Are You Ready to Go Back to Titanic?

With today’s release of Titanic 3D, I’m transported back to my 15-year-old self. This movie, I’ll admit, has a special place in my heart.

I saw it in the theaters with my older sister when it was first released. I sat in that packed theater completely captivated. What’s not to love? You had historical drama, a heartthrob in Leonardo DiCaprio, a beautiful starlet in Kate Winslet, an epic love story, kick-ass special effects including a guy smashing into a ship propeller, and Billy Zane. It meshed art, fiction, and science and made history come to life. Completely. Captivated.

Yes, I knew what the Titanic was (unlike some people). Yes, I knew that the boat was going to sink and that characters were going to die. But at the end of those 3.5 hours, my angsty, romantic, teenage soul cared about them. As Rose let Jack slip into that icy water, I gasped and reached out to the screen, as if I could’ve jumped in and saved him. 

That night after the movie, I went home and wrote some long entry in my diary about how beautiful the film was and how terrified the real passengers of the Titanic must have been so long ago. If I could find that diary now, I’m sure I’d find tear-stained pages. I bought the soundtrack and listened to it on repeat. (Except for those tracks when the boat hits the iceberg and sinks.)

Two years later when it came to choosing a prom dress, Winslet’s red and black, beaded frock served as inspiration. Granted, I never got the Edwardian-style dress, but the strapless A-line I bought at Burlington Coat Factory with berry-colored fabric, a sheer, black overlay, and black velvet and glitter accents was close enough.

Well, I am now nearing 30. I do not aspire to look like the red-headed heroine, and the soundtrack collects dust with the rest of my CDs. But Titanic lives on, fueled no doubt by the back-to-back reruns on cable TV. It’s become a running theme between me and one of my closest friends. A look at our Facebook Friendship shows the term “Titanic” being mentioned 15 times since 2008, coming in second to only Hall & Oates.

A recent study by researchers at American University and the University of Arizona examined why people repeatedly go back to the same movies and books. Cristel Russell, the lead researcher, found that “reconsumption” isn’t just about nostalgia or personal preference. “The object you’re consuming is the looking glass — it allows you to appreciate how you’ve changed or evolved,” Russell said in an interview with American Magazine.

I don’t know what Titanic reminds me of when I watch it now or what purpose it serves me, and I need only look in the mirror to see how much I’ve changed. I’ll leave the cerebral stuff to the researchers. I’ll be content with the fact that Titanic is just my guilty pleasure.

The reviews are in, and it looks like the movie holds up in 3D. I will watch it. And I will love it. Except this time, maybe I won’t reach out for the screen.