week 3 assignment Film Introduction

Running Head: EPIC GENRE 1

EPIC GENRE

Ashley Spence

University of Arizona Global Campus

ENG 225: Introduction to Film

Dr. Sarah Young

19April2021

EPIC GENRE 2

Titanic was released in 1997 by James Cameron belongs to an epic genre. It was the

most expensive film ever made, almost doubling the original estimated budget, and

eventually costing the studio 200 million dollars with a run time of 195 minutes. It was the

highest-grossing film of all time, the first ever to cross 1$ billion in revenue, and remained

the highest-grossing film until 2009 when James Cameron released his next hit film. This

film won 11 Academy Awards, a feat only accomplished by two other films since Academy’s

inception (Barczewski, 2006).

It is considered one of the great Hollywood epic movies. Cameron presented the

movie as the amalgam of romance, fantasy, history, disaster, and tragedy which makes it his

masterpiece. The movie is a commentary on the nature of class inequality, gender roles, love

between people belonging to different backgrounds, the dangers of ego and greed, human

dependence on technology and it reminds the audience that life is short too to take things for

granted in life. To highlight it, the lead character, Jack Dawson on having lunch with the

elites on the ship said, “I figure life’s a gift, and I don’t intend on wasting it. To make each

day count.” By putting a fictional love story in the middle of a real tragedy, Cameron also

gives the audience a direct line of empathy to the moment in history.

The movie’s opening titles and the present-day story with Brock Lovell and crew

searching for the Heart of the Ocean. Rose narrates her story in the movie and the time she

spent on Titanic. The next hour and twenty films are dedicated to the Jack and Rose love

story starting from their arrival to the Titanic, to their first meeting, early flirtations, and

eventually the blossoming romance.

In the story, Jack is a poor boy who wins himself a ticket to the Titanic. As soon as he

spends some time on the ship, he realizes that there is a major class difference on the ship

which is evident by the people's behavior and their lifestyle. At first glance, he starts falling

EPIC GENRE 3

for Rose who is belongs to an elite background when she tries to take her life by jumping off

the boat, hating the lifestyle and diplomacy of people around her but Jack saves her. From

this scene, their love story begins and the spark between them is evident for both of them.

The main hurdle for their romance is the class difference but when Rose starts spending more

time with him and his friends she realizes that she wants to be with Jack in his social circle

and be a part of his lifestyle rather than that of the rich families. For the first time, she

experiences the joy and fun that life has to offer. They plan on how to be together when they

get off the ship even though Rose is engaged to a handsome wealthy man, but she still plans

to run away and start a life with him. Their love, craziness, and sincerity to each other despite

the differences could be witnessed in a scene where Rose said to Jack, “When the ship docs, I

am getting off with you. I know, it does not make any sense. That is why I trust it.” But

Cameron here brings in the real tragedy of history and the Titanic sinks where the rest of the

movie is essentially a disaster film. Cameron beautifully and eloquently portrays the

possibility of people’s desperateness at the moment of the sinking of the ship and the courage

of the Captain of the ship bringing history to life. The pressure of the water flooding the ship,

breaking of the walls, crashing of the floors, and the ship sinking in water at 180 degrees

made the audience connect to the people’s feelings and hopelessness they felt. People were

getting killed in the ensuing panic, crushed under the weight of this sinking, people trapped in

the ship or dying from the cold of the open ocean. People once full of life, dreaming of a new

start on the other side of the world, killed before their time. The difference in social class was

again highlighted at this desperate moment when the rich and elite class of the ship were

offered to take the rescue ships first over the people belonging to the lower and middle class.

Due to this reason, many poor people jumped off the ship portraying the helplessness that

people may had felt.

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The final moments of the movie were consumed with fear and helplessness to prevent

their fate. Cameron lets the sense of terror and panic permeate every scene. The jack who was

the optimist character, gives the audience an omnipotent perspective over all of the carnage,

helplessly watching as thousands of people face terrible death on the ship. The final moments

of the movie show various moments of courage, cowardice, love, and sacrifice. This genre-

blending makes the characters feel that they entered a story that is not theirs. Jack lets Rose

float on the raft, and he stays in the cold ocean and eventually dies giving the movie a sad

ending. Jack and Rose are the empathetic heart of the story, giving viewers a personal

window into the tragedy and experience several emotions into this tragedy. Killing Jack

forces, the audience to connect with the characters (Parisi, 2009).

As evident, the film does not belong to any specific genre but is an Epic film. It is an

amalgam of several genres. Cameron did not only highlight the historical tragedy but blend it

in with a beautiful love story and fantasy. It is directed with the perfection that the viewers

can connect to the feelings of the characters. Starting from the sail of the ship to its sinking,

viewers were on a roller coaster of feelings and emotions experiencing the harsh realities of

the class system but also the courage of people to crush the brutal boundaries of the society.

all these elements together make “Titanic” a masterpiece of its time.

EPIC GENRE 5

Reference

Barczewski, S. (2006). Titanic: a night remembered. A&C Black.

Parisi, P. (2009). Titanic and the making of James Cameron: The inside story of the three-

year adventure that rewrote motion picture history.