Love Renounce Classes

Titanic: A Movie Analysis Using Marxist Approach

By Katherine Anne B. Caraan

What are the things you are willing to do in the name of love? Were you willing to save
your loved one in exchange for your life? How much can you give to the person you love?

These three questions bubbled through my mind after watching the movie by James
Cameron, entitled Titanic. Titanic is one of the most rewatchable movies of all time and is featured
on television every year. That explains why most of us are very familiar with this movie. We are
aware that the two main characters, Jack and Rose, meet tragedy. However, do you believe that
there is also social discrimination present in the movie that we failed to notice?

It is undeniable that the movie Titanic is a masterpiece and viewers dislike taking their eyes
off the movie as they watch it because every second of the movie is worth the time. Given that, let
us not waste the details that the director put in this majestic film of all time and let us analyze it
using the Marxist Approach.

The Marxist Approach, or Marxism, is a literary criticism lens named after its founder,
Karl Marx. This lens attempts to show the relationship between literature and the social or
economic conditions of society. Marxism focuses on representing the workers and working classes
as well as on ways in which culture and power intersect. (Poetry Foundation, 2023)

Going back to the movie Titanic, the two main characters, known as star-crossed lovers
named Rose and Jack, depict the two social classes that are present in the movie. Rose DeWitt
Bukater represents the bourgeoisi, which are the wealthy people, while Jack Dawson represents
the proletariat, or the working people that work under those who are wealthy.

Some parts of the story show how the bourgeoisi and the proletariat are different. In short,
there is a division between the poor and the rich. The poor ones board the Titanic in the third-class,
which occupies only a small space. Whereas, those wealthy people who boarded first-class were
able to have comfortable, large rooms and have an elevator to use.
 The way they hold a party is also different. The bourgeoisi intricately eat with so much
elegance and class. It is the same as dining at a high-end restaurant. There is lots of cutlery and
utensils beside the plates, and even the way they hold their glass of wine is sophisticated. There is
a violinist playing at the back while some men and women dance romantically.

On the contrary, the proletariat holds a party as if they are having a feast. They are very
joyous and cheerful. They eat without certain measures, dance, and drink their ass off. There is no
formality, unlike the bourgeoisi’s party. Men battle in arm wrestling as their way of showing off,
while those of the bourgeoisi men battle about their political knowledge and socioeconomic status.

It is such a pity that those children who belong to the bourgeoisi were being trained by
their mothers to show gracefulness despite their young age. When there are children of the
proletariat who run freely. To me, that is like putting a nestling in a cage.

Those belonging to the higher class also treat people in the lower class harshly, including
Jack. When Jack rescued Rose, Rose’s fiancé said, “How dare you lay your hands on my fiancé?”
and the officers put handcuffs on him without even asking what truly happened. The scenario
depicts that the poor don’t have the right to explain, and the rich are supposed to be untouchable
by the poor.

When Jack saves Rose, the fiancé of Rose, named Caledon, says that a reward of 20 bucks
is enough, which frustrates Rose and asks, “Is that the going rate for saving the woman you love?"
This scene particularly shows not the rate of Rose herself but Caledon thinks that Jack is a poor
guy who must be willing to accept any price no matter how low it is. Even the way Caledon looks
at Jack is insulting and underestimating.

When Caledon gave Rose the jewelry, the Heart of the Ocean, he said, “It’s for royalty.
We are royalty, Rose. There’s nothing I couldn’t give you.” His dialogue here does not only intend
to take the heart of Rose, but he is also encouraging her to marry him. If that happens, she will
never be able to worry about money. In that particular scenario, we will be able to see how Caledon
shows off how rich he is by even declaring himself royalty.
 As the old Rose narrated, her mother looked at Jack as if he were a dangerous insect that
must be squashed quickly. Possibly because he might be a distraction for Rose for marrying
Caledon. In some parts of the movie, the mother of Rose actually prohibits Rose from seeing Jack.
That thought is evident because the mother wants Rose to marry Caledon for his money so they
will be able to pay all the debt of Rose’s father that was left on them.

When Jack is dining with the wealthy people as a reward for saving Rose, Caledon
announces that Jack is joining them from the third-class for the purpose of letting other people
know that he is not on their level. The mother of Rose and Caledon intends to humiliate him, but
Jack is able to prove that despite being poor, he is content as long as he has everything he needs,
which for him is air in his lungs and a sheet of paper for his art. He was able to show his optimism
and hopefulness with what he was doing every single day.

Although it was said to be inaccurate to the original story of the Titanic, in the movie, it is
shown that the third-class passengers were locked behind the gates when the ship was sinking.
According to Takis (1999), first-class passengers had the highest survival rate at 62 percent,
second-class at 41 percent, and third-class at 25 percent. This is indeed evident in the movie,
wherein the first class was the first one to be saved by the available boats. In the third class,
however, despite the fact that there are still children and women, there are no boats available
anymore. Caledon even bribed the officer to let him get on the boat to save himself.

