《泰坦尼克号》电影中美国社会阶级分析

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本科毕业论文（设计）
题目An Analysis of Classes in American Society in the Film of Titanic 《泰坦尼克号》电影中美国社会
阶级分析
作者
院 (系)
专业班级
学号
指导教师
答辩日期年月日
西安文理学院
毕业论文（设计）诚信责任书
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Abstract
In the background of The “Titanic” in 1912, the Titanic in its virgin sail impacted the iceberg and then finally sank. It describes the two people in different classes - poor painter Jack and aristocratic girl Rose abandoned the secular prejudices to fall in love, Jack finally gave the living opportunity to Rose's touching love story. This paper st udies the different social classes in the “Titanic”, analysis the different social classes’ life quality and the deeply cultural connotation from the level of the cabin, the allocation of social resources and the cross-class phenomenon, with sociological
p erspective. Indicating that the American’s vanity on the level issues is not the results of accidental choice but with a profoundly social and cultural roots.
Key words: The“Titanic”; love; classes; culture
摘要
《泰坦尼克号》以1912年泰坦尼克号邮轮在其处女启航时触礁冰山而沉没的事件为背景，描述了处于不同阶层的两个人——穷画家杰克和贵族女露丝抛弃世俗的偏见坠入爱河，最终杰克把生命的机会让给了露丝的感人故事。

本文通过研究《泰坦尼克号》中不同的社会阶层，从船舱的等级、社会资源的分配和跨阶级现象等方面，用社会学眼光来分析不同的社会阶层生活品位的深层文化内涵。

说明美国人在等级问题上暴露出的虚荣自大并非偶然的选择结果，而是具有深刻的社会文化根源的。

关键词：《泰坦尼克号》；爱情；阶层；文化
Contents
1. Introduction (1)
2.The p henomenon of “Titanic” (1)
3.The class analysis of “Titanic” (3)
3.1 Analysis of cabin rank (3)
3.2 Unbalanced allocation of social resources (4)
3.3 Analysis the American Classes by ‘Dream Ship’ (5)
3.4 Hierarchy and class prejudice (6)
3.5 The symbol of the American spirit (7)
4.Conclusion (8)
References (11)
Acknowledgement (12)
1.Introduction
As the focus mainstream ideology of American film, "Titanic" is used in the narrator flashback format, with the great imagination reconstructed the life story of the ‘Titanic’ recalled a tragic love story under the background of the 1912. The story takes place on a luxury cruise ship, including the hero, many people joined the "Titanic" maiden voyage, shows a period beautiful love story of life and death, love and hate in front of the world. Among them, the heroine Rose was a daughter of the rich, accompanied by his mother and her fiance Carl on the ship. The hero Jack is a dissolute unruly young artist, and he won a lower class tickets by gambling at the same time. In the course of the voyage of the ship, Rose was reluctant to marry Carl and was extremely disgusted with the hypocrisy of the upper class, so she had the idea of suicide. When she was going to jump, she was saved by Jack. After then Jack led Rose to the lower class party and Jack also painted for Rose. With the contact of the two people, they fell in love gradually. At this time, the Titanic collided with the iceberg. The sudden disaster tested the love between them. After panic and struggle, Jack lifted Rose up with a small piece of wood. But he was in the icy waters, and frozen to death. In the film, the love of the hero and the heroine was influenced and restraint of the class. It is difficult to break the cage of morality and freedom. This story contains the conflict between the rich and the poor, class consciousness and the danger of falling. The theme of the disaster has secilarized and commercalized to the characterization of the human nature and the class nature.
2.The Phenomenon of the Titanic
For "Titanic", the hype from the news and the media like wave by wave. Increases the worth of the Titanic rapidly and formed an unprecedented boom. There are lots of novels, papers, literatures, photos, picture albums, interviews and so on at the same theme. Global "Titanic" phenomenon pushing a culture of consumer wave in front of us.
