What a strange world

Rating: 8/10 (14 March 2004)

'Titanic' is one of those movies that I have a strange relationship with. When it was released, no one had ever seen anything like it. I marveled at the technical brilliance, the superb attention to detail, and the incredible amount of work that went into its production. I liked the movie very much, but apparently so did many, many other people.
My friends and classmates went to see the movie again and again, week after week. Children and teenagers gasped and said it was the greatest movie ever made. The infamous theme song to the movie was played everywhere, on radios, at funerals, and at every conceivable public arena. And to make it worse, it managed to sweep almost every award it was nominated for, even though it was the year of 'L.A. Confidential,' 'Gattaca,' 'As Good As It Gets,' 'Donnie Brasco,' and P.T. Anderson's superb 'Boogie Nights.' It's true that many of these movies were recognized for their achievements, but it was difficult to hear about anything that wasn't related to 'Titanic.' And I was very tired of it.
I spoke out as often as possible, ridiculing people for loving the movie and for falling for its rather insipid romance story. I tried to spread it around that 'Titanic' is a movie that should be hated, not loved, for its huge production value and mainstream appeal. Unfortunately, I wasn't the only man that did this, and apparently the message has gotten around too well.
It has become so popular to hate 'Titanic' that I think people are disliking it for the wrong reasons. The teenagers that once loved the movie have grown up and began joining the crowds in ridiculing it. In college, I remember wanting to review a scene in 'Titanic' to help me write a paper about the use of light shading and colors in tragedies. While I was watching the movie in the communal lounge, I received no less that a dozen scoffs and insults from passersby. The same people that once loved the movie that I had despised were now turning on me for watching it.
What a strange world. The truth is that 'Titanic' is a wonderfully made movie and worthy of admiration. I reviewed the rewards that it won, and I realized that almost all of them are technical awards, which it deserves. It has been a victim of mainstream shallowness that not only clouded its original appeal but now has lost its fan base simply because it's "uncool" to like the movie.
I am a heterosexual man, and I like 'Titanic.' But now it seems that I have to try to undo the damage that myself and other men have done to what is otherwise an excellent movie.