The Fall of the Unsinkable: A Marxist Criticism Approach to the Movie "Titanic"

By Kian Arceo

The untold secrets of a sunken ship in the Atlantic revealed by one of the survivors of the tragedy. This is the story of "The Titanic", a story of love and tragedy alongside happiness and sadness in one film. The purpose of this movie review is not just to give the summary of the movie but to view the movie from different perspectives and approaches. This critique seeks to apply Marxist criticism approach as the standpoint of the review. On the next paragraph is a summary of the plot of the movie.

After winning a trip on the RMS Titanic during a dockside card game, American Jack Dawson spots the society girl Rose DeWitt Bukater who is on her way to Philadelphia to marry her rich snob fianc� Caledon Hockley. Rose feels helplessly trapped by her situation and makes her way to the aft deck and thinks of suicide until she is rescued by Jack. Cal is therefore obliged to invite Jack to dine at their first-class table where he suffers through the slights of his snobbish hosts. In return, he spirits Rose off to third-class for an evening of dancing, giving her the time of her life. Deciding to forsake her intended future all together, Rose asks Jack, who has made his living making sketches on the streets of Paris, to draw her in the nude wearing the invaluable blue diamond Cal has given her. Cal finds out and has Jack locked away. Soon afterwards, the ship hits an iceberg and Rose must find Jack while both must run from Cal even as the ship sinks deeper into the freezing water. This is the focal point of the movie but more than just the plot, let us see it from various points.

Titanic clearly shows dominant ideology of differences regarding race, class or status in the society. Jack was a white Caucasian man who is poor whereas Rose was a wealthy first class passenger. The Titanic itself was divided into three separate classes. The First class, Middle class, and the Third class. The placements of the people in the ship were according to their class or status in the society. During the sinking process, the people from the First class were the first ones to occupy the life boats. A part from the Middle class was able to escape the sinking ship as well. But the Third class were the less fortunate ones who were given late notice and had very limited boats left available. It can be concluded that rich people are given more privilege than less wealthy ones.

Titanic is a nicely made movie. It contains complete elements an ideal movie should have. Incorporating different genres into it makes it more exciting and thrilling. Putting together romance, tragedy, and comedy played a major role in catching the heart of its audiences. It also teaches a good lesson about life that no matter the struggle and difference between two people, love will endure everything until it prevails. And most importantly, it has shown factual events of the legendary sunken ship which serves as commemoration for the lives taken by this historical tragedy.

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