Cultural Gap Film #22: Titanic

Relevant elements: The "king of the world" moment, "My Heart Will Go On," the necklace, the nude sketch, the handprint on the steamy car window, the ship sinking and all  

Why it resonated: People like big things, I guess. Also, the discovery of the wreckage helped reignite interest in the event in the ten years preceding the film.

General comments on the film: Does any director have less trust in an audience than James Cameron? Everything needs to be spelled out in clankingly overt detail, from lingering shots of poor children whose parents explain to them that they will be saved after the wealthy folks have their turn to unlikely innocent small talk with the ship's designer about the lack of adequate lifeboats to groaners like the paintings by "something Picasso" to Billy Zane's outrageously overdone eyeliner. 


A grad school professor of mine once asked a student who was disputing a poor grade to show him where in the essay there was an idea. When the student pointed to something, the professor said, "That's not an idea--it's a damn cliche." I thought of that statement as I watched this movie and waited for something original to make me pay attention or care about the characters, but it felt too much like cardboard cutouts moving around in a painstakingly crafted dollhouse/ship that its creator couldn't wait to smash to bits. No amount of Irish-tinged music or indomitability from elderly women can make me empathize with poorly-drawn mannequins, even as they meet their inevitable icy fate. 


Given my lack of engagement with the goings-on, the lengthy runtime felt even longer, but at least I was only subjected to Bill Paxton's accent and earring for a small portion of the film. Another silver lining is that I now have only one movie left from my original list--the one that started it all, The Sound of Music. As soon as I can get my hands on it, I will view that classic and write the final entry for this series. Sorry it's taken so long....