My Heart Will Go On, But My Mind Will Go Farther - Contemplating the Film, Titanic

When Titanic hit theaters, tickets were hard to come by since the theaters were packed for months.  Rarer are the ones who haven’t seen this film yet – please watch this film before reading this.  I don’t like spoiling anything.  The point of this passage is to share some observed details that I’m not sure if anyone else has noticed yet.

 

In the tragic death scene, emotions flurried between women’s tears over lost potential of lifelong love, and male laughter to mitigate their jealousy of Leo’s coveted angel face.  The imagination of an idyllic marriage between the heroes was shattered, and envious men who hated Leo for getting all the women’s attention were soothed by that shattered fantasy.  Though, one realization came to mind.

Rose Dewitt Bukater was fated to be poor and a widow.  No matter which man she chose, she wasn’t going to flourish financially like her mother intended.  If she chose the rich man, Cal Hockley, he was going to lose all his money when the stock market crashed in 1929.  As narrated at the end, Cal committed suicide due to the financial loss, unable to cope with his socioeconomic change, whereas Rose could adapt to being rich or poor.  Rose was going to lose wealth and a man either way.  The latter part was harder but still possible, hence the title lyric, “my heart will go on.” 

After the audience’s heart had gone on, the emotions subsided and thoughts arose to argue – with the mind taking center stage on the dying scene.  I have seen arguments regarding that the couple could have both lied on the driftwood together, and Jack would have been saved.  I disagree, because it would have been hard to balance both people on the wood, and their combined weight would have sunk it.  Aside from other people’s arguments, another realization came to me this year:  Jack Dawson knew he was going to die.

Look at his last lines.  (Source:  IMDB.com) 

Rose: [thinking both of them will die soon] I love you, Jack.

Jack: Don't you do that, don't say your good-byes. Not yet, do you understand me?

Rose: I'm so cold.

Jack: Listen, Rose. You're gonna get out of here, you're gonna go on and you're gonna make lots of babies, and you're gonna watch them grow. You're gonna die an old... an old lady warm in her bed, not here, not this night. Not like this, do you understand me?

Rose: I can't feel my body.

Jack: Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me... it brought me to you. And I'm thankful for that, Rose. I'm thankful. You must do me this honor. Promise me you'll survive. That you won't give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise.

Rose: I promise.

Jack: Never let go.

Rose: I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let go. I promise. 

Jack Dawson said, “You're gonna get out of here, you're gonna go on and you're gonna make lots of babies, and you're gonna watch them grow. You're gonna die an old… an old lady warm in her bed….”  He said “you” and not “we.”  He knew he was not going to be present, and emphasized her survival and not his own.  If those pronouns were replaced with “we’re,” it would have made Jack’s death more ironic and fueled the jealous laughter of men who were in despair of women’s attention.  Director James Cameron probably knew it was best to avoid this and make his own character aware of his foreshadowed death.

Even though Jack knew he was going to die, he was ultimately grateful for the ticket leading to Rose, and he wanted her to survive even though he could not go on.  When they first met at the stern, Jack would not let go of Rose’s life, and at his tragic end, he did not want her to let go of her life.  He made her promise to never let go of the life he loved.  After Jack died, Rose had to let go of him, and the moment she blew the whistle she was not letting go of her promise to him – to survive.