TMA01 AnnVicens Final Revised

7/28/2019 TMA01 AnnVicens Final Revised

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Ann M Vicens-Morton (A8457612) Assignment 01

TMA 01: Book 1, Approaches to Film History

Titanic is often seen as an economic triumph, and is of little aesthetic, social or technological

interest to the film historian. Do you agree with this view?

Although the background of the film historian will probably influence the area on which

attention is placed for the research and critique, in order to truly understand a film as a

product of its time it should be evaluated from different angles, namely its aesthetic, social,

economic and technological merits as they will influence in different measures its production,

distribution and exhibition. It is the combination of all these considerations that can give the

film historian insight into the mind of the filmmaker and the audiences of the time in which

the film was released. Even when it could be tempting to look at Camerons film Titanic as a

money making package and disregard its qualities as a cinematographic piece, one must not

be misled into thinking that there is not much value in viewing the film under any other light

that is not as a formulated version of a story where all the selling ingredients have been

proficiently mixed together to make it a blockbuster. The inclusion of Titanic in the course

book in the economic film history section could persuade us to agree with the statement being

analysed in this essay, but budgets and profits do not come about in isolation and the driving

force behind them can be better understood whilst taking a Panopticon view on all the factors

surrounding the films making.

All films have economic motivation behind them as they need to make money in order to

attract investors willing to sponsor the future enterprises of the filmmakers and producers.

The film, initially funded entirely by Fox when first sold by Cameron, was calculated at $100

million, but this figure quickly escalated to the point that a partner was sought and found in


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Paramount. Before its release there were numerous reports and articles in the media

predicting a catastrophic loss once the film was finally released for exhibition. But the film

had several tricks under its sleeve to attract the attention of audiences. There were pre-sold

expectations heightened in the trailer by including recognisable intertextual elements that

promised young male viewers a James Cameron Production, synonym of action and special

effects for his fans and then, there was the love story with one of Hollywoods most

appealing young leading men and the introduction of a young British rising star to reach out

to female audiences so to guarantee a considerable minimum viewing of the film.

The films rising profits from opening week through the following months has been

compared to a hybrid between big action blockbusters releases with large numbers of people

going to view the film in the opening week and the increment in the size of audiences and

long period of exhibition due mainly to the word of mouth response to critics and repeated

viewings by the same audience members normally present in romantic movies. The

combination of these 2 main genres showed good results as Titanic has been included in both

the top twenty-five gross box-office hit lists with and without inflation adjustments in North

America and it was reported to have done very well internationally as well, plus the sale of

DVDs and subsequent merchandise. Taking a business history approach, a historian could see

that although great expenses were incurred during its production, many tools were used

throughout in order to minimize the costs as much as possible without compromising the

result. The distribution was obviously competent and efficient enough to maximise the

profits. But did Camerons previous experience mean the investors in the film were funding a

great manager only or an artist?


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There is no one universally agreed set of criteria to determine if a film is a work of art or not.

Is it the story, the way its told, the mise-en-scne elements, the use of special effects or the

interpretation of a subject in an original way which defines its status and provides its

aesthetic value? Maltby1 describes that traditionally for something to be considered art it

would require the active participation of audiences to be able to enjoy it. The introduction by

Cameron into his narrative of a computer simulation that explains to the audience how the

structure of the Titanic failed after the collision sheds light onto the events to come. Are these

techniques that focus on simplifying the viewers experience stripping the film of aesthetic

merit or could this just be an example of the snobbery of some critics that aim to separate

themselves from the masses of people that obviously enjoyed the film? For some critics, big

blockbusters are the antonym of art but it would be nave to ignore that Moviemaking is a

marriage between art and business2. Even low budget independent cinema, normally

considered by critics as art, sometimes attracts big stars perhaps looking for prestige to

participate in these relatively small enterprises. This now common practice works as a

symbiosis as it provides recognition to the actor, and to the film producers, a much bigger

audience than that with which they could have engaged otherwise.

If we can agree with the formative perspective and the statement that[..]Art begins where

mechanical reproduction leaves off [...] 3, then Titanic should be considered as an

aesthetically complying film. Its critics might view it as the classic story of rich girl meets

poor boy with a love that goes on and on after a series of unfortunate events. But Cameron

as the mastermind behind this work somehow gives an additional meaning to the word

1 Richard Maltby,Hollywood Cinema: An Introduction, 2nd edn, Oxford, Blackwell, 2003, p.41

2 Quoted in Ibid. p.73 Quoted in James Chapman, Aesthetic film history in AA310 Book 1Approaches to film History, MiltonKeynes, The Open University, 2002, p.5


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montage. No longer is it limited to the organization of shots in a specific order to create

meaning, but shots are imposed over others to combine elements into a sequence of frames.

