Duke4.net Forums: for 15 April 2012 it marks 100 years since the sinking of thought was the "unsinkable" - Duke4.net Forums

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In the birthplace of the Titanic, residents will gather for a choral requiem. In the North Atlantic, above the ship's final resting place, passengers will pray as a band strikes up a hymn and three floral wreaths are cast onto the waves.

A century after the great ship went down with the loss of 1,500 lives, events around the globe are marking a tragedy that retains a titanic grip on the world's imagination - an icon of Edwardian luxury that became, in a few dark hours 100 years ago, an enduring emblem of tragedy.

Helen Edwards, one of 1,309 passengers on memorial cruise aboard the liner Balmoral who have spent the past week steeped in the Titanic's history and symbolism, said Saturday that the story's continuing appeal was due to its strong mixture of romance and tragedy, history and fate.

"(There are) all the factors that came together for the ship to be right there, then, to hit that iceberg. All the stories of the passengers who ended up on the ship," said Edwards, a 62-year-old retiree from Silver Spring, Maryland. "It's just a microcosm of social history, personal histories, nautical histories.

"Romance is an appropriate word right up until the time of the tragedy - the band playing, the clothes. And then there's the tragedy."

The world's largest and most luxurious ocean liner, Titanic was traveling from England to New York, carrying everyone from plutocrats to penniless emigrants, when it struck an iceberg at 11.40pm on April 14, 1912. It sank less than three hours later, with the loss of more than 1,500 of the 2,208 passengers and crew.

Aboard the Balmoral, a cruise ship taking history buffs and descendants of Titanic victims on the route of the doomed voyage, passengers and crew will hold two memorial services at the site of the disaster, 400 miles (640 kilometers) off the coast of Newfoundland - one marking the time when the ship hit the iceberg, the other the moment it sank below the waves.

At 2.20am ship's time on Sunday - 0547 GMT or 12.47am EDT - a minister will lead prayers, floral wreaths will be thrown into the sea and a shipboard band, which has been entertaining guests in the evenings during the cruise, will play "Nearer My God To Thee," the tune the Titanic's band kept up as the vessel went down.

The Rev. Huw Mosford, who will lead the prayers, said he hoped the service would be uplifting.

"It will bring healing, it will bring some form of closure, perhaps - but I think it will also bring hope," he told the BBC.

Edwards will, earlier, hold her own private act of remembrance. She is carrying the ashes of family friend Adam Lackey, a Titanic buff from Montana who died last year, and plans to scatter them at the wreck site.

Passengers aboard the cruise, which left Southampton, England, on April 8, have enjoyed lectures on Titanic history, as well as the usual cruise-ship recreations of bridge, shuffleboard and lounging in a hot tub. Many have dressed in period costume for elaborate balls and a formal dinner recreating the last meal served aboard the ship.

Some of the passengers have a direct link to the ship, through an ancestor who was onboard. Most feel some sort of connection to an event whose ripples have resonated for a century. Edwards said the lives of her grandparents, who married in 1911, were marked by the disaster even though they lived far away in Montana.

"They had talked about going back to Sweden to see his parents, and they didn't because of the Titanic," she said.

Another cruise ship, Journey, left New York on Tuesday and will join Balmoral at the site.

In Belfast, Northern Ireland, where Titanic was built - pride of the Harland & Wolff shipyard - thousands were expected to attend a choral requiem at the Anglican St. Anne's Cathedral or a nationally televised concert at the city's Waterfront Hall on Saturday.

The city spent decades scarred by its link to the disaster, but has come to take pride in the feats of engineering and industry involved in building the Titanic.

The memorial concert will feature performances by Bryan Ferry and soul singer Joss Stone, as well as 100 drummers beating out a new percussion work, "Titanic Drums." Actors including Kenneth Branagh, Simon Callow and Imelda Staunton will read from contemporary accounts of the disaster.

At the cathedral, the performance of composer Philip Hammond's "The Requiem for the Lost Souls of the Titanic" will be followed by a torch-lit procession to the Titanic Memorial in the grounds of Belfast city hall.

In the ship's departure port of Southampton, an orchestra will play composer Gavin Bryars' work "The Sinking of the Titanic," and a commemoration is planned in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where more than 100 victims of the tragedy are buried.

The most famous maritime disaster in history is being marked around the world, even in places without direct links to it.

Venues in Las Vegas, San Diego, Houston and even Singapore are hosting Titanic exhibitions that include artifacts recovered from the site of the wreck. Among them: bottles of perfume, porcelain dishes, even a 17-foot piece of hull.

The centenary of the disaster has been marked with a global outpouring of commemoration and commerce. Events have ranged from the opening of a glossy new tourist attraction telling the ship's story in Belfast to a 3-D rerelease of James Cameron's 1997 romantic weepie "Titanic," which awakened a new generation's interest in the disaster.

