Category: Titanic

Introduction

The facts of the case are as follows: the RMS Titanic, owned by the White Star Line was the largest passenger ship of its day, a luxury liner regarded by some as unsinkable. It sank on the 14th of April, 1912, on its maiden voyage. The ship struck an iceberg which opened a gash in the hull 299 feet in length, flooding five watertight compartments when four was the maximum the ship could bear. Of the 2,223 people on board only 763 survived.

This story has been told in many different ways, the most recent one being the film Titanic in which the sinking is incidental to a romance in which a first-class passenger falls in love with a young man traveling in steerage. There have been books written about the lives lost, the construction of the ship, its sinking and its recovery, and the Internet contains many sites dedicated to telling the same story from different perspectives and in different genres. As will be shown, by telling the same story in a different genre, presents a different truth about that event.

Analysis

The first account is provided by poet and novelist Thomas Hardy (1848-1928) who was inspired by the tragedy to write Convergence of the Twain, subtitled Lines on the loss of the Titanic. In the opening he takes aim at the claim that the ship was unsinkable, calling that an example of human vanity and the Pride of life from which the ship now lies far removed. The fires which drove the ship across the waters have now been extinguished and the mirrors that briefly reflected the social elite now show only the sea-worm, grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent (Hardy). Jewels that once graced the persons of the wealthy are now indistinguishable from rocks on the sea bottom and fish gaze at the vaingloriousness that is now just debris.

The poet asks whether humanitys greatest achievement angered the gods, and is this why they destroyed the Titanic? There was no anger involved, says Hardy, only the Immanent Will, the irresistible force that drives all life and history. The Will prepared a sinister mate for the Titanic while it was being built, a Shape of Ice, for the time fat and dissociate but growing more distinct and threatening as the ship grew.

No one who saw the iceberg and the ship could see the intimate welding of their later history, he says, or that they would soon be twin halves of one August event, but as their destinies converge their consummation takes places and shakes the world. The Immanent Will impelled the construction of these two giants but it was the Spinner of the Years that brought them together, two forces indifferent to humanity or nature and forever beyond our control.

Poetry, as a genre, employs diction, meter and what might be called a philosophic attitude, an investigation of the ultimate meaning of things  or, in this case, whether the event has any meaning at all. To engage the reader in this question, Hardy uses language that is archaic, exact and connotative, as when describing the ships great furnaces which once made steam to propel her, as steel chambers, late the pyres / Of her salamandrine fires, thereby suggesting the coldness and blackness of the furnaces which were once hot with pyres of fire so intense they seemed to take on a life of their own. In that way he emphasizes how quickly one element overcomes another, how unpredictable life is and that man proposes but God disposes  even if God, in Hardys poem, is merely a blind force.

The other genre may be called oral history. Every survivor was, at one time or another, asked to tell his or her story, but the one analyzed here is a particularly elegant one that at times crosses the boundaries of the oral history genre into a more poetic one. In this case, the oral history is presented in the context or another genre, reportage, on a website that tries to recreate history in such a way as to turn the reader into an eyewitness. However, as the reportage makes claims that have been refuted in many other versions, it will not be referred to.

The oral history is proved by Elizabeth Shutes, a forty-year old governess to nineteen-year old Margaret Graham who traveled first class with her parents. She calls her story End of a Splendid Journey. When Shutes feels a queer quivering, go through the ship she jumps up but immediately sits back down because she has been told that she and her charge are on the most technologically advanced ship in the world. Yet she is now on the alert.

She describes the feeling on board ship as sepulchrally still, using a poetic device that at once gives the reader a clear idea of how it felt to be in her cabin, and foreshadows the disaster to come. Isolated voices are heard through the stillness, one informing her that an iceberg was spotted quite close to the ship. After building up the suspense by describing how the girls hand shook as she attempted to eat a chicken sandwich, she asks an officer if there is anything wrong.

He reassures her but by now she takes nothing for granted. I listened intently, she writes, and distinctly heard, We can keep the water out for a while. Then, and not until then, did I realize the horror of an accident at sea (Shutes). They dress quickly and are escorted to a meeting place by a Mr. Roebling, identified in her story as an American gentleman although she fails to mention he was also the grandson of the man who designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge.

Shutes describes the scene on board as she and her companions hurry to the main deck. The staircases are lined with stewards whom she describes as quiet and brave, all wearing white, ghostly life-preservers. Again Shutes uses the poets device of adjectives that foreshadows tragedy, and strengthen that sense with her mention of pale faces of the people strapped about with those white bars. Unlike the poet, however, she feels she has to explain that the scene was gruesome even though she had already created that effect.

They were led to the lifeboats but the women and children first policy on board the liner and the shortage of lifeboats, ensured that the men would not survive. Everyone knww it, she implies, but all maintained a quiet, brave front. This is where the genre requires the oral historian to pay tribute to the bravery of those who did not survive. The poet would not avoid the drama but the oral historian must honor the dead; anything would be regarded as bad taste.

However, the oral historian has the advantage of having been present at a convergence of the twain. Hardy could not have described the sensation of being in a lifeboat with thirty-five other passengers being lowered into the blackness with rough seamen shouting out contradictory orders, and with the boat seemingly about to capsize in mid-air (Shutes). When at last they reach the oily waters, she finds herself in a tiny boat on a great sea in the blackness of night, reluctant to part from the safety of the great ship.

She still cannot believe that the Titanic will go under, and yet she sees the outline of that great, good ship was growing less. In the bow lights are being extinguished by the water. There is nothing in the lifeboat to eat or drink. A mother and daughter call out to other boats to see if their husband and father is on board without getting an affirmative answer. In spite of their sorrow the women huddle with the others to keep warm throughout the long, freezing night. At last, using a straw hat as a beacon, they draw the attention of a rescue ship.

Conclusion

The poetic genre, at least according to this sample, takes a more metaphysical approach to events while the oral historian focuses on the fate of the individual. Both are highly effective in getting the reader involved in the passengers dilemma, the one defining the truth they may have experienced on the philosophical plane, the other giving a truthful account of what actually happened during that unlucky convergence; and both are equally successful in making the reader empathize with its victims.

Works Cited

Hardy, Thomas. Convergence of the Twain. The Complete Poems of Thomas Hardy. Ed. James Gibson. London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002.

Shutes, Elizabeth. The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912, EyeWitness to History. (2000). Web.