The editing, following the formative tradition is done in a way that gives significance to the

story and it is carried out in a subtle way so as to keep the viewer entranced . We are

transported from young Rose lying naked on the couch, to a close up of her eye, to old Rose

remembering the event all of this being done without disrupting the narrative. By bringing the

events back to the present, it could be argued that this gives the spectator a feeling of being

closer to the event. All of these are conscious decisions made by the filmmaker when

deciding how to reproduce his vision of the film without compromising this ideal by budget

limitations. His technique might be formative but the target is a love story that takes place

around a realistic view of the event. Some real footage of the wreck is included in the film

and attention to detail to recreate, based on investigation and historians advice, all the key

features present at the time of the event.

The film portrays the difference in classes still very much marked at the time the Titanic

embarked in its first and only trip. The limitations of women at the time also come across as

one of the main subjects covered in the film: Of course it is unfair, we are women, says

Roses mother as she fastened her daughters corset tightly as a metaphor of the restrictions

on the life of women whose only hope was to marry well. Camerons treatment of female

characters in Titanic is consistent with his previous work, where they are equal to their male

counterparts in both intellectual and physical tasks. Welles through his work in Citizen Kane

used narrative to expose a social issue still valid nowadays. A parallelism could be drawn

with Camerons film in this sense as at the time Titanic was released; big budget films were

addressed to young male audiences. With Titanic Camerons main audience as reported in

studies and surveys was women. Women that in a way had been pushed into the passengers


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seat in the same way as Rose was when she tried to express her opinion on a work of art or on

the small number of lifeboats available on the Titanic in relation to the people on board.

Womens empowerment in the film allowed them to make it possible for Titanic to be the first

film to reach the billion dollar mark in profits. Their tastes regarding storylines and actors

were heard and it paid off greatly even when the response by several critics at the time of its

release was negative. Audiences response to the film also works as an interesting subject for

social film historians to analyse as the behaviour could not have been predicted based on

previous films. What would have indicated relatively poor viewings for a big action film of

similar budget, was in this case just a great testimony of the results a film could have when

addressing more than one target audience at a time. Viewers, evidently satisfied, not only

recommended the film to others but decided it was worth seeing more than once. The

increased budget and additional time were risks taken that at the end provided the investors

with a generous profit.

This film would not have had its realistic feel without the use of special effects. The story

would have had to suffer or alternatively the budget would have climbed even more.

Technology made possible the reduction in size of the reconstructed model of the Titanic

from the original vessel without sacrificing the quality of the images included in the final cut

of the film. Both periods represented in the film display technological advances and Cameron

required the same level of innovation in order to create the film. But the film would not have

been the same either without the directors input and dedication or without the economic

investment that allowed the development of techniques such as the inclusion of digital people

and other elements of the Titanic to be superimposed in pre-filmed scenes with extras in

scenes such as the vessel leaving port.


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Critics have argued that too much attention was given to the effects and the narrative lacked

depth but the reception of the film by the public is testimony that they were given what they

had expected in the first place. Technology is a means to an end: the representation on the big

screen of the structure of the Titanic collapsing after impact with an iceberg and the

implications this had to those on board. What could have been perceived as over indulgence

from Cameron was one of the features celebrated in the awards. The film not only won the

Oscar for Best Director and Picture, but specifically it won the Best Visual Effects and Sound

Mixing: rewarding technology.

In order to understand why Titanic had such a good performance in the box office, film

historians have to look not only at the budgets involved in the making, distribution and

exhibition, but also why reception of the film was so positive by different audiences and how

the filmmaker addressed audience wishes in his product with his vision and the technology at

hand. For some, Titanic might be an example of its creator finding the perfect formula for

economic success but the opinion of both Cameron and of Chapman 4 is that this was a one

off and by repeating the format you could not achieve the same level of success: There is no

scope for Titanic II5 (advice that should have been given to those that attempted this in

2010). Without one of the 4 ingredients; namely, artist, social expectations met, technology or

money, this film would not have been what it was and still is. Neglecting to address these

different aspects will only provide a very misleading one dimensional picture.

