Titanic disproves cult of decadence

Titanic's huge commercial success proves how disconnected America's cultural elites and social commentators have become from ordinary Americans, and how wrong those elites have consistently been in describing a "collapse" of popular taste.

This commercial and award-winning success came as a surprise to many. Even its Oscar-winning director James Cameron noted that Titanic broke most of the rules: a long (over three hours) and hugely expensive movie (over $200 million to produce) where everyone knows the ending, almost everyone dies, and there is no chance for a sequel. Result: The trade press is gushing over the implications of Titanic for the movie industry, while political and cultural pundits are now trying to fathom the real meaning of the public's embrace of this new pop culture phenom.

Most punditry is about the upbeat and even spiritual message of Titanic. Film critic Michael Medved says Titantic reflects a new romantic movement and shows society's backlash against casual sex; Investor's Business Daily suggests the film may "sink" the view that the public is cynical, and IBD reporter Adrienne Fox says the movie's messages are "traditional ones of hope, courage and dignity," noting that "viewers applaud the film's heroine, Rose, for giving up the security of wealth and status for her one true love, even after he dies." Fox also notes that the movie's messages of man's shortcomings and limitations, especially the limitations of technology, have special resonance in today's technology-driven world.

Compare this to the movie commentary of most cultural mavens, who focus on the gratuitous violence, promiscuous sex and general moral decay too often reflected on the silver screen. What is different about Titanic commentary is that so much is focused on the demand side, i.e., on the reactions of the viewing public, rather than on the movie itself. Unfortunately, too many of our cultural nannies spend most of their time and commentary on the supply side, where there is surely a lot of bad stuff, and too little on the demand side, where Americans are spending their money.

When cultural nannies say the movies are going to hell and taking us with them, they are ignoring how the movie-going public votes with its entertainment dollar. Example: If you look at the top 10 movies in the 1930s or 1940s or 1950s they are not very different from those that scored high at the box office in the 1980s or 1990s.

The top 10 grossing movies in the 1930s: Gone with the Wind (1939), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), The Wizard of Oz (1939), King Kong (1933), San Francisco (1936), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), Lost Horizon (1937), Hell's Angels (1930), Maytime (1937), City Lights (1931). The "top 10" in the 1940s: Bambi (1942), Fantasia (1940), Cinderella (1949), Pinocchio (1940), Song of the South (1946), Mom and Dad (1944), Samson and Delilah (1949), The Best Years of our Lives (1946), Duel in the Sun (1946), This is the Army (1943). The 1950s: The Ten Commandments (1956), Lady and the Tramp (1955), Peter Pan (1953), Ben Hur (1959), Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Sleeping Beauty (1959), South Pacific (1958), The Robe (1953), Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), This is Cinerama (1952).
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Fantasy-dominated early years are not much different from recent years. Box office winners in the 1980s: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Return of the Jedi (1983), Batman (1989), The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Ghostbusters (1984), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Beverly Hills Cop (1984), Back to the Future (1985). The 1990s, so far: Titanic (1997), Jurassic Park (1993), The Lion King (1994), Forrest Gump (1994), Home Alone (1990), Mrs. Doubtfire (1993), Terminator 2 (1992), Home Alone 2 (1992), Batman Returns (1992), Ghost (1990).

In short, Americans have generally not embraced violence, sex and moral decay in movies, and our cultural nannies have once again discounted the common sense of ordinary Americans. Maybe if they spent more time in the dark at the movies and less time in the dark at the word processor we'd get happier nannies submitting better commentary - lighting a few candles instead of just cursing the darkness.