My husband and I watched Titanic last weekend. It had been a long time since either of us had seen the movie. We commented to each other that it was a beautifully made film and a fitting tribute to those who lost their lives, aside from the cheesy love story of course and the dumb ending (the necklace part, I mean). We both were saddened by the all-to-true portrayal of class segregation.But we also laughed at ourselves as we remembered Titanic when it first came out. I was a dramatic, boy-crazy teenager, not to mention that I kissed pictures of Leonardo DiCaprio. I had this movie poster on my wall. I really did kiss it. I saw the film seven times in the movie theater. To think that I could have been saving for college... Chris recalled that he remembers watching as a teenager and being sad that he didn't have someone to hold.
I remember sitting in Liz's bedroom listening to the instrumental score from the movie (thinking it was kind of boring) and watching as Liz became dramatic and teary-eyed as she commented on all the lives that were lost and the unfortunate separation of star-crossed lovers Jack & Rose. I distinctly remember thinking that I should be crying also, and that I should immediately go buy the soundtrack to recreate moments like this in my own bedroom.
Seriously, why did teenage girls go so crazy about this movie? Why did I take nearly 23 hours of my childhood to watch it in a dark theater with my girlfriends and comiserate that I wasn't madly in love at 14? (Because we all know that Jack and Rose were definately in love, right?) Then I spent more hours watching it on video.
The movie itself is about an hour too long and borders on pornographic (of course, this week we were watching a slightly edited version that actually seemed to qualify as PG-13). Why was that appropriate for teenage girls? Or for anyone? If you take out the nudity, it is still pretty graphic, especially for someone like me who is particularly oversensitive to things like watching people drown and get their heads cracked open on titanic rudders (I know they were acting, but still...)
Leo's acting is pretty cheesy in my book (although I thought almost everyone else w
as very good). The "I'm the king of the WORLD" line has become a joke. I remember seeing T-shirts that said "The boat sinks, get over it" and being extremely offended and defensive of my dear Jack. Then theres the Celine Deon song. I would play it over and over again with dutiful tears streaming down my cheeks, compounded even more when they started playing the version with quotes from the movie in it: "I will never let go, Jack. I will never let go..." Did you notice that as she says that line, she lets go!
as very good). The "I'm the king of the WORLD" line has become a joke. I remember seeing T-shirts that said "The boat sinks, get over it" and being extremely offended and defensive of my dear Jack. Then theres the Celine Deon song. I would play it over and over again with dutiful tears streaming down my cheeks, compounded even more when they started playing the version with quotes from the movie in it: "I will never let go, Jack. I will never let go..." Did you notice that as she says that line, she lets go!In retrospect, it really is a well made film and is very moving, but it was ridiculous that we idolized Leo so much and contributed all of our babysitting money to the all-time highest grossing film ever made. I'm so glad I've grown up.
3 comments:
babysitting money...that gave me a thought. This is the sort of responsible people we were when we were babysitting. Now, I'm expected to hire this same age group to take care of my children?
I'm never leaving the house again.
This is the other Elizabeth, the one who never saw Titanic because I never had any interest in seeing Titanic. Gag. (So, should us Elizabeths differentiate ourselves when commenting, or just let other people be confused? Hee, hee.)
It is funny how the fads fade over time, partly because of increased maturity and partly because of time itself. It is fun to look at one's past and remember and sometimes laugh a little. And hopefully there is not too much embarrassment. (Speaking of embarrassment, good thing I looked that up in the dictionary to make sure I spelled it right. Amazing how commenting in Jenny's blog is causing more use of a dictionary.)
Elizabeth
I watched the movie again a few weeks ago and was surprised that after years of mocking it, I cried almost the whole time. It really was a well done movie but got WAY out of control in the publicity. I was in my freshman year of college when it came out and all semester us girls were singing the Celine Dion theme song at the top of our lungs up and down the hall. It was fantastic!
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