Word Count 1983

4 James Chapman, Economic film history in AA310 Book 1Approaches to film History, Milton Keynes, TheOpen University, 2002, p.885 Ibis


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Bibliography

1. Chapman, James, Introduction in AA310 Book 1 Approaches to Film History,

Milton Keynes, The Open University, 2002, p.00.

2. Chapman, James, Aesthetic film history in AA310 Book 1 Approaches to Film

History, Milton Keynes, The Open University, 2002.

3. Aldgate, Tony, Social film history in AA310 Book 1 Approaches to Film History,

Milton Keynes, The Open University, 2002.

4. Chapman, James, Economic film history in AA310 Book 1 Approaches to Film


5. Coyne, Michael, Technological film history in AA310 Book 1 Approaches to Film


6. Krmer, Peter, Women first: Titanic (1997), action-adventure films and Hollywoods

female audience in AA310 Resource Book 1, Milton Keynes, The Open University,

2002.

7. Maltby, Richard, Hollywood Cinema: An Introduction, 2nd edn, Oxford, Blackwell,

2003.

8. Making Titanic: Behind the Scenes p.1-6, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2-

oGoHUpE,( accessed the 01st March 2011)

9. Making Titanic: Behind the Scenes p.2-6, http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=0r5jGaOG40g&feature=related, ( accessed the 01st March 2011)


v=BxDF1dUH67w&feature=related,( accessed the 01st March 2011)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2-oGoHUpEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2-oGoHUpEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r5jGaOG40g&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r5jGaOG40g&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxDF1dUH67w&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxDF1dUH67w&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r5jGaOG40g&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r5jGaOG40g&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxDF1dUH67w&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxDF1dUH67w&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2-oGoHUpEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2-oGoHUpE


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11. Making Titanic :Behind the Scenes p.4-6, http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=rpTk_TJyrhU&feature=related, ( accessed the 01st March 2011)


v=wd9Ho9RcWTk&feature=related ,( accessed the 01st March 2011)

13. Making Titanic:Behind the Scenes p.6-6, http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Ja2-oGoHUpE,( accessed the 01st March 2011)

14. Wikipedia: Titanic, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(1997_film),

(accessed the 02 March 2011)

15. Man Overboard (1997),

http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/eds/detail?hid=6&sid=9096d7c8-

1370-464d-bfb0-

bd42327d0657%40sessionmgr11&vid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2Nv

cGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=ukh&AN=9711046569, (accessed the 02ndnd March 2011)

Filmography

1. Titanic (USA, James Cameron, 1997)

2. Citizen Kane (USA, Orson Welles, 1941)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpTk_TJyrhU&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpTk_TJyrhU&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd9Ho9RcWTk&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd9Ho9RcWTk&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2-oGoHUpEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2-oGoHUpEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(1997_film)http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/eds/detail?hid=6&sid=9096d7c8-1370-464d-bfb0-bd42327d0657@sessionmgr11&vid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3D%3D#db=ukh&AN=9711046569http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/eds/detail?hid=6&sid=9096d7c8-1370-464d-bfb0-bd42327d0657@sessionmgr11&vid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3D%3D#db=ukh&AN=9711046569http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/eds/detail?hid=6&sid=9096d7c8-1370-464d-bfb0-bd42327d0657@sessionmgr11&vid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3D%3D#db=ukh&AN=9711046569http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/eds/detail?hid=6&sid=9096d7c8-1370-464d-bfb0-bd42327d0657@sessionmgr11&vid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3D%3D#db=ukh&AN=9711046569http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpTk_TJyrhU&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpTk_TJyrhU&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd9Ho9RcWTk&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd9Ho9RcWTk&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2-oGoHUpEhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja2-oGoHUpEhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanic_(1997_film)http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/eds/detail?hid=6&sid=9096d7c8-1370-464d-bfb0-bd42327d0657@sessionmgr11&vid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3D%3D#db=ukh&AN=9711046569http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/eds/detail?hid=6&sid=9096d7c8-1370-464d-bfb0-bd42327d0657@sessionmgr11&vid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3D%3D#db=ukh&AN=9711046569http://ehis.ebscohost.com.libezproxy.open.ac.uk/eds/detail?hid=6&sid=9096d7c8-1370-464d-bfb0-bd42327d0657@sessionmgr11&vid=2&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3D%3D#db=ukh&AN=9711046569

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TMA01 AnnVicens Final Revised