The language we use in speech and writing often provides clues as to the culture we live in or the one were representing. This is true regardless of the author or the style of writing. For example, there is a particular style of speaking that particularly relates to the black or, to be politically correct the African American, vernacular. However, even when two authors are from the same culture, such as Langston Hughes and Roger Abraham, the language used can be quite different, reflecting changes in the region, time, or other factors. This can be seen most clearly when comparing poems by these authors that are using as their subject the same theme, such as Sinking of the Titanic by Langston Hughes and Shine and the Titanic by Roger Abraham.

In both poems, the main character is a black man named Shine who works in the boiler room of the Titanic and attempts to inform the captain of the impending disaster. His words are disregarded as the captain insists the ship has enough pumps to free the ship of water but does not realize the extent of the damage. When this is finally realized, Shine has already jumped overboard to begin swimming for shore. Several characters in both poems call out for Shine to come to help them, all of whom he turns down as he makes his way to safety, primarily as a result of their inability to offer him anything of value on the open water. In the end, the news of the Titanics sinking is spread about as a great tragedy through the land while Shine is seen to be drinking heavily somewhere.

While the storyline and the characters are very similar in both poems, Hughes poem is intended to be a parody of Abrahams, the language is much different, perhaps reflecting the difference between a cultured and educated man and an uneducated one unconcerned with white opinions. Abrahams poem is much more carnal, concerned greatly with the physical things an individual can give to another. Examples of this include the offerings of the captains daughter, who promises shell give you more pregnant pussy than a black man want to see (Abraham, p. 22) and the captains wife who says, Ill let you eat pussy like a rat eats cheese (Abraham, p. 26), relating Shines appetite to that of a rat. This is much cruder than the language used by Hughes, who suggests the offers made to shine include making him as rich as any man can be (Hughes, p. 22) and a banker who offers a thousand share of T and T (Hughes, p. 26). In addition to this change, Hughes removes a great deal of Abrahams curse words, giving the black voice a calmer, more pacific outlook than the truer expression represented in Abrahams poem.

While Abraham focuses on physical desire and Hughes focuses on monetary desire, they each suggest the unequal dichotomy that exists between the black man and the white. Despite Hughes changes to make the poem more acceptable to a wider audience, though, several lingual elements are left alone as a means of retaining the black voice. These include grammatical structures such as the cries of the other characters who call out to him Shine, Shine, save poor me (Abraham p. 15, p. 21, p. 25; Hughes p. 21, p. 25). A comparison of these two poems thus represents the accepted stereotypical black voice as opposed to a truer, less constrained, and more blatant voice.

Synopsis of the movie

The movie selected for this paper is “Titanic”, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet and Billy Zane as principal characters. The movie is situated in most of the part inside the ship, the Titanic. It is not a movie about the drama of the Titanic in general, but it focuses on the drama of a family. The story is about a rich English aristocracy family, habituated with all of the facilities and privileges of an aristocratic family. It was a family bound by the rules, norms and values of the British aristocracy. They decide to get to the New World aboard the most famous of ships, the Titanic. Parallel to that, the movie describes the journey of a poor English boy, Jack, which incidentally got aboard the Titanic.

Most of the movie is about the encounter and relationships of this boy with the members of the aristocratic family mentioned above. The main theme is the love that was born between Jack and Rose, the youngest member of the aristocratic family. She suffered from a suicide depression and wanted to end her life while aboard the ship. Only the intervention of Jack saved her from killing herself. Gradually, they became very connected to each other until they got in love. Here is where the problems began because there was a significant class division between the two. Rose’s family would never accept Jack as her partner, and in fact they did not. Furthermore, Rose was promised to another man, also coming from an aristocratic family with friendship ties with Rose’s family. This situation continues even during the evacuation of the ship where many people were running for their lives. Ultimately, they manage to be together till the last moments until death separated them. Jack, decided to sacrifice himself in order to save Rose.

The role of the selected social institution in the movie

The family is at the epicenter of this movie. Even though many would argue that love and the relationship between these two characters, Rose and Jack, is the principal theme of the movie. Nevertheless, one cannot deny that they intended to be together in order to form a family and were encountering difficulties because of that. This movie is a perfect example of the transformation that the world was undergoing at the beginning of the twentieth century. This was a transformation due to the processes initiated by industrialization and modernization.

The family could not have been untouched by these transformation processes. In fact, the movie describes that even within the ship there existed two different social worlds, that of the aristocracy and that of common people. The film describes the isolation between the two and the roles that were expected by each member of these social groups. The aristocratic family had very strict rules and protocols in terms of communication and relations. On the other side, Jack symbolizes the common family already changed by the industrial revolution that did not know what the future holds and lives by the moment, with no strict rules and communication protocols. Jack played the role of the change initiator for the aristocratic family. In fact, the mother of Rose had arranged for her to be married with a young man from a fellow aristocratic family. In the movie the aristocratic family did not allow to Rose the liberties that nowadays a modern woman enjoys. In fact, the family was the main source of oppression for the liberties of young woman because of the strict norms and traditions of the English aristocracy.

Sociological perspective review

Feminism has been one of the strongest and most active sociological perspectives in the twentieth century. It is a view that tried to change the situation of women in society. This view begins by assessing that the traditional social status of women has been that of inferiority and discrimination in all of the known societies. In regards to family, the feminist perspective claims that this social institution was one of the major sources of discrimination and violation of rights for women (Jensen & Jensen, 15). The reason for this is because family is the primary source of education and learning for a young woman. In fact, the family is the primary source of learning and transmission for social norms, values and rules.

It is also the first source of role models for the child. Since the traditional family has been dominated by the male, the role of the female was seen as inferior and certain behaviors and attitudes were expected from her. The female taught the female child her duties, obligations, how to construct her attitude and behavior (Somerville & Campling, 34). This is clearly recognizable in the movie we are discussing. Rose, the female central character in this movie, was taught to live her life according to certain rules and norms that she should not transgress. This taught social norms and values were defined by her family status and de facto determined a certain social role that she had to play according to that status. The problem is that because of the radical changes from industrialization and modernity, these social norms and values began to clash with the reality surrounding Rose. They conflicted with her desires at such point to increase the level of stress inside her at the point of wanting of trying to commit suicide. The only thing that kept her from fulfilling her dreams was her family. This is certainly the case also when she met Jack.

