Essay Sample on Titanic: James Cameron's Epic Love Story

Introduction

Titanic movie is a drama, disaster, and true love story of Rose and Jack. The presentation of the movie is a narration flashback from an elderly survivor. Titanic movie was released on December 19th, 1997. The writer, director, and the co-producer of the Titanic movie was James Cameron. Russell Carpenter did the cinematography, including the work that allowed the transmission of the directors and writers thinking onto the big screen. Russell achieved this through the use of useful framing, lighting, and angles to improve the film's quality. The main characters of Titanic film included Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kathy Bates, Victor Garber, and Billy Zane. After the release, the Titanic movie was referred to as the most expensive film to produce as it utilized approximately two million dollars (Goodykoontz et al., 2019, P. 178, para. 3). It was regarded as the highest grossing blockbuster movies in history because it turned to be a top international box office success.

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To differentiate the film's story from its plot, (Goodykoontz et al., 2019, pg. 170, para. 1) states that the story is the occurrence displayed in the movie, and the plot explains the existence of the events. Movies help individuals in escaping reality and seeing things from a different perspective. Movies can be grouped into different classifications that are referred to as a genre, which help the audiences to identify the meaning of the film. The various types of the genre include musicals, crime, fantasy, romance, horror, action, and comedy. Titanic movie falls under the romance genre. The romance genre is regarded as one of the least elastic films because it tries to connect two individuals (Goodykoontz et al., 2019, pg. 192, para. 2). Titanic film is founded on the quest for true love, finding a soulmate, and fighting for the strong feeling the two people have for each other. To finalize the critique of Titanic film, I will discuss the factors that enabled the success of the film, including the aesthetic selections, mise en scene, editing effect, sound effect, lighting effect, story-telling, plot, and discuss the relationship of titanic and society by addressing its impact on society.

Unique Story-Telling

The unique story-telling method offered an excellent version of an old movie through the addition of a strong but prohibited love story that was narrated along with a terrible loss. The story discusses real-life events. James Cameron also explains the way Titanic sunk uniquely by narrating the occurrences of the final hours up to the time the ocean waters submerged the great original voyage ship that could hardly sink. The main protagonist is Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays the role of Jack acting as a poor low-class passenger who is a talented artist and managed to board the Titanic through a lucky hand of poker. The main actress is Kate Winslet acting as Rose, a rich seventeen years old girl who boarded the Titanic to go to Philadelphia for her wedding with Cal (Titanic n.d.).

The main antagonist of the movie is Billy Zane who played the role of Cal, Rose fiance and very rich. Rose's mother, Ruth pressured the marriage because of her selfish reasons, and she used snobbish methods to ensure that Rose married Cal to maintain their wealthy status. Jack was helped by Molly Brown to fit in the upper-class passengers. Thomas Andrew helped in designing and building the RMS Titanic; therefore, when Titanic hit the iceberg, Thomas knew that it would sink. Thomas was portrayed as kind and protective because he only informed Rose to secure a lifeboat because the Titanic was eventually going to drown. Finally, the last main actor was Brock Lovett, who appeared in present years hunting for treasures and had searched for the Heart of the Ocean for three consecutive years. The heart of the Ocean was a necklace that Cal gave Rose, and she was wearing at on the night of Titanic sinking (Titanic, 1997).

Aesthetic Selections

The aesthetic selections (costuming) during the production of the movie contributed to the realistic period of 1912 as the characters' clothing matched this period. The rich women were dressed in expensive and beautiful ankle length fitting dresses combined with fancy hats and gloves. The rich men wore 3-pieces suits and dinner jackets fitted with bow ties and top hats. However, the low-class women dressed blouses in high collars and long skirts while the men dressed knee breeches, shirts, and suspenders. The fashion was founded from the Victorian period developed by Deborah Scott. Lighting differentiated the high-class passengers and low-class passengers. The lights in the low-class passengers' decks were low while high lighting was used when the wealthy passengers were taking their dinner. The lighting selection aided in accenting the details and types of the ship's design for the viewers to identify the luxurious lifestyle (Titanic, n.d.).

