Synopses & Reviews
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg off Newfoundland. Taking more than 1,500 souls with her, Titanic sunk on what was intended to be the glorious maiden voyage of the biggest, most expensive, and most technologically advanced ship ever built.
In 1997, James Cameron’s Titanic, the most expensive and technologically advanced movie ever made, hit theaters. In 13 weeks, it became the highest-grossing film in North America, and shortly thereafter, the first motion picture to earn a billion dollars worldwide.
The cultural studies and film scholars who have contributed 13 essays to this collection ask the key question—Why? What made Titanic such a popular movie? Why has this film become a cultural and film phenomenon? What makes it so fascinating to the film-going public?
The articles address everything from the nostalgia evoked by the film to the semiotic meaningfulness created around “The Heart of the Ocean” diamond that figures so prominently as a symbol in the film. Contributors address questions of the representations of class, sexuality, and gender; analyze the cross-cultural reception of the film in nationally specific contexts; examine the impact of strategies for marketing the film through music; and cover the implications of the budget toward the film’s success. Finally, the contributors address the film’s multi-faceted relationship to genre, history, stardom, and contemporary social and economic means.
Synopsis
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg off Newfoundland. Taking more than 1,500 souls with her, Titanic sunk on what was intended to be the glorious maiden voyage of the biggest, most expensive, and most technologically advanced ship ever built.
In 1997, James Cameron's Titanic, the most expensive and technologically advanced movie ever made, hit theaters. In 13 weeks, it became the highest-grossing film in North America, and shortly thereafter, the first motion picture to earn a billion dollars worldwide.
The cultural studies and film scholars who have contributed 13 essays to this collection ask the key question--Why? What made Titanic such a popular movie? Why has this film become a cultural and film phenomenon? What makes it so fascinating to the film-going public?
The articles address everything from the nostalgia evoked by the film to the semiotic meaningfulness created around "The Heart of the Ocean" diamond that figures so prominently as a symbol in the film. Contributors address questions of the representations of class, sexuality, and gender; analyze the cross-cultural reception of the film in nationally specific contexts; examine the impact of strategies for marketing the film through music; and cover the implications of the budget toward the film's success. Finally, the contributors address the film's multi-faceted relationship to genre, history, stardom, and contemporary social and economic means.
Table of Contents
Introduction : the seductive waters of James Cameron's film phenomenon / Gaylyn Studlar and Kevin S. Sandler -- "Floating triumphantly" : the American critics on Titanic / Matthew Bernstein -- The drama of recoupment : on the mass media negotiation of Titanic / Justin Wyatt and Katherine Vlesmas -- Selling my heart : music and cross-promotion in Titanic / Jeff Smith -- "Almost ashamed to say I am one of those girls" : Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio, and the paradoxes of girls' fandom / Melanie Nash and Martti Lahti -- "Something and someone else" : the mind, the body, and sexuality -- Women first : Titanic action-adventure films, and Hollywood's female audience / Peter Krèamer -- "Size does matter" : notes on Titanic and James Cameron as blockbuster auteur / Alexandra Keller -- Heart of the ocean : diamonds and democratic desire in Titanic / Adrienne Munich and Maura Spiegel -- Ship of dreams : cross-class romance and the cultural fantasy of Titanic / Laurie Ouellette -- Bathos and bathysphere : on submersion, longing, and history in Titanic / Vivian Sobchack -- "The china had never been used!" : on the patina of perfect images in Titanic / Julian Stringer ---- Titanic, survivalism, and the millennial myth / Diane Negra -- "It was true! How can you laugh?" : history and memory in the reception of Titanic in Britain and Southampton / Anne Massey and Mike Hammond.