Actually woulda been in Newfoundland right now if it weren't for surgery recoup. Closest the wife and I could get to any kind of observance was going to see the 3D film last night. The theater was in absolute silence throughout. I was kinda impressed that nobody even laughed at "propeller guy", which had become a bit of an internet pop culture joke.

Our future is fucked:



When I was a kid my dad was obsessed with the Titanic. He contributed to several museums that went on to contribute with pre-production of James Cameron's movie.

Doesn't the movie say that the movie was based on a real event? Or did my parents just tell me that?

Mad Max RW, on 18 April 2012 - 06:44 AM, said:

-Wheatley

rasmus thorup, on 18 April 2012 - 07:09 AM, said:

My wife (the expert) doesn't think it had one. Though they probably had no reason at the time to think it was necessary. Remember, the Blair Witch hadn't happened yet, so aside from the War of the Worlds radio broadcast, which was clearly a different kind of animal altogether, the idea of films inventing false truths to make movies based off of them wasn't a thought in anyone's mind.

I guess maybe the film industry needs to start putting idiot proof disclaimers on their films the way manufacturers do with their products. (example: On pizza delivery box. "Remove pizza before eating")

wayskobfssae, on 18 April 2012 - 10:59 AM, said:

I think banning idiots would be easier, personally. If they can't figure out how to use their brain with simple things, they don't deserve help.

Pretty sure Mad Max's picture isnt real.
No one could be that stupid to think it was only a movie.
Unless your going to the worst fucking school ever.

Cody, on 18 April 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

I don't recall learning about titanic in school :S
And the posts was put together. I doubt so many morons would post in a row

And wayskobffsae:
The pizza box tastes much better with pizza inside it. Bad advice. hehe

The part I really don't believe is that people give a shit about such a bad movie.

It's not a bad movie because you don't like it But i don't like it either -.-

Cody, on 18 April 2012 - 11:26 AM, said:

That's cute that you think that way but the reality is the majority of people on this planet are fucking stupid. It's probably real.

Captain Awesome, on 18 April 2012 - 12:48 PM, said:

The part I can't believe is why anybody gives a shit about it at all a hundred years after the fact. You never hear anybody talking about what a great tragedy the sinking of the Doña Paz or the Estonia are, even though both happened more recently, had greater death tolls, and in the case of the Estonia, involved a government trying to obscure details of the sinking itself.

Also, I hate to disagree with this, but - -

wayskobfssae, on 18 April 2012 - 10:59 AM, said:

Consider Cannibal Holocaust a found-footage type movie from the 80's that did such a good job of fooling audiences and critics into thinking it was genuine, the director damn-near got brought up on murder charges.

EmericaSkater, on 18 April 2012 - 03:41 PM, said:

Because of said shitty movie.

Also, Italian horror films kick ass.

Captain Awesome, on 18 April 2012 - 07:54 PM, said:

And the fact that pre-teen girls bawl their eyes out at watching Leonardo DiCaprio die on screen.

I will say that DiCaprio's acting improved, though, with Inception.

Captain Awesome, on 18 April 2012 - 07:54 PM, said:

It was already very famous before the movie was made. In fact, that's the reason the movie was made. I'm old enough to remember countless references to the Titanic in other movies and popular culture well before James Cameron ever set his sights on it.

Some things just work their way into the public consciousness and take on a new life as a popular phenomenon. It has to do with timing, culture, who the event involves, and just sheer luck. Most English speaking people have heard expressions like "rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic", which have been around for several generations.

Commando Nukem, on 18 April 2012 - 11:17 AM, said:

Perhaps, but it'll never happen. It's not so much that they deserve help, but regardless of whether or not someone is so stupid that they can't tie their shoes, it doesn't prevent them from filing a lawsuit against the shoelace company for making them too difficult to operate.

rasmus thorup, on 18 April 2012 - 11:43 AM, said:

Heh, well played. And this all too well reminds me of when we did a brain exercise in school. The premise was based on a true story. A guy trespassed, dove in the no diving section of a back yard swimming pool, suffered a concussion, and then sued the owner of the pool. Because even though "no diving" was marked where he dove, it was only written in english, which the Mr. Idiot couldn't read. So our task was to attempt to make our imaginary swimming pool law-suit proof. After considering writing "no diving" in every known language, then realizing not everyone has eyes that work, but even the blind can climb over fences, the only thing we were able to think of was to completely enclose it within a locked building.

EmericaSkater, on 18 April 2012 - 03:41 PM, said:

I may have to check that out at some point. Though, unless it made good syndication in the U.S., I still stand by the idea that us Yanks were still too naive for that kind of media BS. 'course there was that fake lemmings video documentary that Disney did, which still has the world convinced that lemmings actually perform mass suicides. In reality, the filmmakers shoved the poor critters off the cliff.

