What is this romantic fixation with the Titanic?

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

Tonnes of other things have happened in recent memory, equally as heartbreaking.

[ETA] Not to detract from the tragedy that was the Titanic, of course.

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I think had she not been on her maiden voyage she would have been just a shipwreck along with all of the others. I think the fact also that we know so many of the stories of passengers and what they did on that night helps. I watch everything I can about the Titanic, but I wouldn't call it a 'romantic' interest. The human stories and the ship itself fascinate me. This has been since before the ship was discovered. I read Raise the Titanic when I was a kid, and was spellbound.

 

[LuvOrlando]

Never thought about the story at all until Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet did the movie with the Titanic as the backdrop.

The romance is all about Leonardo & Kate... although Leonardo has since morphed into a lecherous old man Hollywood stereotype chasing young women and looking a bit creepier by the year.

There are memes, lots of memes

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

I have always found it fascinating. I have watched documentaries that I could find, and the movie of course. I also got to go to one of the Titanic museums.

I am not sure it's a romantic fixation, but it seems like it was just an amazing thing. Like the first half of the movie was all about the glamor and fun. I am sure the actual ship was such an amazing thing to see, and the first part of the experience would have been incredible. Unfortunately after the iceberg, yea... it all went downhill. That part is very sad, and hard to believe how many things went wrong and such a tragic ending.

 

[Neapolitan Ice Cream]

A game is being released soon for the PS5 all about escaping the Titanic. You get to explore the ship, take in the design work and so on and then - crunch. You need to get to the lifeboats!

 

[goofyernmost]

I have never understood why Titanic is considered a "love story". It was a massive tragedy with a couple sex scenes working up to when thousands die. I suppose the beginning satisfies a lot of fantasies but the end kind of knocks away the desire.

 

[Moliphino]

A game is being released soon for the PS5 all about escaping the Titanic. You get to explore the ship, take in the design work and so on and then - crunch. You need to get to the lifeboats!

There was a computer game like that ages ago, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic:_Adventure_Out_of_Time

 

[BlueStarryHat]

There was a computer game like that ages ago, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic:_Adventure_Out_of_Time

I had this game. I remember I got the secret book to the guy waiting in the boiler room, who turned out to be the bad guy and shot me dead. Game over. I don't recall playing again after that.

 

[Moliphino]

I had this game. I remember I got the secret book to the guy waiting in the boiler room, who turned out to be the bad guy and shot me dead. Game over. I don't recall playing again after that.

I could never figure out how to beat it, either. I don't remember the specifics, but I always failed.

 

[Kathryn Merteuil]

My step-daughter has a Wii game about the Titanic. I never tried to play it though, I seem to have no patience for video games that involve anything more than eating dots and being chased by ghosts. I did see on my FB feed that there is a new Titanic game coming out, unfortunately I don't have a playstation game console available to try it out or anything.

 

[Miffy]

I have never understood why Titanic is considered a "love story". It was a massive tragedy with a couple sex scenes working up to when thousands die. I suppose the beginning satisfies a lot of fantasies but the end kind of knocks away the desire.

Do not confuse a romance with a love story. A romance is a story about lovers that has a happy ending. A love story is a story about lovers that could end in any way, but it often ends with one of them dying.

I love the Walter Lord book A Night to Remember, which is a nonfiction account of the Titanic. There's also a rather good movie that was made from that book.

The James Cameron movie is about two completely invented characters, something I never understood, since there are so many stories of real people who were on the ship. Not to mention how completely unbelievable the couple's relationship is as well as what happens to them. I guess you can tell I don't like that movie at all!

 

[ChrisFL]

James Cameron's movie actually borrowed a LOT from "A Night to Remember" (the movie)

As far as video games, there's been a project going on for the past 10+ years called Titanic: Honor and Glory which looks amazing, they're trying to replicate everything as perfectly as possible. The original creator seemed to get distracted too easily and left the project several years in, so that's why it is taking so long to come out, but it is still a very cool project and they have some downloads that have a majority of the ship you can "walk" around.

Regarding the "romantic" aspect (not as love but the idea of the time period) I think part of it was a fascination of the time period and the ending of the Victorian era, different classes of passengers, the stories from survivors, the fact that the ship was somewhat afloat for well over an hour allowing a lot of events to take place, etc. made the story more interesting than one that would have sank immediately. Also the theories about the previous damage playing a role, maiden voyage, etc.

It was absolutely a tragedy but we feel far removed from it being over a century since it took place.

 

[Disneefun]

I think because it's a lesson in hubris. "It cannot sink!" That makes the fact that it did all the more "interesting." People love a good comeuppance story.

 

[Skippy918]

Do not confuse a romance with a love story. A romance is a story about lovers that has a happy ending. A love story is a story about lovers that could end in any way, but it often ends with one of them dying.

I love the Walter Lord book A Night to Remember, which is a nonfiction account of the Titanic. There's also a rather good movie that was made from that book.

The James Cameron movie is about two completely invented characters, something I never understood, since there are so many stories of real people who were on the ship. Not to mention how completely unbelievable the couple's relationship is as well as what happens to them. I guess you can tell I don't like that movie at all!

The Broadway musical version is based on real life passengers. My son’s high school put on this musical and it was really well done.

 

[goofyernmost]

Do not confuse a romance with a love story. A romance is a story about lovers that has a happy ending. A love story is a story about lovers that could end in any way, but it often ends with one of them dying.

I love the Walter Lord book A Night to Remember, which is a nonfiction account of the Titanic. There's also a rather good movie that was made from that book.

The James Cameron movie is about two completely invented characters, something I never understood, since there are so many stories of real people who were on the ship. Not to mention how completely unbelievable the couple's relationship is as well as what happens to them. I guess you can tell I don't like that movie at all!

I saw "A night to remember" as a fairly young kid. It haunted me for years. I still joke about it whenever I get of a cruise ship. When we meet the Captain I have to insist that he be watching our for icebergs even in the south Atlantic. If we separate love story and romance it still ends up with thousands for people dying a terrible death. So I guess I must be emotionally dead because I see nothing but disaster in anything written or filmed about it. I do understand that others see it differently, and that is OK, it is just nothing I am able to do.

 

[neverlandsky]

*Telegraph news.
*Famous passengers onboard.
*Some famous people were suppose to make the maiden voyage, yet didn’t. Just like some famous people didn’t make it onboard their flights for 9/11.
*A major milestone in history of it being the deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.
*Safety regulations improved & changed afterwards.
*Historical event featured in movies and tv shows.

 

[clh2]

My husband and I are in Denver right now, and we toured the Molly Brown house. A very fascinating person! (The tour was great, I highly recommend it if you are ever in the area!)

Too bad the movie, The Unsinkable Molly Brown was simply just fiction.

 

[fla4fun]

There was a computer game like that ages ago, too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic:_Adventure_Out_of_Time

I had this game too. It took forever to play through. I made it through a few times, but always sank the ship. There was also a way to tour the ship without actually playing the game. I still have the game, but I don’t know if I have a computer old enough to play it. My mom’s old desktop has a CD-ROM and might have old enough software. I will have to try.

I think part of the issue with Titanic is how many movies were made that were more fiction than truth. They added characters and stories that did not exist. There is a movie of A Night To Remember that is pretty good about not adding any additional drama to an already dramatic story.