i rewatched this movie after years of hearing people saying it's overrated, that everyone has seen it, that it was cheesy. perhaps it is all those things, but it is still in my opinion, a good movie. i first saw it in theaters when i was 8, and by the end i was sobbing, a wet puddle of a mess. and afterwards i had to pee so bad after holding it in for 3 hours, but someone behind me had to go real bad too, so i let them go first...there was something about that movie that made something in my quiver. it struck a chord, but my eight year old self couldn't explain it. now that i'm older, i'll try. the love story is great, but what really catches me each time i watch it is the raw humanity that it captures. in the desperation, panic, and confusion that ensues after the ship hits the iceberg, you see hate, anger, selfishness, recklessness. on the opposite spectrum you see love, kindness, compassion, sadness. the whole range of complex human emotions is shown in that last hour of the movie. i ask myself, who am i most like? who would i be most like if i were on that ship, knowing i might only have one hour left to live?
would i be like Rose's fiance Cal?-- relentless in his pursuit for revenge, selfish, doing anything possible to save himself only to realize that his money is now useless. Or Captain Smith, retreating quietly to his room, given up before the fight and spending his last hour pretending to steer a ship that is unsteerable. perhaps he was remembering better days, better journeys. like Jack, selfless, in love, and always putting his beloved first? like the old couple who accepted that death was coming, and were content to die in bed, clasped in each others arms. or Rose's mother, always looking down her nose at the poor, heart frosty, holding her pride close. or molly brown, who wanted to assimilate with the rich with her "new money," and had a good heart but was not at the right time, or surrounded by the right people to be of much use. how about the orchestra on deck till the end. they knew what was going on but they chose to stay and try to calm, soothe, with music. they did both harm and good. harm because people hearing the music might suppose it meant everything was fine, and good because it provided some sense of beauty amidst the terror.
i hope i would not be that coward of a man who ordered the ship to go faster to make headlines, dismissing warnings that it might be dangerous. and when the ship was going down, he snuck onto a boat meant for women and children, hoping to go unnoticed, too ashamed and scared to own up to his faults. would i be the seaman who noticed this coward sneak on the lifeboat, take a long hard look at him, and have mercy on him? that same seaman, Will, later in the same hour shot and accidentally killed one of the crowded mob while trying to keep order. he looked at his gun in disbelief, put the own gun to his head, and commited suicide out of shame. who would i be? who would you be, in that last hour?
i think one of the scariest things was that though the ship was sinking, most people, especially the rich, did not realize it. they were blinded by their security, blinded by their wealth, by false promises. one of the third class passengers, in rushing by the orchestra said, "I know i'm in first class when I get to drown by music." the orchestra continued to play, people were drinking, being merry, sitting on their comfortable chairs. it was not until near the end, when the water started rushing to the top floor, when the ship started to obviously tip, did they realize that all the brouhaha was for real. and i bet some people grabbed their riches, their possessions, their dogs, things that ultimately did not matter. like Rose's fiance maybe they thought these things could save them, but they could not.
the titanic feels like the distant past, but it is our today. Matthew 24:36-37 "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." just like the titanic, the hour will come unexpectedly, but it will come. what will you do before that day, who will you be. will what you are doing make a difference in eternity?
Fact: Only 700 people were saved out of 2,200+ people. There were enough lifeboats to save half, but like the movie depicted, the boats were not filled.
Rose: "Fifteen-hundred people went into the sea, when Titanic sank from under us. There were twenty boats floating nearby... and only one came back. One. Six were saved from the water, myself included. Six... out of fifteen-hundred. Afterward, the seven-hundred people in the boats had nothing to do but wait... wait to die... wait to live... wait for an absolution... that would never come."
Fortunately, we have that absolution. absolution-noun: a formal release from guilt, obligation, or punishment. when Jesus died on that cross, he forgave us and wiped us clean. By his wounds we are healed. Do i fully understand this yet? No, but I believe it. Unbelievable as it sounds, I believe it.
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