Before we go any further, I must just say that I'm a huge fan of the 1997 movie. The production value is massive and was way ahead of it's time. The attention to detail is also mind-blowing: Did you know that James Cameron purposefully built the Grand Staircase at a slightly larger scale, because people in 1912 were slightly smaller than they are today? THAT is attention to detail that very few filmmakers apply today.
But what about the other details that could be expanded upon if it wasn't all about the romance?
1. Jack Dawson: Time Traveller
This has been a
fan theory on the web for quite a while now. The theory goes that Jack appeared to stop Rose from committing suicide, because if she jumped, the ship would've stopped to retrieve her, and that delay would've caused them to sail through the 'berg zone' in warmer weather or possibly even when there was sufficient daylight - possibly avoiding a collision altogether.
Several facts to validate this theory:
- Jack has no currency and has to gamble his way on board the Titanic;
- He speaks of Lake Wissota; a man-made lake built 5 years after the Titanic sank;
- Jack's haircut and rucksack are inconsistent with 1912. The latter only being popularized in the 1930's; and
- He promises Rose a visit to the roller coaster on the Santa Monica Pier - nonexistent until 1916.
The theorist goes further to say that because James Cameron also directed the Terminator movies (which involve time travel) that Rose is Sarah Connor's grandmother.
How It Could've Been Better:
We know that Jack wasn't the type to hurt anyone. He always kept alert, showed kindness to children and made the effort to be polite - even when others weren't the same to him.
However, letting 1514 people die to save one person is something that even hardy time-travellers would struggle getting over.
That would've surely created a hero in heavy turmoil: someone needing to balance the moral scales, whose heart is also "a deep ocean of secrets".
It's a story bursting with mystery: why did Jack come back to 1912? Where did he come from? Who sent him? Did he accomplish his mission? Are there others like him?
2. What If The Man Rose Eventually Married Knew About Jack
This is an unhappy thought, because it reveals Rose to be quite a horrible person.
Throughout the film Rose transforms from a spoiled rich girl to a down-to-earth friend who has an exciting new lease on life. But there is a huge gap between her arriving in New York on the Carpathia in 1912, and her arriving on Brock Lovett's (Bill Paxton) research vessel in 1997.
What we do know:
- She changed her name to Dawson;
- She got married;
- She had children, who had children of their own; and
- She never told her husband (or anybody) about Jack.
If we read between the lines, something is out of place.
Old Rose has the double-barrel surname of Dawson-Calvert, meaning she kept Jack's name and just added the new one when she married. Was her husband ok with this? Wouldn't he have wondered why she was so darn adamant about keeping the name Dawson there?
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| A name changer is a game changer. |
Let's consider all the photos that Old Rose 'never goes anywhere without': we see a woman who fulfilled her promises to Jack and lived the dreams that Jack inspired. We don't see any wedding photos or pictures of her children; the happiest moments of one's life are not included with Rose's photos!
She clearly still had huge feelings for Jack and the man she married suffered enormously because of it.
How It Could've Been Better:
Shedding even a little light on this reveals a mystery man that was messed around emotionally by a woman whom we once admired and loved.
This man
had to have known that something wasn't right with his wife and possibly pursued the mystery himself.
Rose may have not told him about Jack, but did he know she still possessed the Heart of the Ocean?
Perhaps he did find out about Jack and when he did, everything strange about Rose suddenly made sense. And maybe she had to 'get rid' of him, because if he knew, he would probably leave and take the diamond with him.
3. A Missing Key Caused The Titanic To Sink
All big disasters could be traced back to one of many tiny variables that set off a chain reaction.
In this case, Fred Fleet (played by Scot G. Anderson) was the man who first spotted the fateful iceburg. He survived and eventually
testified to a senate inquiry that if he had access to a pair of binoculars - he probably would've seen the iceberg early enough to avoid it.
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| But then you'd probably be reading an article on Why The Hindenburg Should've Been A Musical or something. |
However, Fred did have binoculars close at hand! But they were locked inside the crows nest locker. And the key to that locker never came on board.