In fact, Jack as a character is the representation of all that was conflicting with the traditional social norms that Rose was educated. It is not by case that the major opposition to her union with Jack was the family. And the reasons for this opposition were because the different social norms and statutes of this family which were in conflict with what Jack represented. Thus, the struggle of Rose to be with her love, with her chosen, is a symbolic struggle of a woman for the rights of freedom of choice and liberty in selecting her social status and role. It is this freedom to choose for her life that the family was denying to Rose. It is this lack of liberty that increased her levels of stress at such point as to attempt suicide. It is to obtain such rights and demonstrate to her family that what she desired was the wright thing for her (Das & Gupta, 12).

This is a particular interpretation of the central theme of the movie Titanic according to the feminist perspective. It is an interesting perspective that allows for a researcher to focus on a particular issue, that of rights of women, and analyze each social institution in relation to this issue.

Works Cited

Das, Man Singh. & Gupta, Vijay Kumar. Changing family roles and feminism. London: Macmillan, 1996.

Jensen, Larry & Jensen, Janet. Family Feminism. New York: SUNY Press, 1994.

Somerville, Jennifer. & Campling, Jo. Feminism and the family: politics and society in the UK and USA. London & New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000.

Introduction

The facts of the case are as follows: the RMS Titanic, owned by the White Star Line was the largest passenger ship of its day, a luxury liner regarded by some as unsinkable. It sank on the 14th of April, 1912, on its maiden voyage. The ship struck an iceberg which opened a gash in the hull 299 feet in length, flooding five watertight compartments when four was the maximum the ship could bear. Of the 2,223 people on board only 763 survived.

This story has been told in many different ways, the most recent one being the film Titanic in which the sinking is incidental to a romance in which a first-class passenger falls in love with a young man traveling in steerage. There have been books written about the lives lost, the construction of the ship, its sinking and its recovery, and the Internet contains many sites dedicated to telling the same story from different perspectives and in different genres. As will be shown, by telling the same story in a different genre, presents a different truth about that event.

Analysis

The first account is provided by poet and novelist Thomas Hardy (1848-1928) who was inspired by the tragedy to write “Convergence of the Twain,” subtitled “Lines on the loss of the Titanic.” In the opening he takes aim at the claim that the ship was unsinkable, calling that an example of “human vanity” and the “Pride of life” from which the ship now lies far removed. The fires which drove the ship across the waters have now been extinguished and the mirrors that briefly reflected the social elite now show only the sea-worm, “grotesque, slimed, dumb, indifferent” (Hardy). Jewels that once graced the persons of the wealthy are now indistinguishable from rocks on the sea bottom and fish gaze at the “vaingloriousness” that is now just debris.

The poet asks whether humanity’s greatest achievement angered the gods, and is this why they destroyed the Titanic? There was no anger involved, says Hardy, only the “Immanent Will,” the irresistible force that drives all life and history. The Will “prepared a sinister mate” for the Titanic while it was being built, “a Shape of Ice, for the time fat and dissociate” but growing more distinct and threatening as the ship grew.

No one who saw the iceberg and the ship could see “the intimate welding of their later history,” he says, or that they would soon be “twin halves of one August event,” but as their destinies converge their “consummation” takes places and shakes the world. The Immanent Will impelled the construction of these two giants but it was the “Spinner of the Years” that brought them together, two forces indifferent to humanity or nature and forever beyond our control.

Poetry, as a genre, employs diction, meter and what might be called a philosophic attitude, an investigation of the ultimate meaning of things – or, in this case, whether the event has any meaning at all. To engage the reader in this question, Hardy uses language that is archaic, exact and connotative, as when describing the ship’s great furnaces which once made steam to propel her, as “steel chambers, late the pyres / Of her salamandrine fires,” thereby suggesting the coldness and blackness of the furnaces which were once hot with “pyres” of fire so intense they seemed to take on a life of their own. In that way he emphasizes how quickly one element overcomes another, how unpredictable life is and that man proposes but God disposes – even if God, in Hardy’s poem, is merely a blind force.

The other genre may be called oral history. Every survivor was, at one time or another, asked to tell his or her story, but the one analyzed here is a particularly elegant one that at times crosses the boundaries of the oral history genre into a more poetic one. In this case, the oral history is presented in the context or another genre, reportage, on a website that tries to recreate history in such a way as to turn the reader into an eyewitness. However, as the reportage makes claims that have been refuted in many other versions, it will not be referred to.

The oral history is proved by Elizabeth Shutes, a forty-year old governess to nineteen-year old Margaret Graham who traveled first class with her parents. She calls her story “End of a Splendid Journey.” When Shutes feels “a queer quivering,” go through the ship she jumps up but immediately sits back down because she has been told that she and her charge are on the most technologically advanced ship in the world. Yet she is now on the alert.

She describes the feeling on board ship as “sepulchrally still,” using a poetic device that at once gives the reader a clear idea of how it felt to be in her cabin, and foreshadows the disaster to come. Isolated voices are heard through the stillness, one informing her that an iceberg was spotted quite close to the ship. After building up the suspense by describing how the girl’s hand shook as she attempted to eat a chicken sandwich, she asks an officer if there is anything wrong.

He reassures her but by now she takes nothing for granted. “I listened intently,” she writes, “and distinctly heard, ‘We can keep the water out for a while.’ Then, and not until then, did I realize the horror of an accident at sea” (Shutes). They dress quickly and are escorted to a meeting place by a Mr. Roebling, identified in her story as an American gentleman although she fails to mention he was also the grandson of the man who designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge.

Shutes describes the scene on board as she and her companions hurry to the main deck. The staircases are lined with stewards whom she describes as quiet and brave, all wearing “white, ghostly life-preservers.” Again Shutes uses the poet’s device of adjectives that foreshadows tragedy, and strengthen that sense with her mention of “pale faces” of the people “strapped about with those white bars.” Unlike the poet, however, she feels she has to explain that the scene was “gruesome” even though she had already created that effect.

They were led to the lifeboats but the “women and children first” policy on board the liner and the shortage of lifeboats, ensured that the men would not survive. Everyone knww it, she implies, but all maintained a quiet, brave front. This is where the genre requires the oral historian to pay tribute to the bravery of those who did not survive. The poet would not avoid the drama but the oral historian must honor the dead; anything would be regarded as bad taste.

However, the oral historian has the advantage of having been present at a “convergence of the twain.” Hardy could not have described the sensation of being in a lifeboat with thirty-five other passengers being lowered into the blackness with “rough seamen” shouting out contradictory orders, and with the boat seemingly about to “capsize in mid-air” (Shutes). When at last they reach the oily waters, she finds herself in a “tiny boat on a great sea” in the blackness of night, reluctant to part from the safety of the great ship.