Disaster and love, life and death, impact the global box office. The income of the box office of "Titanic" now beated the "Jurassic park", breaking through the $1.2 billion, has a great success in the sense of the business. It should be admitted that the production of the Titanic’s grand scene, plot tension, rich details, b eautiful actors, director of the originality, excellent photography is rarely seen in movie history. With the Titanic's popularity, there was a titanic phenomenon in the world. "Titanic" directed by James Cameron who derected the’Terminator’ and the ‘True Lies’, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. 86 years ago, sank to the bottom of the ocean’s
Titanic was onto the screen for many times, losses of love and the helplessness of disaster has been the focus. In the "Titanic", the director James Cameron still followed the past ideas, but he gave the film to more romantic, human and social contradictions also have more sharp performance. The film give audiences lots of inspiration and introspection and also won the tears at the same time.
Space-time conversion is a means of expression that many art films specialize in using. There is no doubt that the 'Titanic' also has "the past" and "now" two spacetimes. In terms of "the past", Titanic’s sinking of this historical event itself, has the heartbreak and the tragic effect. On April 15, 1912, the so-called "unsinkable sea fortress" and "dream boat" British luxury giant boat Titanic’s first shipping hit the iceberg in the north Atlantic voyage. Only two hours, it became an “ice wreck”. There are 2228 peopl e on the ship, but only 705 of the people survived. In terms of “now”, in the film 'Titanic', director Cameron strives to combine an immortal classical love legend with this painful historical disaster. The scene that thousands of people fell into the water, a grand scene of tragic shipwreck, hundreds of hands for help under the lifeboat, there is no doubt that there is a great shock in the sence of visual and audio. Rose and Jack’s love story begins on the boat and ended in the ice water, and let the movie get rid of the pattern of record the event simply. It also makes it possible to acquire the artistic charm of the first seven films of the titanic. In order to strengthen the sense of reality, Cameron imported a treasure hunters’ real action at the beginn ing of the film. When the wrecker take out the fictional portraits of Rose by seawater corrosion of the safe box, everything is no longer false. And when the old lady was in the real environment to recall the past that was dosen’t exsit, everything actual ization logically. The director’s pursuit of the details and accuracy, increased its historical authenticity and credibility. The film use the “heart of the ocean” be a mysterious haunt and as a clue of the narrative structure skillfully and delicately. It satisfied the audio-visual image strives to the perfect, and it is also a great pleasure for watching.
The Titanic's success in art is that it is a historical disaster that is different from the fiction. Hollywood movie has always focused on the character and put them in the most important position. In the film, the hero and the heroine's image of them is very touching. In terms of character image shaping, 'Titanic’ is not a very successful one. For example, the three characters Rose Jack and Carl’s c haracters are littel vague. Although she admire the modernist painting of Picasso, and discuss about Freud occasionally, but it lack of the behavior of the evidence like Anna hate Karenina(‘Anna Karenina’). Jack's "enjoy every day" and his artistic talent only complement with each other to show his lovely place. But he is not smart enough, not resorceful enough in the film. Except Carl framed Jack's money to run away, the film
also lack of the description of his emptiness spiritual , vicious humanity and so on. Although the whole plot of the film is fictional, the director also has deficiencies because of the individual horizon, and there are some defects in individual details. But because the details of the Titanic is extremely real, and fully used the contrast approach, so the film was highly praised by the audience.
"Titanic" also combine with a variety of contrast, all kinds of contrast at a heat, received a very good artistic effect. Except the gender comparison, comparison of the first class cabin and the third class cabin , comparison of poverty and wealth, comparison of different classes and the comparison of the emotions in the film, there is also a comparison of the space and time, details and scenes, etc. For example, For example, the time contrast of centuries, it has the memories of the beginning of the century, and it also has a outlook for the future, greatly enhanced the film's heavy sense of the history ; The huge spatial comparison and the comparison of details and scenes, gives auduience a beautiful spectacular impression; The comparison of bliss and exteremly sad, resulting the audience's psychological contrast and emotional agitation.