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| David Blair |
Whilst in Southampton, there was a reshuffling of Senior Officers by the White Star Line. David Blair, who had been Second Officer on
Titanic since her trials and journey from Belfast to Southampton, was (at the last minute) transferred to the RMS
Olympic, and replaced by Charles Lightoller.
So last minute was the call, that Blair forgot to handover his locker key to Lightoller. But, hey! The
Titanic was unsinkable, everyone's eyes were fine and the weather was clearing up.
That key became a family treasure, reminding Blair of what could've been. Eventually the key came up for auction for over £70 000.
How It Could've Been Better:
The film could've been revolved around the keys or the binoculars changing hands, revealing and unraveling mystery occurrences, leading up to the disaster.
Also,
there were loads of people who never made the journey, either due to illness or delayed travels, bad feelings from their families, etc - Create a mysterious connection between these people and their collective evasion from disaster builds to a climax.
4. Murder, Murder, Murder
There are already many 'Whodunnit' novels about the
Titanic, including two Sherlock Holmes stories!
Already shrouded in real-life mystery, the story of
Titanic naturally lends itself to yarns about how it could've sank and what really caused the iceberg collision.
But what about mysteries separate to that leading up to the disaster?
Like, for example, if the Murder on the Orient Express took place on a luxury liner - that just happened to sink before it's destination.
There's even a real theory, about how the
Titanic never sank and that it was her sister ship, the Olympic, disguised as
Titanic, as an insurance scam by the owners. And surprisingly there is plenty of real evidence of it's plausibility!
Murder, money and scandal! Brilliant!
How It Could've Been Better:
It would be great to go on a journey aboard history's greatest cruise liner (at the time) and discovering that certain crew members aren't really crew members. Perhaps there are two 'teams' on board disguised as crew and passengers alike, both trying to outwit the other in potentially the biggest heist/hijack ever plotted.
Perhaps when Cal Hockley purchased the Heart of the Ocean, a gang was commissioned to follow the diamond at all costs and return it to an unknown kingpin.
Perhaps Jack was on the run for some unbearably terrible accident and it turns out that the law is waiting for him in New York. A mystery only revealed when Rose arrives in New York under the name of Dawson - a false name used by Jack to evade the authorities.
5. Rose Arrested For The Murder Of Jack Dawson
We've already touched on portraying Rose as a dark, foreboding character.
We've seen the dynamics between Jack and Rose: The friendship, the quirks, the intimacy.
But what if it was all done for a reason?
How It Could've Been Better:
Let's take it further and assume a story in which Rose, under threat of her fiance, must do whatever it takes to make sure Jack is killed and disposed of before reaching New York. For whatever reason - we don't even have to find out - it could be a
Maguffin. Failure to comply will result in her and her family's own terrible demise; if she succeeds, she will be met with reward.
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| And I think we all know who would play the evil mastermind. |
Jack is watching the stars when Rose (in character) times her little run past him to the back of the ship, where she waits for Jack to 'get involved' and pull her to safety.
Rose "reminds"Cal to invite Jack to dinner to draw some more info out of him and make him relaxed. Although Jack can sense the hostility (common between classes in those days), he finds solace with Rose, which is alright since she's going to kill him anyway.
Eventually the ship starts sinking, which adds time pressure on Rose to get rid of Jack. She gets lowered in the lifeboat, watching Cal and Jack. Cal stares back. Knowing that her and her family will die if Jack isn't killed, she springs off the lifeboat, back on board the sinking ship to hook up with Jack.
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| Eenie meenie minie mo... |
Realising the ship hasn't got long to go, she keeps Jack running around until all the lifeboats are gone, because she somehow knows that either way, she is dead. Eventually Cal even chases after them, shooting them, not caring about blowing his cover anymore.
We all know there was space on the floating debris for Jack, they only tried one attempt at both getting on, but she kept him off, and waited until he froze to death. It's because of Jack that Rose had to go through all of this, but now she could return to America and claim her reward.
Then we see Old Rose: she's lived a long, good life. She got married and had kids. It wouldn't make any sense that when she dies, she reconnects with a guy she only knew for a couple of days (when she was a teenager) - unless it went a little further than what we saw: Jack reminds her that this is an unhappy ending.