Achenar, on 18 April 2012 - 08:27 PM, said:

I first watched that movie before I was even interested in girls, and believed that love/romance was just a mythological construct invented by humans to conveniently explain the fact that nobody could keep what's beneath their pants under control. I was more or less thinking, "Ok enough of this, get to the ice berg already." Then it finally did. By the time it was over, I was in a state of shock. I then sat in my room just staring at nothing for about a half hour afterward, trying to wrap my mind around it all.

wayskobfssae, on 19 April 2012 - 08:21 AM, said:

I'm curious - what to you was so inconceivable about it?

Achenar, on 19 April 2012 - 08:58 AM, said:

I'm 'guessing' it was the death and chaos. I'm not saying it was inconceivable, and while I already knew about Titanic, I never imagined it could've been anything like that. With all the horror movies that I'd seen, gobbling up every single one I could, it was a kind of terror I'd never been exposed to. Also, most films, disaster films included, tend to be a lot less subjective about such scenarios. James Cameron dragged me onto the deck of that boat.

The movie is awesome. Both Kate & Leo are great actors and the movie is more than just a romance/disaster film. It's about the personal liberation of Rose, beautifully symbolized by the statue of liberty in the same scene where Rose identifies herself as "Rose Dawson", rejecting her previous slave name.

Are you saying the movie Titanic is a true reflection of the real life events of the ship Titanic? If so, who is Rose?
I never watched the movie in full, that's why I am asking.

LOL.

Hank, on 21 April 2012 - 10:40 AM, said:

No, the love story is entirely fictional.

Captain Awesome, on 21 April 2012 - 10:47 AM, said:

Oh look who's going for the trendy conformist stance again. Never would have expected..

Hank, on 21 April 2012 - 10:40 AM, said:

The 2 obvious lead characters, not so much. Many of the others are based on real people.

http://jamescamerons...anic_%28film%29

You can find a list of historical characters on this page.

Suffice is to say, the filmmakers tried pretty damned hard to stick to historical accuracy wherever it was prudent to do so, and it's widely accepted that the events as they unfolded are about as close as we can get to reality without actually having been there. The last song the band plays before Titanic sinks is what survivors remembered hearing. The guy Rose glances at beside her who is sitting atop the railing (when the boat is vertical) was portraying a survivor who was actually perched there when it sank. The car that Jack & Rose had sex in was in the cargo manifest. There are tons of little details like that all over the film.

Mikko_Sandt, on 21 April 2012 - 10:53 AM, said:

Witty comeback. Goodwill Hunting is a superior film.

Captain Awesome, on 21 April 2012 - 11:03 AM, said:

Good. Go start a thread about it.

wayskobfssae, on 21 April 2012 - 11:00 AM, said:

Thanks and to Mikko.

Ehmm, back tot the original topic - I think The Titanic was only in the news, in 1912, because not all of the First Class Peeps made it to the life boats. So the rules for life boats on ships changed.
[sardonic]
God forbid the rich and well to do die. We need to know this and remember it. It is the responsibility of the lower class to know such things. Some of the Who's who drowned, what a loss, we shall remember it for ever.
[/sardonic]

Hank, on 21 April 2012 - 11:43 AM, said:

LOL "Who's Who Drowned."

As for making the news, I'm not sure if that's true or not. It's hard to say if the rich vs. poor issue was really the same 100 years ago as it is now. Surely though I don't think the value of workers today is the same as it used to be, probably due in large part to A. Mega-corporations (people working for you that you've never met) and B. Computerized Databases (people working for you reduced to serial numbers, resulting in total dehumanization). It's a similar dilemma to the controversy of "button-pushing" wars, in that murdering people became much 'easier' (guilt free) when long-range weapons became a reality and you didn't even need to look your foe in the eye.

And this doesn't get covered in the film. Cameron has always had his anti-corporation streak going on in films, but even in Titanic, the only rich guy who you see being a complete jerk is Cal. And while people have said that White Star crew did indeed close the corridor gates to keep 3rd class pinned down for the benefit of 1st class, apparently there were some wealthy who actually opted to stay on board so their servants could get on the lifeboats first.

@ wayskobfssae [Just in case, I watched 10 minutes of the movie, so I can't comment directly to your statements]
Still, going off-topic

Not sure if I understand the statement regarding the working class and the difference between now and then. I grew up in labour 'camp' in Germany. My pop was zero and I was/am zero, can't get any lower. In 1912 my pop would have been a 0 and so would have his son. And now, does it matter if a whole bunch of 0s are stored in a data bank or non-zero people are not interested in personally making an acquaintance with said 0s? I say no, because we are talking zeros, IMNSHO.

Hank, on 21 April 2012 - 04:25 PM, said:

I'm just saying it's a lot easier now for the haves to write off the have-nots as non-living entities. Not that they couldn't 100 years ago, it just wasn't as easy.