Reflections on Titanic:
From Love to Hate

I'll be the first to say it and am not ashamed to do so: I love this movie. To me, it's a film that is impossible not to like. It's got everything in it: beautiful romance, good acting, amazing special effects, serene vistas, and an overall emotional resonance that is rare in modern movies. There really isn't anything I don't wholeheartedly enjoy when I watch this movie. I find myself smiling at the gaze of Rose into Jack's eyes, the absurd expectations laid upon Rose, even the wild proclamation "I'm the king of the world!" by Jack. I love this movie.

I remember the first time I saw it. It was December 19, 1997. It was opening day. Tomorrow Never Dies, the latest James Bond flick, was coming out on that same day and the local multiplex was incredibly crowded. The crowdedness didn't reach Jurassic Park opening day levels, but literally thousands of people formed a constant stream in and out of the theater. A few friends and I saw people coming out of the screens that had just finished showing James Cameron's film. Some people were smiling, some raved in excited voices, and more than a few were openly crying. We then went in and got some really good seats. From the second the beautiful voice of Sissel caressed me at the opening to when Celine Dion's voice soared over the credits at the end, I was transported into the world that existed in 1912. I think it's fair to say that I had never been so absorbed in a film before. It controlled me from beginning to end.

Such feeling was commonplace for the film following its opening. Teenagers raved, and their parents were equally excited by what they felt as something that would be regarded as a modern classic. I felt the same way. Titanic became something special. To me, it was an example of everything that I loved in movies. It loomed larger than life. The film was a constant topic of conversation and there were few who openly expressed disappointment with the film. Of course there were several but it was not common for one to exclaim their hatred towards James Cameron's epic.

Time passed and those with the courage to violate the norm and tell people of their dislike for the film eventually started to imprint various misconceptions of the film into people's minds. Those who felt the film was overrated pointed out the inconsistencies in the dialogue, the sometimes spotty special effects, the slightly manipulative way in which Cameron ends his opus. With a sudden focus on what was wrong with the film people began to forget about all that was utterly fantastic. People forgot about the incredible production values, the solid acting, the steady camerwork, the special effects that serve the story, and especially the dramatic impact that the film had on its first viewing. It was no longer stylish to appreciate the finer points of Titanic, it was only socially acceptable to point out the flaws.

And the sudden onslaught of disappointment continued. Those who initially loved the film began to dislike it. Those who initially didn't like it began to hate it. A slippery slope had begun. Cameron's film had fallen victim to quite possibly the most serious case of change-of-opinion syndrome I had ever seen, or probably will ever see. To find someone who still proudly proclaims their affection for the film is rare. People don't admit their optimistic appraisal of the film for fear of derision in their conversations. The earlier situation has reversed: now it is the lovers of the film who keep their opinion in check.

It's impossible to definitively pinpoint the reasons that this change of the common opinion took place. It could very easily be the amount of money that Titanic made. $600.7 million is a lot of money, by far the most ever grossed domestically. $1.8 billion is a hefty sum for the worldwide box-office gross. Yes, that's a lot of zeros people. Perhaps people became upset when Titanic's grosses crossed the Star Wars plateau. No one, including myself, would claim that Titanic is a more popular film to the mainstream than Star Wars. To claim something as such would be ludicrous. Star Wars was one of those films that redefined Hollywood. Maybe it's because Titanic was, upon release, compared to the great epics of the past. While I believe this to be somewhat justified, I can see why others do not. The widespread change of opinion might just fall upon comparisons to past films, films that people aren't willing to admit might have the same detriments to its proceedings that Titanic has.

Basically, I believe that people have fabricated 1,800,000,000 reasons not to like it. Reasons that, I guess, didn't exist when the film initially opened. Such is the mob qualities of the public.

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Editorial Written by Collin Thornber on 6/19/01