Melodrama in Titanic

Abstract: Titanic, a 1997 film by James Cameron is a remake of a popular 1950s film. The plot, based around the tragic story of the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, features two protagonist characters- Rose and Jack. The film also explores a number of dramatic elements including social class juxtapositions, everlasting, intense love, and the fight between good and evil. James Cameron also employs the use of the compression of time as well as the various musical and verbal pieces to transform this story from a mere tragedy to one of an epic, ill-fated love story viewed as a melodramatic work. Not only does Titanic draw on the emotional human interactions and relationships, but it also offers commentary and criticism on class differences and societal issues.

Plot Overview: The film begins with a 101-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukater telling the story of trip she took on the Titanic 84 years prior. The story flashes back to April 10^th, 1912 when the Titanic set sail from England on its way to New York. Here we see Rose as a young lady, boarding the ship with other upper-class passengers including her mother, Ruth and her fiancé, Caledon, otherwise known as Cal. At the same time, a wanderer and artist named Jack Dawson and his best friend Fabrizio De Rossi win third class tickets to the ship in a gambling game. As the story progresses, Jack and Rose eventually meet and subsequently fall madly in love- a love which seemed forbidden from the moment they met each other. As most viewers know, the Titanic hit an iceberg late on the evening of April 15^th and sunk completely by 2:20 a.m. that morning, claiming the lives of 1,517 women, men, and children, including Jack Dawson (“Titanic” IMDb).

Topics to Explore:
Relationships

Timing

Wealthy vs. Poor & Ethnic Juxtaposition

Song Choice: My Heart Will Go On- Emotional Attachments

Death

Epic, Ill-Fated Love Story, Everlasting Love

Mother-Soon to be Son in Law

Romeo and Juliet-ish Love Story

Religion Christian Cross

Questions:

    -Would it have been different if Jack was the wealthy one and Rose the poor one?

    -How does Rose’s defiant personality add to the melodramatic elements?

    -Does the drawn out sinking of the ship

    -Comment on society at the time? (1912)

    -Do you believe that the element of hope (in love, in survival) greatly contribute to melodrama?

    -Are you satisfied with the ending of the movie?

I also plan on exploring certain lines that I believe add to the melodramatic aura of the film. One of the most significant lines that I will be analyzing is, Jack: "Never let go." Rose: "I will never let go, Jack. I'll never let go."

I plan to conclude the paper discussing the possible reasons that Titanic was so successful as a film when most critics believed that it would be a major failure. Some of these reasons will be linked directly to the melodramatic experience of the viewers.

Through these different elements and by addressing some of these questions that I have developed, I hope to show how the viewing experience would had been different if these elements had not been present.