Thus, the two themes of love and the perils of the sea, 'Titanic' is not just technical demonstration, and not simply reveal the emotional ups and downs. It combines them together, so it makes the tragedy become a beautiful story, and obtained a commercial and artistic double success. The combination of the shipwreck and the plot of love makes the whole film evolve under a suspense tense and a rapidly changing rhythm. The whole process of wrecking was thrilling. But because of the hero and heroine's love life, passing a traditional but everlasting and lovely sentiment. People always like to reveal the old when they are feeling the history. Moreover this dream is so moving. The film is three hours and ten minutes long, but people do not feel tired after watching. So we must have to recognize the wisdom of the producers and creators.
3.The class analysis of Titanic.
We see the ‘Titanic’ is not only a beautiful love movie, more we can see that the American social stratification from this film.
3.1 Analysis of cabin rank.
The hero Jack is from a poor family in the bottom of society, the heroine Rose is the lady from the nobility. The two young people born with a natural contradiction, but they fell in love. Rose has a fiance, her fiance Carle is the son of the steel king. Rose and her fiance Karl live in this luxury cruise ship in the first class and the poor boy Jack lives in the third class. So the story begins in such a class conflict. The
emergence and development of the contradiction between the opposing classes will direct this wonderful story. "Let the women and children go first". The social norms on the Titanic maybe more accurate to express: "the women and children of the first class and the second class go first.”
Class and gender determines a person's life and death in the Titanic sinking. In the process of filming, Cameron pays special attention to excavate the deep reasons of social and cultural aspects behind the disaster.He studied the composition of the survivors of the wreck of the Titanic carefully, and came up with a surprising result. A crew of the Titanic, has 10% chance of surviving in the disaster. And a first-class cabin man, the chance of survival has reached 50%, the survival chances of the women in first-class cabin was 100%. In contrast, the survival chances of the women in a third-class cabin was only 25%. From this, we can see that the class differences and the gender differences have become an important factor of a person in the survival. The casualties statistics said that , there are 76 children in the third class cabin, but only 23 children have been saved. In the night "women and children first", the rate of the third class cabin children's loss is higher than the first class cabin men. When the water is rising rapidly, some exports of iron door has been locked, banned the people in the third class cabin to go out. According to the only escaped third class cabin waiter memorizes that the third class people are limited to the deck until a quarter past 1’o clock. This is a kind of satire on the class of human rights.
“Mr. Dawson is joining us from the third class. He was of some assistance to my fiancee last night.”The actor stressed that jack is from the third class intentional. Money can bring you into a kind of social class but this kind of social mobility is not promoting the development of the society. Only the hope, freedom and equality of the social environment is advisable, and it can promote the development of the society. It is diffiult for lower classes to flow upward. But how about the higher classes flow downward? It is more difficult.
3.2 Unbalanced allocation of social resources.
The Titanic is ready to set sail, in the boarding time, the people of the upper class filled with a variety of luggage, And then transported to the luxury suites of first class. In the contrast, Jake carry a small bag on board`. Before entering the society, what they have is not the same. After boarding, the scene is switched between the first class cabin and the third class cabin. They have a serious imbalance of social resources. Even in the social public domain—deck, The resources they have are not the same. The third class passengers can only look up. Jack's friends have a saying:“Well, that's typical. First-class dogs come down here to take a shit. Let us know where we rank in the scheme of things. Like we could forget.”In reality, many people like the lower class people, sleeping in their "small spread"peacefully and then enjoy their own life.
The British aristocrat Rose's mother asked Jack the situation of the third class cabin in a luxurious first-class restaurant inte ntionally:“Tell us the accommodations in steerage, Mr. Dawson.I hear they're quite good on this ship.”And Jack replied humorously:“The best I've seen, ma'am. Hardly any rats.”