Lighting Effect

Titanic utilized various types of lighting dependent on the scene. Natural light from the sun was used for the day scenes or outside the ship when Titanic was navigating through the Atlantic. Natural lighting is essential in the Titanic movie because it's a creation from the sun and enables a more convincing method from the natural shadows. The traditional light referred to as the 3-point lighting was essential within the ship, especially dinner time. For instance, the beautiful chandeliers hanging on the dining room helped in suiting the mood and providing a light source for scene visibility (YouTube, 2014). Low lighting helped in creating natural light during the night scenes. Low bluish colored lights created the moonlight influence outside the ship when still sailing. The colored lights were also used at the time the Titanic was sinking, and every person was submerged in ice, making them freeze and die. The lighting made the viewer to have a real feeling of coldness and emotional effect because of hypothermia suffering. The illumination leads to the creation of a sense of fear and anxiety together with a convincing method (Goodykoontz et al., 2019, P. 192, para. 2).

Sound Effect

Sound is a vital feature during the production of a movie to aid in making the story more convincing. The first primary classification of sound is dialogue. The dialogue is a communication between the characters in a film similar to communication in real life. The importance of using dialogue is developing the plot, enhancing characterization, and establishing vital information required by the viewers to better understand the action. (Goodykoontz et al., 2019, pg. 176, para. 3) State that the second classification of sound is the sound effects, which are necessary for film making. For instance, the gunfire fired in a movie are recorded separately and added to the final film during at the end of the production.

The third classification of sound is the music that acts like a tool or vocal sound in a film. Perfect sound in a movie improves viewer's feelings enabling them to feel a sense of connectedness with the film (Goodykoontz et al., 2019, pg. 168 para. 6). The sound effects applied in Titanic helps in identifying the theme of a movie. The sound that was produced when Titanic hit the iceberg and started sinking developed a realistic atmosphere for the audiences. The sound provides seriousness to the occurrences, thereby creating a sense of suffering and to the viewers. In the Titanic, James Cameron applied sound when the ship hit the iceberg, bending of the metal of the ship, sinking of the ship, and the sound of water entering into the ship. The panic from people was displayed through sounds like screaming, crying, and the low quantity of lifeboats jackets. The passengers feared for their safety because they knew the boats were not enough, and they only focused on finding a lifeboat (YouTube, 2014).

Editing Effect

Editing effect is a vital factor to the success of a movie. James Cameron uses editing effects to portray the Titanic ship crashing into the iceberg and starting to sink. The zooming in and out of the Titanic ship when it cracks, breaks, and when the passengers on board fall and jump into the ocean is enabled by editing. (Goodykoontz et al., 2019) States that the writers, producers, and directors of movies spend more than five years to do research and investigate on the film before the actual production. The editing effects enclosed for close up angles to great shots because sometimes the angle varies with time and can even be filmed from the sky (Titanic, 1997). Titanic movie was expensive because it was a massive ship and the special effects are essential to provide audiences with a feeling of the actual occurrences. The effects display the overwhelming and dramatic experience that the passengers went through.

Social Impact

The Titanic movie is socially connected to society as it displayed the treatment of women in the 1912 era. Women were treated as just the properties of men, and they were considered not equal to men. Women accepted to be abused both psychologically and physically by men. Today, abusing a person is illegal, and men and women have equal rights. The movie teaches that love can conquer everything irrespective of the social class of a person. Money is good, but it cannot buy happiness because Rose refused to marry Cal even if he was wealthy because happiness is all about accepting yourself. Rose and Jack come from a very different background, but they develop a strong and united love. The Titanic movie impacts change because, despite the tragic sinking of the ship, the end portrays the way love is resilient and can overcome differences among people and can develop changes to people's lives.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Titanic movie is a drama, disaster, and true love story of Rose and Jack. Titanic movie was released on December 19th, 1997. The writer, director, and the co-producer of the Titanic movie was James Cameron, and Russell Carpenter did the cinematography. The main characters of Titanic film included Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kathy Bates, Victor Garber, and Billy Zane. Analyzing a movie helps in highlighting various aspects of films like the aesthetic selection, social impact, mise en scene, lighting, sound effect, editing effect, story-telling, and plot. Titanic movie is socially connected to society as it displayed the treatment of women in the 1912 era, the importance of love, and the source of happiness.

Reference

Goodykoontz, B., Jacobs, C. P., Meetze, J., & Pritts, N. (2019). Film: From watching to seeing (3rd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from: https://content.ashford.edu/Titanic. (1997, December 18). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120338/

Titanic. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120338/plotsummary

YouTube. (2014). Movie Clips. Retrieved from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmbw80ycJeR