She still cannot believe that the Titanic will go under, and yet she sees “the outline of that great, good ship was growing less. In the bow lights are being extinguished by the water. There is nothing in the lifeboat to eat or drink. A mother and daughter call out to other boats to see if their husband and father is on board without getting an affirmative answer. In spite of their sorrow the women huddle with the others to keep warm throughout the long, freezing night. At last, using a straw hat as a beacon, they draw the attention of a rescue ship.

Conclusion

The poetic genre, at least according to this sample, takes a more metaphysical approach to events while the oral historian focuses on the fate of the individual. Both are highly effective in getting the reader involved in the passengers’ dilemma, the one defining the truth they may have experienced on the philosophical plane, the other giving a truthful account of what actually happened during that unlucky convergence; and both are equally successful in making the reader empathize with its victims.

Works Cited

Hardy, Thomas. “Convergence of the Twain.” The Complete Poems of Thomas Hardy. Ed. James Gibson. London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2002.

Shutes, Elizabeth. “The Sinking of the Titanic, 1912,” EyeWitness to History. (2000). Web.

The language we use in speech and writing often provides clues as to the culture we live in or the one we’re representing. This is true regardless of the author or the style of writing. For example, there is a particular style of speaking that particularly relates to the black or, to be politically correct the African American, vernacular. However, even when two authors are from the same culture, such as Langston Hughes and Roger Abraham, the language used can be quite different, reflecting changes in the region, time, or other factors. This can be seen most clearly when comparing poems by these authors that are using as their subject the same theme, such as “Sinking of the Titanic” by Langston Hughes and “Shine and the Titanic” by Roger Abraham.

In both poems, the main character is a black man named Shine who works in the boiler room of the Titanic and attempts to inform the captain of the impending disaster. His words are disregarded as the captain insists the ship has enough pumps to free the ship of water but does not realize the extent of the damage. When this is finally realized, Shine has already jumped overboard to begin swimming for shore. Several characters in both poems call out for Shine to come to help them, all of whom he turns down as he makes his way to safety, primarily as a result of their inability to offer him anything of value on the open water. In the end, the news of the Titanic’s sinking is spread about as a great tragedy through the land while Shine is seen to be drinking heavily somewhere.

While the storyline and the characters are very similar in both poems, Hughes’ poem is intended to be a parody of Abraham’s, the language is much different, perhaps reflecting the difference between a cultured and educated man and an uneducated one unconcerned with white opinions. Abraham’s poem is much more carnal, concerned greatly with the physical things an individual can give to another. Examples of this include the offerings of the captain’s daughter, who promises she’ll “give you more pregnant pussy than a black man want to see” (Abraham, p. 22) and the captain’s wife who says, “I’ll let you eat pussy like a rat eats cheese” (Abraham, p. 26), relating Shine’s appetite to that of a rat. This is much cruder than the language used by Hughes, who suggests the offers made to shine include making him “as rich as any man can be” (Hughes, p. 22) and a banker who offers “a thousand share of T and T” (Hughes, p. 26). In addition to this change, Hughes removes a great deal of Abraham’s curse words, giving the black voice a calmer, more pacific outlook than the truer expression represented in Abraham’s poem.

While Abraham focuses on physical desire and Hughes focuses on monetary desire, they each suggest the unequal dichotomy that exists between the black man and the white. Despite Hughes’ changes to make the poem more acceptable to a wider audience, though, several lingual elements are left alone as a means of retaining the black voice. These include grammatical structures such as the cries of the other characters who call out to him “Shine, Shine, save poor me” (Abraham p. 15, p. 21, p. 25; Hughes p. 21, p. 25). A comparison of these two poems thus represents the accepted stereotypical black voice as opposed to a truer, less constrained, and more blatant voice.

Introduction

The sinking of the RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Titanic is the subject of this report and seeks to analyze the tragedy through the lens of risk and crisis management. The ship sank in 1912 in the Atlantic Ocean during its maiden voyage and 1500 souls were lost, with 1300 passengers and 1000 crew on board. The destructive leadership theory will be applied in the preconditions section of this report while the Crichton theory will be applied in the crisis section. The destructive leadership theory is appropriate because the events precipitating the sinking of Titanic were majorly leadership flaws. Events during the actual crisis were caused by communication breaks and unfamiliarity, best explained by the Crichton theory.

Preconditions

The destructive leadership theory outlines the pursuit of idealized goals as a flaw in most corporations that may cause a crisis. Titanic was built with narrowly defined goals by the manufacturers who focused on profits at the expense of risk analysis. The 1900s were a period of fierce competition for passengers and every company wanted to outwit the other by building a larger and more comfortable ship. Risk management was neglected in the case of Titanic as the makers wanted to have a ship that would ensure their dominance in the market. The lack of sufficient lifeboats in the ship illustrates a destructive leadership policy where the manufacturers underestimated their importance (Kayes, 2005). The 1894 Merchant Shipping Act was the only regulation in place for shipbuilders during this period. The rule required ships weighing 10,000 tons to have 16 lifeboats during voyages. Titanic was 46,000 tons heavy and should have had 72 lifeboats instead of the 20 available during its catastrophic trip. The manufacturers of the ship downplayed the importance of lifeboats because they impended comfort.

The owners of Titanic wanted a high number of paying customers on the ship. The lifeboats were considered to take excessive space on the deck, which was considered more productive when occupied by customers. The lack of many lifeboats allowed travellers more area to pace around the promenade deck, a choice of comfort over safety. The result of inadequate lifeboats in Titanic was that a ship with a capacity of 2,200 people set sail with lifeboats capable of carrying 1,200 people only (Smith, 2019). The destructive leadership theory outlines an idealized future as a cause for many crises that happen with organizations and is relevant to Titanic (Kayes, 2005). Titanic sought to make history by arriving before the anticipated time in New York and making more money in the process. The owners and crew saw it wise to increase the speed of the ship to about 25 MPH before it hit the iceberg (Smith, 2019). The hurry was reckless for a vessel with Titanic’s size and endangered everybody on board.

The conditions in the winter sea were unfavourable for such a speed but the captains proceeded anyway. This shows a preference for the anticipated glory at the expense of safety, eventually leading to the accident. Public expectation was a challenge on the ship as Titanic was built for comfort (Jones et al., 2020). Public expectation in the destructive leadership theory is a crucial cause of crisis as the leaders in various sectors try to impress their customers and the public in general. This was the case in Titanic when communication was received from another ship in the sea which had sighted icebergs. The message came along with other messages from the customers making various complaints. The operators of the communication department dismissed the alert while choosing to continue listening to the customers. The priorities for this department were catastrophically wrong and jeopardized the lives of all souls on board.

