Titanic: 20 Years Later

Do you remember? December 19, 1997.

Titanic premiered on North American screens. It became the biggest movie of all-time. 

It would hold that particular record until another James Cameron production would come along to bump it out of the top spot. Which is, of course, Avatar in 2009.  (According to the Box Office Mojo statistics.)

While Titanic was known as the unsinkable ship, there were many predictions for the movie to sink.

The budget was ballooning - in 1997, it was quite literally, the most expensive movie ever to be made. 

Some didn't think, audiences would have the patience for a movie with a time length that was over three hours. I remember when the films came out on VHS. The length was so long, it had to fit onto two tapes. Two!    

The reasons could be rattled off to say, why the movie was doomed but it made history.

THE TITANIC APPEAL?

The appeal of the Titanic stretches beyond the movie and the love story of Jack and Rose.

A computer simulation of a boat sinking – but not just any boat, the Titanic was for a promotion of a game called Titanic: Honor and Glory.

The unique draw behind the video is the animators show the Titanic sinking from beginning to end in real time. This would mean the sequence clocks in at two hours and forty minutes to match that fateful night in 1912. Truthfully, who would watch the simulation from the iceberg hit to the ship disappearing into the ocean? I don’t know.

Yet, the video has already received over 24 million clicks on the last check.

Anybody reading this is quite familiar with the Titanic story. The Titanic proclaimed the unsinkable ship set sail on April 12 for its maiden voyage from Southhampton, England to New York City. It hit an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912.

People are still fascinated with the ship. It’s hard for me anyway, to pinpoint what it is.

I suppose it could be the social history/biographies of the passengers, split into first, second and third classes. Apparently, the cost of a first class ticket was $2,500, while a third class ticket would have been only $40 and up to ten people had shared just one room.

It could be stories like the band, who all eight musicians played till the very end in an attempt to keep crew and passengers calm.

The interest could lie in the engineering, if the boat was deemed unsinkable at the time, why did it? What did the crew do leading up to hitting the iceberg and during the sinking?

There were over 2,200 people on board the ocean liner. About 700 were able to see another day.

And although the love story of Jack and Rose never actually happened like in the very popular movie, Titanic, there are some very real people who pop up as part of the dramatization.

Taken by me

 

HALIFAX

I heard the stories and even seen the movie, a few times, at least. My first real experience with the history of the Titanic would have been in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

So, what connects Halifax and the Titanic?

Well, ships had to be dispatched to search for bodies. They came from Halifax. The city ended up being the final resting place for 150 of those passengers. Halifax’s experience with Titanic still lasts to this day.

They were spread out among three cemeteries and the most were laid to rest at the Fairview Lawn Cemetery. Visitors can find 121 victims there. The spot has seen a lot of traffic since the release of the movie in 1997.

The tour guide had called the most visited stone to a man known as J. Dawson. Many like to believe that it is Jack Dawson, who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie but unfortunately, it is not the case. The real man, allegedly, was a coal worker on the ship and no relatives were ever found. The legend goes that director James Cameron had used the name as inspiration for his Jack.

The stone of an Alma Paulson shows she perished on the ship with her four children. There’s the stone of the Unknown Child, who was the only child found without a lifejacket. People had even left flowers and cards on my visit.

Since then, the Unknown Child is said to be identified as Sidney Leslie Goodwin, only 19 months old.

The Museum of the Atlantic had a Titanic exhibit, which including wood from the grand staircase – a beautiful set piece replicated in the movie. There was also a deck chair.

There’s the home of George Wright that still was standing in the city, Wright put his home in his will, just before leaving Halifax to board the Titanic.

BOSTON

The magnitude of the Titanic sinking in 1912 could even be felt in a place like Boston.

Although I can’t claim to be a huge baseball watcher, checking out Fenway Park was high on the list of recommendations to do in the city. The Red Sox weren’t playing that weekend either but there can be tours to take.

It’s a pretty neat place too. The history stretching back to April - you probably guessed it - in 1912. The view on top of the famous ‘Green Monster’ left field wall is cool as well.

While the grand opening of Fenway Park would have been a rather exciting affair and front page news, it was a lot more subdued because the Titanic dominated the newspapers and the people’s interest.

IRELAND

While the focus has been on Titanic’s end, there is at least one more stop that may be made someday and that is where the ship was built. I’d bet there are plenty of people who have done it too.

Belfast in Northern Ireland was the birthplace of the Titanic and it is now the home of the world’s largest exhibition about the ocean liner. People can explore the shipyard and decks, where it started.

Did I solve the allure of a story like the Titanic? I would go with probably not.

Maybe the movie spiked the interest in recent years? Maybe the effect, the ship had on the cities in big and small ways has kept it going after all these years?

Or perhaps, it’s nothing more than a fascinating story that has an unfortunate ending for many people.

(Originally published with Metroland Media)