The movie explicitly depicts oppression. Rose, for instance, can be considered poor since
her family is in debt because of her father. Thus, although she is able to dress as if she still belonged
to the bourgeoisi and dine with them, the fact that her family is penniless prevents Rose from being
true to herself and from refusing the marriage that her mother arranged for her. She is the only way
for her family to get out of the debt that they have, which drives her to decide to marry Caledon,
although she does not actually love him.

In some parts, when Rose is talking to Jack, the former mentions to the latter that she
despises the marriage and that she is powerless to stop it. She feels suffocated being around these
wealthy people, who do not even listen to her.
 Rose was able to overcome that oppression by doing whatever she wanted without thinking
of what others might think. She is happy with Jack, so she disobeys her mother’s desire, which is
to marry Caledon. She lets Jack paint her unclothed, wearing only the necklace and gives it to
Caledon as a way of showing him that she is calling off the marriage. She even jumps off of the
boat just to be with Jack.

The director of the movie, James Cameron, actually belongs to the working class, as he
had experience working as a machinist and truck driver before Star Wars inspired him to try
moviemaking. We can definitely credit him for how beautifully he portrayed the story of the
Titanic in terms of its characters, settings, props, and costumes. However, since the story is based
on a real-life event, which is the sinking of the R.M.S. Titanic, it is not justifiable to use the social
class of the author to portray the story that way.

Nevertheless, in the part of Jack that was good in artistry, we can assume that the director
put himself in the shoes of the character Jack. Although poor and belonging to the working class,
both the director and Jack pursue art. However, Jack is into drawing, while the director is into the
art of innovative filmmaking.

The movie Titanic serves as propaganda for the status quo, as it highlights the idea that
whether you are poor or rich, you will not be able to escape death and danger. Also, the part where
Jack joins the wealthy people for dinner undermines the status quo and the division between social
classes. Despite being poor, he broke the standards that only the rich could eat at one table because
he, himself, was able to eat alongside them and show them his wit.

The same goes with the wealthy woman who dresses him up for dinner. We see a lot of
discrimination in the movie when it comes to social class, but the woman who helped him to look
presentable on that night only shows that we should not generalize that all wealthy people are
oppressive. There are still rich people who wish to help those of lower status.

In spite of that, we can still say that the movie does not propose some form of utopian
vision because the fact that the first-class people are the ones who were the first ones to be saved
does not sit right with those who are in the third-class. Likewise, the men also want to be saved,
but the officers only allow the majority of the women to board the boat.

Rose, the protagonist herself, is unhappy with meeting these rich people again and again
as their way of building their connections. Alongside that, she is unhappy with being married to a
rich man she does not even love.

The division between social classes is very evident. Although the poor are enjoying each
other’s company, the rich ones look at them with disgust as they view themselves as superior to
those in the lower class. The fact that there is division among classes and that Rose is unhappy
being with these rich people shows that the utopian vision is denied.

The movie reinforces renouncing the social class partition since the rich girl falls in love
with a poor man, and even though the man meets tragedy, their love remains forever in the
woman’s heart. The movie renounces the idea that wealthy people should only interact and engage
with wealthy people as well. In the movie, we are able to see that we should live our lives to the
fullest and that the standards of society will not dictate our lives and fate.

The movie also declares that wealth is not the basis of one’s happiness. Money is indeed
one of the necessities of the people. However, with optimism and contentment with what we have,
we will be able to have our own version of success.

The movie also subverts the value of a lack of preparation. The people in the movie were
too confident since they were informed that the ship was unsinkable. Therefore, the captain and
officers of the ship were not able to apply safety measures in case the ship sank. The people were
not aware of what they should do in case of an emergency, which caused panic and chaos.

Although the movie was already accepted and has been successful since it is one of the
highest-grossing films in history, its overall content benefits all social classes. The rich will be
enlightened that not everything revolves around them. The movie will help them realize that they
are privileged to afford everything that they have, be it material things or services. Thus, this movie
helps them learn to treasure and appreciate what they have.

The movie also benefits the poor. The movie encourages the poor to remain confident no
matter who they meet. It conveys to them that they should not feel inferior around those rich
people. At the end of the day, they are both human beings whose basic necessities are the same.
The movie encourages the poor to remain cheerful, positive, and diligent. As long as they remain
true to themselves, don’t do any harm to others, and show kindness to others, then it is as if they
possess tens of the hearts of the ocean.

“Promise me you’ll survive. That you won’t give up, no matter what happens. No matter
how hopeless.”

These last words from Jack Dawson to his beloved Rose answer our questions. He is
willing to do everything in the name of love. He can sacrifice his life if it is what it takes to save
his lover, and despite not possessing any wealth, he gives Rose happiness, the will to live, and his
endless love.

Nevertheless, the movie does not only portray how good it feels to be in love and to be
loved. Those words by Jack are not only intended for Rose but for all of us who are fighting every
day in life. It serves as a reminder to all of us that no matter how bad the situation is, no matter
how hopeless that we think we cannot escape anymore, let us fight and choose to survive.