The Trigger

The lookouts in the “bird’s nest” were poorly equipped to notice the changes in the sea and alert the captain on time. The sea was dark, the moonlight was unavailable, and these lookouts lacked binoculars to see far enough. It follows that they saw the ice in the water when Titanic was too close and sent alerts to the captains, giving them minimal time to react. When communication came from the “bird’s nest” about the spotted iceberg, the First Officer, William Murdoch ordered the crew to act. He instructed both “hard-a-starboard” (which meant an immediate left turn), and that engines be reversed (Jett, 2021). These instructions were meant to slow down the ship and make a turn that would enable Titanic to evade the iceberg. The decision was ill-advised as hitting the right side of the ship caused five of the sixteen compartments to become punctured by the iceberg. Experts believe that Titanic would not have sank entirely if the iceberg was hit by the front compartment instead of the side.

Another crucial flaw in the design was recognized during the process of flooding the compartments The 16 compartments were thought to be watertight, meaning damage to one section would not endanger other partitions. This was unfortunately not the case as the sections were not capped at the top. This means that when one compartment filled with water, there would be a spillover in the adjacent one and this is what happened as the ship gradually flooded with seawater. The flooding resulted in the speedy sinking of the ship and the death of a multitude of people, including crew and passengers. Perhaps inaccurate knowledge of the watertight nature of the ship misled the captains to hit the iceberg by the side, believing that such an impact would have minimal effect.

The Crisis

The Crichton theory provides situation assessment as the first crucial step during a crisis and which can help mitigate potential fatalities. This was absent in the case of Titanic as information gathering was inappropriate. There were no proper communication channels to enable the captains to communicate effectively with the passengers or the crew. The ship had lifeboats with the capacity of rescuing 1,178 people but ended up rescuing only 750 people. This was due to poor situational awareness by the crew who threw the lifeboats without properly inflating them so they could meet the required capacity. Decision-making is an essential component of the Crichton theory and was immensely lacking in Titanic. (Crichton et al., 2005) Decisions on what to do once the ship began sinking were not made effectively and this resulted in the massive loss of life.

Some passengers were unaware that the ship was sinking as some played with the ice on the deck. Others were asleep and unaware the ship was sinking until water began flooding their compartments. This illustrates indecision on the side of the leadership that wanted to reassure the passengers that everything was alright instead of providing realistic communication on the situation. It is reported that the band was encouraged to continue playing their music to prevent panic amongst the passengers. Despite the nobility of the intention, it instead resulted in a grossly misinformed and misguided populace of passengers. Teamwork was non-existence as a proper chain of command lacked in the ship. The crew members were reported to have abandoned their requirement to prioritize the lives of passengers, even at their peril. There was a declaration that it would be every man for themselves at the ship shortly before the complete sinking.

Coordination is an essential part of crisis management according to Crichton and this was absent in Titanic. The people who were able to escape to the lifeboats did so without proper guidance, leaving some groups that would have been prioritized in an ideal situation. Leadership is an integral part of Crichton’s theory and would have averted the disaster of Titanic if the proper direction was availed. Some crew members locked down third-class passengers, preventing them from escaping. Proper leadership would have held these crew members accountable and held them to task for these criminal and unethical practices.

The act of locking third-class travellers down meant that very few of them were able to escape death in the end. Communication with others is also essential and was absent during the sinking of Titanic. California was another ship in the Atlantic Ocean, within proximity of Titanic, and would have helped avert the disaster. The maritime protocol allowed California to switch off its communication lines for the night and this prevented reception of the distress signals from Titanic. If the maritime protocol had compelled the neighboring ship to keep its communication lines open for the night, the distress signal would have been received. California would have made efforts to reach Titanic and save countless lives from unnecessary demise.

Post-Crisis

Titanic finally sank to the bottom of the ocean and those who had not procured space in the lifeboats jumped into the open sea. There were cries for help amongst these people as they loudly wailed, hoping to be rescued. The lifeboats had a greater capacity to save more people but the early inhabitants refused to accept more people for fear that they would drown themselves. The temperature during the winter was low, reaching 32 degrees Celsius. This caused the death of most people and the sea was silent after a few minutes (Jett, 2021). The Carpathia was the ship that arrived about an hour after the sinking of Titanic and rescued some people. On April 18th the Carpathia arrived in New York with the survivors to a crowd of family members hoping to see their loved ones alive. In a ship with 710 3^rd class travellers, only 174 lived through the ordeal (Smith, 2019). Deaths were, however, encountered in the other classes too, and renown individuals constituted part of the fatalities.

The crowds back in New York demanded answers on how an invincible ship had sunk despite the massive marketing and sale of tickets. Investigations were conducted both in the US and England to determine the cause of the crisis and identify those responsible. The investigations revealed that California was close to Titanic at the time of sinking and that crew saw the lights on Titanic. They are recorded remarking that from the distance it appeared too small and could not possibly be the world’s largest ship. They woke their captain to seek guidance on further action but the captain told them to make no changes. This meant they retained their low dim lights, which were invisible from the position of Titanic. A few moments later after the sinking of Titanic, the crew reported they could not see the ship anymore. When queried, California’s leadership and crew remarked they thought the ship they saw earlier had continued on its journey.

Further investigations by both New York and England authorities resulted in English authorities shelving most of the blame for the accident. The British government was blamed for poor checkups on the builders of Titanic and inadequate investigations into potential flaws. The investigation also discovered that Captain Smith was partly responsible for the crisis. He was faulted for his inaction to slow the ship upon receiving the warnings about the ice in the sea and the winter situation. The reputation of the captain was forever damaged and is shamed through a terrible memory to date. The company’s reputation was also damaged in the process as it had built a reputation of an invincible corporation. The accident resulted in various new safety protocols established in the First International Conference for Safety of Life at Sea held in London in 1913. Sufficient lifeboats were deemed necessary alongside 24-hour radio watch to prevent California’s situation repetition (Smith, 2019). The lessons learned would be applied to future ships built, with an emphasis on safety over comfort.

Conclusion

The analysis of Titanic’s sinking reveals that overconfidence and ignorance of safety and crisis management are catastrophic to any enterprise. The destructive leadership theory and the Crichton theory were essential in highlighting the failures in various processes that ultimately caused the avoidable accident. The destructive leadership theory illustrates the events before the sinking and provides invaluable insights into the overall error of regarding comfort over safety. The Crichton theory offers a timely analysis of events during the actual crisis, showcasing the effect of unpreparedness in such scenarios. The two theoretical frameworks were essential in ensuring the analysis was guided and stepwise.