Jack is not the same, maybe he is not eager to enter the upper class, but he is eager to have his own favorite things - Rose. He is always ready. Finally, Jack went into his beloved woman’s heart with his talent of painting, and hooked Rose's heart tightly.
3.3Analysis the American Classes by ‘Dream Ship’ .
The Titanic is known as the "dream ship", it embodies Embodies the capitalist ideals, values, beliefs and other ideological things. The whole capitalist society is a larger Titanic. As the “industry miracle in the history of the world”, the course of Titanic from Southampton, UK to New York. Suggests the values of Americans. But the construction of the "Titanic", is like the Hollywood blockbuster. Focus on the technological achievements of modern industrial revolution. reflected the development of the bourgeoisie society conceited or arrogant under the support of money and technology. Ironically, The development of this "smug" of capitalism has led to the destruction of the Titanic.
The shipwreck incident of Titanic is the the world's first event to shake twentieth century. As the world's most luxurious ship, Titanic is regarded as unsinkable fortress on the sea. The destruction of the Titanic is reminiscent of the fate of capitalist society, and the metaphorical relationship can be seen at a glance. As the masterpiece of the shipbuilding industry, the Titanic's displacement reaches 66000 ton. The display, decoration firm structure and waterproof inside the ships are very luxurious. And watertight cabins are more and better, the ship is relatively rare at that time. At the time, At the time, there is nothing more than "Titanic" such a man-made largest and most luxurious passenger ship launching voyage can show the mastery of the human nature. But the "Great Boat" suddenly sank into the sea, and ended in a intricated nightmare disastrously, just leaving people a dream and a kind of memories. It should be said that the progress of technological has made the first 20 years of twentieth century development rapidly and the bourgeoisie is also complacent. But with the Titanic’s sinking, it laughed mercilessly about the man’s so-called conquest. And the human mind was badly hurt. It has a profound influence of capitalist society.
The tragedy of the Titanic is just like the bustling capitalist society. The fate of sudden subversion has awaken some of western capitalist countries. The luxury ship can be said to be a symbol and it’s an allegory of the fate of the American culture and capitalist culture. As Cameron said: “Now the Titanic is a cautionary tale, it’s a mirror that mak es people scan themselves all the time, and it’s also a legendary that enduring
the faith, courage and sacrifice. ”
When the captain praised of the Titanic, he said: “I'm the king of the world! She's the largest moving object ever made by the hand of man in all history. And our master shipbuilder, Mr. Andrews, here, designed her from the keel plates up. I may have knocked her together, but the idea was Mr. Ismay's. He envisioned a steamer so grand in scale and so luxurious in its appointments that its supremacy would never be challenged. And here she is willed into solid reality.”To be able to drive the Titanic is the greatest honor of everyone's life. “If we were to get into New York on Tuesday night and surprise them all. Make the morning papers. Retir e with a bang, eh, E.J.?”
The opposition between the first class cabin and the third class cabin reflects a kind of class barrier and class discrimination. The feudal aristocracy Rose's mother in a luxurious first-class cabin restaurant ask Jack the phenomenon of the third class intentionally , and Jack replied humorously: "Very good, hardly any rats" . And Jack did not feel uncomfortable in the first class cabin, instead he kissed Rose’s hand like a hypocrisy nobility. Then he explain: "learn it in the movies, and I've always wanted to try it." This division also represents a right of life.
