I Somehow Didn’t See Titanic (1997) Until I Was a Grown Ass Man

Reader, today’s newsletter is a bit of a confession. You see, my ladyfriend had a good suggestion for this week, if I may paraphrase: “You should write about Titanic since it’s the anniversary of the ship sinking.” She’s smart like that.

And what do you know, the anniversary fell on a Friday, making it even more perfect.* Even though last year would’ve perhaps been more impactful, seeing as that was the 110th anniversary. (The 111th anniversary sounds kinda neat though, right?)

But there would’ve been a slight problem if I’d written about Titanic last year: I simply had not seen this film.

It had become my most notorious cinematic blindspot; not the best film I’d managed to avoid, but certainly the most popular film I’d missed. And I didn’t really have a good excuse either. Titanic was released when I was 11 years old, and it was sweeping the nation. I’d probably never seen boobs before at that age, but it had become one of those films where parents felt comfortable letting their younger kids see it as long as they covered their eyes for one inconsequential scene.

In fact, Titanic fever enveloped my middle school. In 1997, our entire sixth grade class had a “Titanic party” where we dressed up in period-appropriate outfits, ate period-appropriate snacks, and did things like play cards and listen to orchestral music.**

I remember it well because I think it was the first occasion that I had a “date” for. The boys and girls split into pairs (my friend Ben and I tag-teamed it), and then our teacher called out each pair of girls and the boys would raise our hands to be partnered up with them.*** (I don’t think Sarah and Millie were thrilled about being paired with me and Ben, but I had a crush on Sarah and Ben was down for whatever, so we made it happen.)

Anyway. Considering that I was 11, I was probably not into the idea of going to a movie theater to watch a three-hour romantic epic. Can you blame me? Also, I was not cool enough or confident enough to date girls in middle school, so there was nobody to drag me into it and have our parents drop us off at Wildwood. I didn’t really have a reason to go.

But as I got older, the reasons began to outweigh the excuses. I was a pop culture hound who was beginning to fall in love with the world of cinema.**** So after a while, it became a bit, and I’m not proud to say that I ran with that bit for too long. “I’ve never seen Titanic. I know, it’s crazy, right? Haha.” I’m sure it wasn’t very charming or interesting.

Thankfully, I lived long enough to see James Cameron become the film industry’s most unstoppable force. I like the Avatar films just fine, but I am thankful for their success, because it was enough to get Titanic back into multiplexes for a 25th anniversary run (and to capitalize on Valentine’s Day crowds without many good movie date options to choose from).

The time had come. I had to see Titanic. And I had to see it on the big screen.

And you know what? I loved it. Sure, the modern-day wraparound isn’t perfect.***** But everything else pretty much is. I know we ruined the word “epic” years ago, but this film is a gargantuan cinematic feat. James Cameron combined a disaster movie with a romantic drama and refused to let either thread take a backseat to the other; the awe you experience from the practical effects in the last hour is on par with the emotions you experience throughout the brief courtship of Rose and Jack. Truly excellent stuff.

And now that I’ve seen it with adult eyes…I’m kinda glad I waited. Maybe I would’ve had a similar reaction two years ago or five years ago, but as an 11-year-old kid, I probably would’ve dismissed it as “dumb” or “lame” and never gone back. And even if I did go back, my ice-cold middle school take might’ve kept me from truly reappraising the film. Or maybe I would’ve spent half the time wondering what happened to Sarah.

*Before one of you pedantic nerds steps to me, yes, the Titanic didn’t officially sink all the way into the ocean until the wee hours of April 15, 1912. But it struck that iceberg just before midnight on April 14, thereby beginning the sinking process. So kick rocks.

**It’s probably kinda messed up that we did this, right? Our teachers essentially said “Here’s how these people lived before they succumbed to an icy death in the Atlantic Ocean, isn’t this fun?” Like, imagine a sixth grade class doing a World Trade Center party where the students wear suits and pretend to approve loans.

***This is also kinda messed up, right? Those girls had no control over who they’d be paired with unless they strategized with their friends or crushes right beforehand. But you never knew whose hands would go up first!

****Fun fact: Before I wanted to be a filmmaker, I wanted to be a film critic. As soon as I got to college, I jumped at the chance to write movie reviews for the school paper (and for a cool $15 a pop). I can’t remember my first review but it might’ve been Constantine? What a picture.

*****Rose knew what she was doing, y’all. And as my editor John pointed out, Birmingham’s own Roy Wood Jr. has a great bit about it.

Titanic is now streaming on Amazon Prime, and it is available to rent elsewhere.