References

Crichton, M. T., Lauche, K., & Flin, R. (2005). Incident Command Skills in the Management of an Oil Industry Drilling Incident: a Case Study.Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 13(3), 116–128.

Jett, J. (2021). A Century After the Titanic Sank, a Film Tries to Rescue 6 Survivors’ Stories. The New York Times. Web.

Jones, K., Jones, S., & Waldrop, T. (2020). Radio used by Titanic to call for help can be salvaged, judge rules. CNN.

Kayes, D. C. (2005). The Destructive Pursuit of Idealized Goals. Organizational Dynamics, 34(4), 391–401.

Smith, K. N. (2019). 107 Years Later, the Titanic Sinking Helps Train Problem-Solving AI. Forbes. Web.

The tragedy of the Titanic is an example of how multiple risk factors led to one of the major sea disasters in history. The cumulative effect of risks is reflected in how each factor contributes to the outcome of the tragedy. In the case of Titanic, the majority of risks were connected with the intent to create luxurious conditions for first-class passengers. In order to provide a better sea view, an insufficient number of boats was placed on board (CCPS, 1, p. 118). The communication system was not working properly, which made the quick transfer of messages impossible. Other factors were connected with the weak construction of the hull. The vehicle’s high speed at the time of the collision and delayed evacuation can be explained by the captain’s attempt to save the prestige of the ship (CCPS, 1, p. 118). Finally, bad weather conditions were not taken into account, which made the tragedy unexpected.

At the same time, a comprehensive risk management strategy would have minimized the consequences of the accident. If the general precautions were taken, it would have been possible to reduce the tragic consequences of the ship’s collision against the iceberg. However, the market gain was the ship owners’ priority, while the crew was not appropriately trained (CCPS, 1, p. 118). Therefore, it is possible to say that multiple factors, such as the captain’s overconfidence, poor safety culture, and the ship owners’ inverted priorities, contributed to the tragic outcome.

Comment

Thank you for the detailed and comprehensive comment on the topic. Indeed, it is difficult to disagree that the insufficient safety measures and flaws in the ship’s construction, in addition to ignored weather conditions, had a cumulative effect and led to tragic consequences. I especially liked how you described the hull’s impact, which was one of the crucial risk factors. I would like to support your idea about people’s excitement and belief that the ship was unsinkable. Both passengers and the crew were unprepared for the accident and were not instructed properly, which resulted in a panic during evacuation. Therefore, I would conclude that passengers’ lives should always be the priority, and proper safety guidelines are essential for both long and short sea travels.

Source List

CCPS. 2019. Guide for Making Acute Risk Decisions. p. 118. Web.

Introduction

In the film industry, movies frequently depict the prevalent political, social, regulatory, and business environments of their times. By considering these environments, film enthusiasts and experts can learn more about the concealed agendas and issues. The following analysis compares and contrasts Leo McCarey’s An Affair to Remember and James Cameron’s Titanic from a political, social, regulatory, and business perspective.

In An Affair to Remember, Nickie Ferrante and Terry McKay meet on the transatlantic ocean liner SS Constitution that travels from Europe to New York (Grant). The two fall in love against all odds and fight to preserve their love for each other. Similarly, Titanic features a cruise from Southampton to New York where the young Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson meet and fall in love (Mayer). Although the RMS Titanic eventually sinks and Jack dies, Rose survives and recounts their love affair years later.

When Leo McCarey’s An Affair to Remember and James Cameron’s Titanic are analysed from a political, social, regulatory, and business perspective, findings indicate that the directors implement historical romance themes characterized by romanticism, class interactions, and conservativeness. In An Affair to Remember, Nickie Ferrante and Terry McKay meet on the transatlantic ocean liner SS Constitution that travels from Europe to New York (Grant). The two fall in love against all odds and fight to preserve their love for each other. Similarly, Titanic features a cruise from Southampton to New York where the young Rose DeWitt Bukater and Jack Dawson meet and fall in love (Mayer). Although the RMS Titanic eventually sinks and Jack dies, Rose survives and recounts their love affair years later. There are similarities in the both films’ political, social, and regulatory, environments, although the 1910s and 1950s business environments are highly contrasted.

Social Environment

The primary aspect of the two films’ social environment is the characters’ ability to get involved in romantic antics and affairs. In An Affair to Remember, Nickie Ferrante has returned to New York to wed a wealthy heiress. The viewer is also made aware that Nickie has had well-publicized romantic antics and affairs. At the same time, disco singer Terry McKay is on her way to visit her long-time suitor. Although the two are in stable relationships, they fall in love and promise to meet at the Empire States building after ending their relationships and changing careers. Terry soon learns Nickie is a gifted painter, which fascinates her. Nevertheless, Terry is involved in a terrible road accident on the meet day (Graham 1). Nickie, who had already arrived at the predetermined meeting point, departs at midnight thinking Terry has rejected him.

Similarly, Titanic is defined by the romanticism of 1997. Love is the central theme in the movie and is signified by the Heart of the Ocean diamond. Jack and Rose are the main characters in the film. As they take a cruise from Southampton to New York, they implement meaningful choices to stay together. It is also vital to note that the upper-class characters depicted in Titanic are shown to be inept at love.

For example, Ruth intends to force her daughter to marry the wealthy Cal Hockley regardless of whether the two do not love each other as a way of protecting their riches. However, after Rose interacts with Jack, she realizes that a dependable, fervent love affair is better than any riches. Rose lets go of the Heart of the Ocean necklace into the sea at the movie’s end, indicating that her love for Jack is honest and beyond comparison, something she could never have had with Brock.

In the two films, romanticism is heavily depicted. Romanticism was a literary, artistic, musical, and intellectual social phenomenon that started in Europe in the late 18^th century (Furst 25). The movement was guided by five principles: imagination, individuality, intuition, inspiration, and idealism (Perry 8; Eaves and Fischer 55). The emphasis was on individualism and characters’ freedom from rules. In both films, the main characters have deviated from social norms and decided to chart unique paths. Nickie and Terry fall in love, while jack and Rose embark on an epic but ill-fated cruise where forbidden love is the premise.

Political Environment

There are evident resemblances in how the two films portray the political environment. For example, the 1957 movie occurs after the World Wars, when most productions primarily focused on combat issues. At the time, there was also less regard for women’s rights and women’s roles in movie theatres. Therefore, love films, such as An Affair to Remember, did not reveal much concerning women’s sexuality, nudity, and desires (Davies and OCallaghan 24).

