A Superb Bit of Filmmaking That Not Everybody Understands

Rating: Null/10 (8 June 2002)

Filmmaking 101: Every well constructed screenplay should have three elements. A plot, a sub-plot and a sub-text. In the case of Titanic, about 95% of the viewers understood the plot. Perhaps as many understood the subplot, but perhaps 1 in a 1,000 really got the subtext which is the underpinnings of the film.
The plot: An unsinkable ship hits an iceberg and sinks with great loss of life. The subplot: a love story, which needed to be added to capture the teenage crowd, which, like it or not, is the prime audience of movie goers. In addition, without the subplot, all you have is a documentary, rather than a fine drama.
The subtext, however, may have been the most important part of the film. It's about the classicism that existed in the early 20th century and to some extent is still around. Did you notice that life boats were available only to the first class passengers. Indeed those traveling steerage, mostly immigrants, were locked into their deck and doomed to a watery grave. If there's a message inherent in Titanic, it isn't that we should build better ships. We already do. With Global Positioning Satellites only the most negligent Captain would ever collide with an iceberg. It also isn't about the immortality of love. Anybody who has loved and lost knows as much about that subject as any picture could ever convey.
No, the message is: we are all human beings and deserve to be treated equally, whether rich or poor, regardless of race or religion. That message is as fresh today as it was when the unsinkable ship plunged to its watery grave.
Perhaps, the next time you see a good movie, you'll think more about the sub-text and ask yourself what this film is really trying to say. The answer maybe worth more than the price of admission.
8.5/10