SOS. Save our Souls. That was the message radioed out from the sinking Titanic. But no one would save them. At 2:20 a.m, on April15, the RMS Titanic sank. “The night sea was quiet enough so that cries for help carried easily across the water to the lifeboats, which drew prudently away. Still dressed up in the latest fashions, hundreds froze and drowned. What an extraordinary position to find yourself in after spending all that money for a ticket on an unsinkable ship.” (Ebert) The sinking of the Titanic was not only a tragedy, but it inspired a record-breaking movie, and greatly impacted the world.
The RMS Titanic was a luxurious ship to say the least. Not only did it take around 3 years to build, it cost 7.5 million dollars to build, which today is over 200 million dollars. She stood at an impressive 104 feet tall and measured 882.75 feet long. Equipped with a state-of-the-art gymnasium, restaurants, a swimming pool, barber shops, and much more, its grandeur led one passenger to recall that upon entering we would “at once lose the feeling that we are on board ship, and seem instead to be entering the hall of some great house on shore.” (Anton) Unfortunately, in order to avoid a “cluttered” look, the Titanic was only equipped with 20 lifeboats which was not nearly enough to save everyone on board. This was a key factor in one of the greatest tragedies in history.
On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank. She scraped against a looming iceberg at 11:40 p.m., on April 14. “ ‘It’s alright. We just grazed an iceberg.’ was the reassuring message the crew was giving out, recalls a survivor.”(Burks) Despite the high investment in the ship, the doomed Titanic and her crew were not prepared for these circumstances. At first, people greatly underestimated the situation, but the state of affairs quickly became an emergency. The ill-prepared crew began sending off partially filled lifeboats, unknowingly dooming hundreds of other passengers. People were thrown overboard into the lethally cold water as the ship tipped almost vertical. The Titanic sent out panicked radio SOS messages to other ships, but only reached one, who was 58 miles away. At 2:20 a.m, on April 15, the Titanic slipped into her icy, underwater grave.
The magnitude of this tragedy has captivated millions of people. Three movies have been made about this tragic event but James Cameron’s Titanic is by far the most renowned. Released in 1997, the movie touched countless people and led St. Louis Dispatch reporter Joe Holleman to say, ”Take one of history’s most compelling tragedies, tell it through the lives of two engaging young lovers and show it with some of the best-ever special effects and you have a dazzling, exciting movie that is also poignant and personal.” The movie stars Kate Winslet as Rose Dewitt Bukater and Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, intertwining a love story with a heartbreaking tragedy. Cameron chose to portray some non-fictional characters including Margeret Brown and Wallace Hartley. Margeret or “Molly” Brown is remembered for urging her lifeboat to go back for more people and for helping the lower class passengers. Wallace Hartley is remembered as a hero as he urged his band to keep playing late into the night to help keep people calm. Many survivors recall hearing his band play “Nearer, My God, to Thee” as the ship went down. This incredible film that mixed history, love and tragedy broke a record in 1998.
Only 2 movies have ever won 11 oscars. The Titanic was one of them. It tied with Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, for the most Oscars ever won on March 23, 1998 at the 70th Academy Awards. James Cameron won the award for the best director and while his films have won many more, he himself has won three. The film was also awarded with the Best Original Music Score. The soundtrack was written by James Horner. My Heart Will Go On, sung by Celine Dion, was the most famous piece in the soundtrack, and was performed at the 70th Academy Awards. This song is still very prevalent in today’s world, and recently, Spanish musicians performed the song atop their balconies in response to the coronavirus. “Music against the virus,’ was the caption to the viral video posted by Ramón Santana.
In 1985 the Titanic shipwreck was found. Robert Ballard discovered the ship during a secret military expedition to investigate two nuclear submarines. They found the ocean liner in two pieces at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Upon the monumental discovery, the question arose of what to do now? Robert Ballard, an oceanography professor at URI, is quoted as saying “I feel confident that the Titanic will never be raised…it would be impossible to pull it out of the bottom.” This is because its rusting parts are extremely fragile. It is a controversial topic, as some believe it would be disrespectful , almost like disturbing an underwater grave. There have been many schemes and failed attempts to lift the wreckage above water, and while some items have been brought ashore, the Titanic remains. Going forward, due to the ocean microbes “eating away” at the ship, some have estimated that the Titanic will be completely gone by 2030. “Nothing but a rust stain at the bottom of the Atlantic”, said Dr. Henrietta Mann.
Although the Titanic sank over 100 years ago, the tragedy still lingers today. It impacted society both emotionally and physically. New safety rules were implemented, for example, ships were required to have enough lifeboats. Emotionally, the sheer fact that over 1,300 lives were lost shocked the public, not to mention the family members and friends of lost ones. Walter Lord wrote in his book A Night to Remember, “Every type of human behaviour imaginable seems to have been there—including cowardice, bravery, incompetence, dutifulness, self-sacrifice, selfishness and genuine heroism. I also think that, because it is only just over the horizon of human memory, it is very easy to imagine oneself on that ship on that night and wonder how we might behave ourselves.”
It is not an understatement to say that genuine heroism was shown on that fateful night. It is remembered that the co-owner of Macys, Isidor Straus, and his wife, Ida, heroically refused to get on a lifeboat, despite being first class passengers. The women and children-first rule split apart families and many male passengers sacrificed themselves for strangers. Today there are still monuments honoring the sunken ship and those whose lives were lost in the tragedy. The movie Titanic continues to hold a record and that night will be remembered long into the future. The sinking of the Titanic was not only a tragedy, but it inspired a record-breaking movie, and greatly impacted the world.