Similarly, the 1997 production underpins conservative ideas regarding class hierarchies and class prejudice in the United States. Titanic has a bold approach to class interactions. The film produces an aura of the cross-class fantasy movies popular in Hollywood between the 1910s and 1920s. Because the original RMS Titanic went down in 1912, James Cameron decides to showcase the lifestyles of working-class laborers, immigrants, and blue-collar workers at the time. There is an additional allusion to women’s rights. For instance, Rose’s mother intends her to marry a wealthy businessman, although it goes against her will.

Regulatory Environment

In both films, directors regulated how characters related and spoke to each other to depict class atmospheres of the 1910s and 1950s. Although both female lead characters are desperate for love, directors are reluctant to expose modern social themes such as extramarital affairs, women’s rights, and homosexuality. In An Affair to Remember, Nickie Ferrante and Terry McKay are in love. However, Leo McCarey was keen not to display highly sexualized scenes, as is the case in modern theatre. Terry has to first break up with her boyfriend before becoming entangled with Nickie.

Similarly, Titanic attempts to depict the 1910s moral environment. According to Valverde, women in the 1910s were expected to don dresses that reached and remained virgins until marriage (52). It was also common for young women of around 22 to be forcefully married (Cohen 1539). In Titanic, Cameron is keen to showcase this reality. Although the film came when women’s rights and class activism had become commonplace in Hollywood, the director had a strict regulatory framework to operate within if the movie was to achieve maximum authenticity.

Business Environment

In the 1950s, business in America was booming. According to Connell, the American economy experienced an upturn during this era, and many Americans made more money than ever before (30). Although inflation levels were rising, the economy created more money for some citizens than others. The rising inflation was also short-lived, meaning that income levels become unbalanced in the long run. In An Affair to Remember, the director depicts an era when wealthy citizens were on luxurious cruises. Secondly, the film portrays how income levels were imbalanced. For example, Nickie is on his way to marry a wealthy heiress. Because of the harsh economic times on Nickie’s part, he deems it worthy of marrying a rich woman to change his situation. Nickie is also a painter but deliberately avoids following a painting career because he sees himself as contemptible.

There was a different business environment in the early 20^th-century era depicted in Titanic. By 1910, the United States was still a moderately undeveloped economy isolated from foreign interests (Valli 22).

As a result, there were class differences where the rich were highly regarded while the less wealthy had to work as low-class workers. However, after Woodrow Wilson became the American President in 1913, the United States began prioritizing innovations in banking and business, developing the U.S. economy over the next decade. Through a focus on industrial power, the country began building wealth for its citizens over time. In Titanic, immigrants can be seen fighting for places on the ship as it travels to America. At the time, poverty was also rampant in Europe, and people had to immigrate to survive. Jack is also depicted as poor and cannot marry into Rose’s wealthy family.

Nevertheless, despite the differences in the two movies’ business environments, there are some similarities. For example, Nickie is a painter and sees this opportunity as an alternative form of employment. Similarly, Jack is portrayed in Titanic as a working-class painter who triumphs over wealthy Cal Hockley. During the dinner conversation with Rose DeWitt Bukater, Jack wins over her love, despite his social status. Therefore, although the prevailing economic conditions were different, it can be seen that both the 1957 and 1997 business environments encouraged artistic careers.

An analysis of Leo McCarey’s An Affair to Remember and James Cameron’s Titanic shows that both directors implement a historical romance theme characterized by romanticism, class interactions, and conservativeness. The two films’ social, political, business, and regulatory environments have various resemblances and variances. In terms of social aspects, An Affair to Remember and Titanic focused on romantic antics and affairs, while the political environment centered on less regard for women’s rights and class interactions. Thirdly, the regulatory environment has been affected by the lack of highly sexualized scenes. In both eras, women were expected to follow strict social rules regarding dressing and characters. Although the 1950s business environment depicted in An Affair to Remember was favorable, James Cameron’s Titanic shows a different era characterized by rampant immigration and class differences. Nevertheless, characters in both films are free to pursue artistic careers.

Works Cited

Cohen, Dov, et al. “Defining Social Class across Time and between Groups.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 43, no. 11. 2017, pp. 1530–45. Web.

Connell, Tula A. Conservative counterrevolution: Challenging Liberalism in 1950s Milwaukee. University of Illinois Press, 2017.

Davies, Helen, and Claire OCallaghan. Gender and Austerity in Popular Culture: Femininity, Masculinity & Recession in Film & Television. I.B. Tauris, 2017, p. 24.

Eaves, Morris, and Michael R. Fischer. Romanticism and Contemporary Criticism. Cornell University Press, 2019.

Furst, Lilian R. Romanticism. Routledge, 2017. Web.

Graham, Jane. “An Affair to Remember: No 13 Best Romantic Film of All Time.” The Guardian, 2017. Web.

Grant, Cary. “An Affair to Remember Review.” 2017. Web.

Mayer, Mercy. “Titanic (1997) Plot Summary.”. Web.

Perry, Seamus. “Romanticism: The Brief History of a Concept.” A Companion to Romanticism. 2017, pp. 1–11. Web.

Valli, Vittorio. “The American Economy from Roosevelt to Trump.” Springer, 2018.

Valverde, Mariana. “3. Moral and Social Reform.” The Age of Light, Soap, and Water. 2008, pp. 44–76. Web.

Screenplay Storyline

The “Titanic” movie starts with a scene under the ocean where pictures are dark blue, and then a light appears in the background. There are few submarines movements in the darkness and then light shines on a “ghost ship emerging from the darkness” (Cameron 2). Some fans of this movie say that, the first scene is remarkable because the shots were taken from actual recording of the real Titanic (Barton 119).

The head of the excursion is Brock Lovett and is just exploring to find valuables, which might have been carried to the ship. However, the team finds a safe with drawings and other decomposed papers. Interestingly, one of the drawings is of a naked woman wearing diamond. This drawing is suitably named “The Heart of the Ocean” (Cameron 70).

As this picture is shown on camera, Rose Calvert calls Lovett claiming that she is the woman in the drawing. She is flown in immediately. She begins to narrate the story of a seventeen-year old girl, Rose DeWitt Butaker, forced into marrying a man she does not love, Cal Hockley. Cal is rich, eccentric, and materialistic. Rose is naïve and troubled (Barton 121) while Cal is old and seemingly experienced These characters set up a distinctive, but anticipated storyline.

