenty of photos on the web for the die-hard costume afficianado.

I'll step off my soapbox now. Some things just weigh a person down unless she speaks!