3.4 Hierarchy and class prejudice
Different classes, different cabins could not have made the hero and the heroine fall in love. But they finally made the biggest adventure of their life--- to break the fetters of secular, both fall in love. Rose and Jack Dawson’s "love first" conception broke the distinction between the first class cabin and the third class cabin, reflects a distinct across class phenomenon and romanticism. For the love of the different classes, Carl framed jack's character by losing the necklace of “The Heart of the Ocean”. And Rose’s mother sees Jack as a dangerous bug. The film does not emphasize on the disparity between the rich and the poor specially, but highlighted the different way of life caused by the class difference. It is the difference between the hypocrisy and outmoded lifestyle and the free and changeable lifestyle causes the start of two people’s love. In the eyes of Rose, Jack is not a symbol of poverty but freedom and kindness ; and in the eyes of Jack, except the beauty and nobility, Rose is also depressed, struggling in the social. This plot makes myraid audience fascinated, and poured into too much sadness and regrets. Class phenomenon is the most common phenomenon of the contemporary world. We believe that the criticism of the film on class discrimination, will undoubtedly have a strong practical significance at the end of twentieth century. In a sense, the success of Titanic also lies in its standing in the position of the human nature and humanity to criticize the class culture, hierarchy and class bias. So it win the audience, win the oriented of cultural consumption, win the huge box office value
When Jack and Rose met in the deck, Jack persuaded the Rose get down from
the ship bar , Ruth reveals herself as a superior:“I saw my whole life as if I'd already lived it. An endless parade of parties and cotillions...yachts and polo matches. Always the same narrow people, the same mindless chatter. I felt like I was standing at a great precipice with no one to pull me back. No one who cared or even noticed.”Rose looks forward to Jack’s free life, and she learnt how to spit from Jack:“Can you show me? Teach me to ride like a man. And chew tobacco like a man. And spit like a man.”
We have to account for the classism of the ‘Titanic’ especially that the specific time is in 1912 at the beginning of the century. In the end of the 20th century today, the class discrimination and th e racial discrimination’s phenomenon has not existed in a sharp and clear form as it was at the beginning of the century. But that does not mean that the class does not exist. On the one hand, at that time, the class difference was as the film revealed is the legacy of feudal aristocracy, Ruth's mother instead of the captain and Molly Brown has a serious hierarchy; On the other hand, The ruling method of the bourgeoisie has also been greatly improved. According to the relevant information, since the emergence of this tragic event in the history of human shipping , the first class cabin and the third class cabin distinguished people only according to the price. Nowadays there are still existed huge price differences everywhere such as the aircraft cabin, the residential districts, the higher education tuition, etc. The art plot of the film depends on the class difference, it raised the problem and did not answer the questions perfectly. It cause a kind of suspense in the future is also an art effect of this film.
3.5 The symbol of the American spirit
The young Jack Dawson can be said to be the representative of the American culture. He won the third class tickets by bet, and with his freedom and self-confidence attracted Rose. When he was on the Titanic, he shouted excitedly:“We're riding in high style now. We're a couple of regular swells. Like I told you, I go to America to be millionaire.”
This third class poor young boy although penniless, but full of artist passion and romantic art. He loves life and cherish his freedom. In his eyes, life is like a kind of lucky game. He taught Rose to spit slobber freely, and his lively nature makes Rose feel eager, fresh and excited. And Rose felt the beauty of life and the vitality of life with Jack.
Though Molly Brown in "Titanic" is only a supporting role, but he is a individual character. As a "upstart", she is a representative of the bourgeois image, and there is indeed such a person in real life. She wanted to be close to the feudal aristocracy, but the feudal aristocracy thinks she is vulgar. However in the play she support Jack against the upper class and save the drowning man after sinking, shows the beautiful side of her personality. There is a real connection between the two aspects of her life
and the changes of life. She and young Jake constitutes the representative of the "American dream", and become the symbol of American value. It is also a guide to the American ruling class objectively.
Pure girl Ruth was born in a family decline Britain feudal aristocracy, together with her mother and her fiancee Carl boarded the luxurious and comfortable Titanic ship. But Rose hated the son of steel king’s hypocrisy, affectation, arrogance and snobbish and doesn’t wants to marry him at all. Rose’s mothe r is particular about the suitable and force her to accept this marriage. Rose does not seem to have any common language with Karl ,and their taste of art also very different. Carl doesn’t care about Rose’s feeling and in order to win the favor of Rose, he uses his own way of understanding, it’s also a typical bourgeois way, sent Rose a necklace of 54 carat blue diamond-- "The Heart of the Ocean" .But money and material can not impress Rose's heart. She deeply felt tedious and unhappy.