The story starts at a farewell of the RMS Titanic. The ship is nicknamed “Unsinkable” (Cameron 25). The first class passengers board with their bags and even pets while third class passengers are checked for lice and diseases.

This scenario is an intriguing contrast of the two groups – the rich and the poor. Jack Dawson, a poor artist, also gets onboard with a friend, Fabrizio De Rossi, who wants to escape to America (Cameron 29). Jack spots Rose on first class level shortly after the ship departures. She is miserable because of her upcoming wedding to Cal. She wants to commit suicide, but luckily, Jack stops her.

A friendship immediately spurts, later to turn into a romantic affair. With the story developing, the ship, on the other hand, is pushed to the limit. The captain wants to break a speed record. Bruce Ismay, one of the passengers, lures Captain Smith into the challenge despite fair warnings. He says, “…Captain, the press already know the size of Titanic, lets amaze them with her speed, as well. We have to give them something new to write…” (Cameron 207).

Taking up the challenge, Captain Smith pushes to full power. It is tragic that the speeding Titanic hits an iceberg leading to its demise in the end. The scenes in the movie are astounding. As the ship hits the iceberg and begins to sink, the experience is one of the most exhilarating moments ever on television (Sandler, and Studlar 15). In essence, the awesome grandeur of actions as the sequence unfolds is perfect for movie making. The intense and suspenseful sinking is thrilling and spectacular.

Every movie has some flaws, and there could be moments when the momentous effects and animations are in waver. Nevertheless, the scenes from the sinking ship are particularly crucial for the development of this great story. The lighting effects and soundtrack make it near perfect. The incredible suspense created in the intertwining scenes surpasses most movies ever created, with the audience terrified, as it tries to guess who survives and who dies.

Use of Strong Language, Characters, and Action

Essentially, the movie seems not to have been meant for children even with a rating of PG-13. The film may be tenser, irritating, and disturbing for younger children. The movie does have some foul language like the use of ‘F’ word twice. However, with three hours running time, profanity is sparse.

Cameron seems to have been extremely keen when writing the script to avoid profanity as much as possible. The film hence develops to be mature even though there is an incidence of nudity (naked Rose)…”In her late teenage or early twenties, a nude woman, posed with some casual modesty” (Cameron 13).

Compared to most movies of today, nudity in Titanic was chaste and brief considering that, Jack did not exploit it. The scene is not presented in a coarse and overly sexual manner; though that was not right for the lead character in a movie rated PG 13. Even with a love scene, the movie just builds this love story, and with that brilliant use of language, children understand that the movie is not promoting sexual behavior.

The thing to worry about is probably the disturbing violence in the movie. There is mass panic when people begin to drown and plunge into the sea as Titanic sinks. Confusion reigns and families stressed as some children get lost amid the ensuing hysteria. “There is a picture of a child, a three year-old, ankle deep at the center of an endless corridor.

The child is alone, seemingly lost and crying” (Cameron 23). Some people even commit suicide by just jumping into the water out of desperation. At the end of the film, there are many dead bodies including infants, floating and frozen.

There is an unbelievable combination of humor, romance, suspense, and action into the script beyond words. The central story is re-invented, by the scriptwriter, to fit the characters. For teenagers to develop immediate interest into each other, (Jack and Rose), is understandable. Rose is suffering emotionally, and Jack supports her, something she is not getting from her fiancé, Cal.

Looking at the use of main characters, there was a unique presentation. Titanic is an emotional epic of a love story on a doomed sea voyage (Lubin 8). Only one character lives long enough to tell the story by the time the ill-fated ship is found. One can easily cry because of the intense emotion.

The dialogue in the movie is somehow lame though it brings about humor and moral righteousness. However, as one reads the script, there emerges a passionate love and romance between Jack and Rose. Because Rose’ fiancé, Cal, is an in love with his money more than he is with Rose; therefore, the story gives a reason why Rose falls for Jack (Lubin 18). Nevertheless, one wonders why Cal is presented as selfish uncaring rich man.

Essentially, if Cal Hockley were to be nice, but weak, probably the story could have developed more diminution. Jacks Dawson, on the other hand, is presented as a character with unknown past and a hazy future having only won a third-class ticket in a poker game. This character develops to become the object of seditious object for Rose DeWitt Bukater fall in love (Sandler, and Studlar 16).

He becomes the showpiece of the film. This relationship is not well developed though, as the two do not have a history together; it is merely a crush. It is tremendously refreshing to have a script with characters relationships that mean something. In the end, the film is a grossly sentimental story, but then it could have strained more if the characters had a deep history together.

Characters bring life to a movie and help to develop the theme of love knowing no boundaries (Lubin 38). An upper class girl, Rose, falls in love with Jack from lower class. They have an emotional connection; an overt move, but it fuels the movie. After a series of trials, Jack and Rose are finally over that and the ship crashes. There are few lifeboats for only 700 out of the 2,200 people onboard (Sandler, and Studlar 15).

The naive love story feels real each time in the movie, and dialogue in such moments is not easy to consume as real life situation. For teenagers in love, it is the innocence and pureness of this, which relationship makes the Titanic disaster more beguiling and extreme. Combined with thrilling action and exceptional animations, the audience feels that Titanic is the ultimate tragedy love-story.

Screenplay: Creative Writing

There are different forms of creative writing ranging from poetry, to playwriting, and there is screenwriting. Plays and screenplays have distinct format that has to be followed (Burt-Thomas 64). A screenplay tells the film producers what to film. It is often highly complicated though it sounds easy.

The difference between screenplay and other forms of creative writing is the dialogue, description of each action, and description of anything that needs to be seen (Burt-Thomas 64). The names of the characters are centered, and every scene has a heading, a slug line. This describes the location as in indoors of outdoor, night or day among others, and it is always in caps.

Works Cited

Barton, Geoff. Developing Media Skills. London: Heinemann, 2001. Print.

Burt-Thomas, Wendy. The Everything Creative Writing Book: All You Need to Know to Write Novels, Play, Short Story, Screenplay, Poem, or Article. Holbrook: Everything Books, 2002. Print.

Cameron, James. “Titanic”. The Internet Movie Script Database, 1996. Web.

Lubin, David. Titanic BFI modern Classics. London: BFI Publishing, 1999. Print.

Sandler, Kevin, and Gaylyn Studlar. Titanic: Anatomy of a Blockbuster. New Jersey. Rutgers University Press, 1999. Print.