Eugene Lee (Janelle)

Professor Frances McCue

Honors 205
December 2, 2014
Word Count: 1225
The Demise of the Titanic, 1912

The film Titanic, released in 1997, was a sensational success. Primarily known for
the romance between its two main characters, Jack and Rose, Titanic is looked upon as
one of the most outstanding film productions of all time. However, aside from the
romance, the film is a fictionalized account of the sinking of the British passenger liner
RMS Titanic, which took place in April 1912. The ship plunged into the North Atlantic
Ocean after crashing into an iceberg, failing to reach its destination at New York City and
bringing down with it the lives of more than 1,500 people. In the decades following its
tragic sinking, the RMS Titanic inspired many books and films, a notable one of which
was the 1997 film Titanic. At the time of its release, the movie was heralded as one of the
most historically accurate versions of the catastrophic accident (Von Tunzelmann).
Although there are many fictional components interwoven throughout the movie, the film
Titanic is more or less grounded in history and many of its details are representative of
the actual tragedy of the RMS Titanic.
Mirroring the actual event, Titanic is set in April 1912 when the Titanic, the most
luxurious passenger ship in the world, sets out for New York City from Britain. The story
centers around the love story of Jack Dawson, a penniless American artist, and Rose
DeWitt Bukater, a wealthy English woman engaged against her wish to a millionaire. The
two meet on the ship and deepen their love, until, of course, the tragic night when the
ship sinks and Jack meets his death in the freezing water. Their romance, a central

component of the movie, is fictional (Titanic Movie vs. Titanic History). However, a
love story, especially one that ends with the death of one of the lovers, plays a significant
role in conveying the theme of human loss and the emotional message of the disaster.
Efforts were made to ensure that costumes and sets would be as realistic and as
representative of the historical setting as possible. Much research went into the actors
costumes to match the attire of the time period. Also, most of the underwater shots of the
Titanic wreckage were taken at the actual historical site. Director James Cameron hired a
Russian vessel and its submersibles to dive into the North Atlantic and film the close-up
shots. However, due to limited resources and technologyeach 15-hour-dive could only
capture 12 minutes of footagenot all of the underwater shots in the movie could be
completely authentic (Titanic Movie vs. Titanic History).
In addition, some of the inside furnishings of the RMS Titanic was duplicated in
the movie. The Grand Staircase, the grandiose staircases in the first-class section of the
ship, and the notorious Titanic chandelier in the ballroom were ornately recreated to
reflect how the ship had actually been embellished (Temple). They could not be exact
copies of the actual staircase and chandelier, of course, considering that they were
reconstructed based on decaying remnants found underwater in the Titanic wreckage.
However, the Grand Staircase and the ballroom chandelier in the 1997 movie enhanced
the visual impression of the ship on the viewers, each eventually becoming an iconic
symbol of the ship Titanic.
Several scenes in the film illustrate the esteemed idea of gentlemanly death in
Britain during the time period (Howell). Such an ideal of manly, heroic behavior was
associated with social class; the expectation was mostly imposed on gentry in the upper

and upper middle classes. Gentlemen, that is to say men of breeding, were to die like
gentlemen. The 1997 Titanic well exhibits this social phenomenon by displaying such
heroic actions taken by people of nobility in the first class section of the ship.
The most prominent example is probably the story of the American multimillionaire Benjamin Guggenheim. His wealth had been inherited as well as personally
earned through mining and smelting. He represented people of the upper class who had
not only inherited but also worked hard for their money, an evidence of commendable
character. His wife was in New York during the first voyage of the RMS Titanic, waiting
for her husband to come home. During the actual sinking of the RMS Titanic,
Guggenheim, when offered a spot in one of the lifeboats, refused and said, No woman
shall remain unsaved because I was a coward (Howells). Similarly, in the 1997 movie,
Guggenheim, played by American actor Michael Ensign, is seen refusing a lifejacket,
claiming that he is ready to go down with the ship like a gentleman.
Moreover, towards the end of the movie, an old couple can be seen embracing in
bed as water floods into their room. The elderly couple represents Isador and Ida Straus,
first class passengers on the RMS Titanic who refused to take open spots on a lifeboat to
let others, specifically women, escape first. The two chose to stay together until the end,
remaining seated on a pair of deck chairsnot lying in bed like in the movieas the ship
went down (Titanic Movie vs. Titanic History). The films close representation of the
actions of people such as Isador and Ida Straus helps illuminate the occasional
occurrences of true humanity and selflessness in the midst of chaos and anguish.
The movie also depicts commendable behaviors exhibited throughout the sinking
by people who were not necessarily gentlemen birth. A well-known example is the

bravery of the Titanics band. The leader of the band, a 33-year-old violinist named
Wallace Hartley, assembled his eight-man band and started playing on the boat deck
when he heard that the ship had struck an iceberg (Titanic Movie vs. Titanic History).
They did not cease to play until the ship sank completely, bringing all of their gallant
lives down into the ocean. It is significant that the movie highlights this part of the
tragedy because it brings to light the bravery and dedication of the band to be able to play
music until the end.
In addition, the captain of Titanic, Captain Edward John Smith, was praised for
his bravery, his resolution, his chivalrous conduct, and his gallantry [descending] to the
men under his command (Howells). He was looked upon as a gentleman, although he
was of humble birth; he was born in a small terraced house to a father who was a manual
worker in the pottery industry and a mother who owned a shop. Perhaps to depict the
gallantry of Smith, the movie Titanic shows the captain entering the bridge of the ship
and grasping the steering wheel minutes before water crashes in, presumably drowning
him. Such an action implies that he, by risking his life, refused to give up on his ship,
crews, and passengers until the end, and that he was a man worthy of the title of a
gentleman.
The movie Titanic, a fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic in
April 1912, closely depicts the details of the historical event by arranging the setting to be
as consistent with reality as possible and by incorporating scenes that mirror key
components of the event. Yet, apart from the matter of historical accuracy, the film
doubtlessly succeeded in raising public awareness of the massive scale and toll of the

1912 disaster, helping to make it one of the most commendable cinematographic pieces
in American film history.

Citations:
1. Titanic. Dir. James Cameron. 20th Century Fox, 1997.
2. Titanic. History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
3. Titanic Movie vs. Titanic History. ChasingtheFrog.com. CTF Media, n.d. Web.
06 Nov. 2014.
4. Von Tunzelmann, Alex. "Reel History: Titanic." The Guardian. Guardian News
and Media Limited, 3 July 2008. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
5. Temple, Bob. The Titanic : An Interactive History Adventure. Mankato,
Minnesota: Capstone, 2008. Print.
6. Howells, Richard. The Myth of the Titanic. New York: St. Martin's, 1999. Print.