At the end of the film, when a policeman asked Rose, "what's your name please, miss?” Rose did not hesitated to show her identity with Jack:“Dawson, Rose Dawson.”She threw "The Heart of the Ocean" into the sea. And at the age of 101 she still painted her fingernails bright red. It have shown a change in values, her love of life and her true love memories.
4. Conclusion
'Titanic' selected such a perspective, respect history, facing the reality of the contradiction at that time. It is not just a love movie, because it did not avoid sharp class contradictions, And give the hero and the heroine different class status to conceiving touching and tearful love story between them. If in a different view, it can show the emotional complication between them similarly. But that will obviously lose the sensibility and authenticity of history.
Titanic, its achievement is to take the shipwreck as the main line. Reflects the inequality of the society in the love story at that time, and reveals the essence of the society. Americans are lack of grade and vanity, arrogance and vulgarity on the issue of rankings, which are not accidental choices but have profound social and cultural roots. For example, the largest number of class of American, the middle class, Is the most vain and snobbish class. The reason is because they can be replaced like screws, and because of the lack of security, their life is also the most anxious. In this state of mind to live, the first thing is to get recognition of others, and to make others think he lived decent and safe . Therefore their vanity and display must be embodied in the basic necessities of life and discourse.
But, in essence, most of them are from a lower class, so they lack the advanced quality of life inevitably. Therefore in their life they just pursuit the lack of individual, standard and the goods can clear their identity. This kind of cautious, unrestrained, and lacking creative way of life is something we should pay attention to.
In American culture, 'Titanic' should be said a special case. But why this movie can set off a "Titanic" craze in the world? Why attracting Chinese audiences while attracting thousands of American audiences? And why it can cause the resonance to the white, black , adults and children’s heart? Because this movi e is not as same as the tradition Hollywood movie. It has the unique to reflect human’s ideal, faith, sacrifice, courage and love. The American culture, including the award of Oscars is particularly favored by the movie like ‘The First Blood’ ‘Gone With The Wind’ ‘Platoon’ and the ‘Forrest Gump’. However, there is no "Superman" image for the first time in this film. It makes the American film’s main theme from science fiction and violence changes to the current traditional life story and the theme of love. In recent decades, violent, science fiction movies such as aliens, Star Wars and Jurassic park it does have a strong stimulating effect to the human, but they can not give more profound inspiration and thinking to people. The deep characterization of human nature is a feature of the Titanic. It should be admitted that in this huge disaster, Rational fled is the human’s instinct. The chief actor is not tall and strong, instead of weak and cool. The chief actress is a little rebellious but the image is gentle and pleasant. In front of the disaster, they shows the courage and the dignity of human in front of death. For example, in order to comfort the people, musicians fulfill their duties for the passengers to play music, until the event happened. An old coup le, doesn’t beg for survival in vain, lying on the bed waiting the death quietly; Some British gentlemen are not going to wear life jackets in order to keep decent; The priest still prayer when facing death and so on. To present the complicated human nature, the film escaped the general sense of the confrontation between good and evil and moral judgments, instead of showing the class conflict in the early 20th century in a certain sence. In the film ‘Titainc’, there is no "Superman" , but to wrote everyone can't resist their fates. Money and love, poor and rich, each person's performance are painted so full in the risk, and it’s a reflection or refraction to the capitalist society of class culture at the beginning of the century. This immortal legend is reinterpretation from the perspective of class character and human nature by Cameron. The huge disaster is a kind of choice between life and death. And it’s also an important test to class nature and human nature. At this time, everyone shows their survival instinct and class nature honestly. The wreck of the Titanic shows a kind of quality of love, lofty, fearless and self-sacrifice, but also expose the people’s selfish, cowardly and dark.
Therefore, if we only focus on the theme of the tragedy of love , 'Titanic' now。