Saturday, March 29, 2014

Titanic analysis - part 3: More inaccuracies; putting Titanic deaths in perspective

CATEGORY: MOVIES








Rose prepares to break Jack free so that he can be saved from drowning.



From Warren Farrell's book, Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say:

"While we know [the movie] Titanic had a fictionalized story line, it developed a reputation for being meticulously researched with many characters based on reality. In some ways that was true. But one of the most fascinating stories behind the movie is the story revealed by what is and is not fiction. ...

Titanic Fiction: A woman saves a man at the repeated risk of her life.

Titanic Fact: There is no record of a woman risking her life to save an adult man, no less repeatedly.

Titanic Fiction: Men in charge decided to lock third class (steerage) passengers below the decks.

Titanic Fact: Public Record Office documents in London show that this never happened - in fact, a higher percentage of men from second class died than men from third class (92% vs. 88%) and 55% of the third class women lived, which would not have been possible had they been locked below.[a]

Titanic Fiction: Being poor made one even more disposable than being a man.

Titanic Fact: Being a man and being poor both increased disposability, but being a man increased it significantly more than being poor. First class men were 22 times more likely to die (66% vs. 3%) than first class women.[b] The richest men were significantly more likely to die than the poorest women. ...

Here is the breakdown by class and sex:[c]


              Class                   % of men dying       % of women dying
             1st              66%               3%
             2nd              92%              16%
             3rd              88%              45%



Finally, the multiple scenes of men as cowards...negates the reality, especially regarding First Officer William Murdoch, who was portrayed in the film as taking a bribe, shooting a third-class passenger, and then killing himself. In real life, 'Murdoch behaved heroically, sacrificing his life after laboring frantically to save others.'[d]"

We will soon find out why it is, that Cameron intentionally placed these historical inaccuracies in his movie.


a. AP & Nando Times, "New Fight Over Film Version of Titanic Tragedy", April 9, 1998, in Farrell, Warren, Women Can't Hear What Men Don't Say, New York: Tarcher/Putnam, 1999, p. 289.
b. Ibid., p. 289.
c. Ibid., p. 289.
d. Joseph Sobran, "The Story of the Real Titanic", Universal Press Syndicate, April 1998, in Farrell, Women Can't Hear, p. 290.


    





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