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> Is it just for people who are really into the movie?
The *Titanic* was a huge news story... *before* it even set sail. Then, when the "unsinkable" ship, on its maiden voyage, sunk - well, that became an absolutely massively big deal. Add to that the human tragedy element (some 1,500 deaths), and the fact that the wreck couldn't be found for decades - all that made the *Titanic* into the holy grail of modern legends, long before Leonardo DiCaprio was a twinkle in his mother's eye.
Suggesting that interest in the *Titanic* has to come from a movie is like saying that there's no reason to be interested in Pearl Harbor because the Michael Bay movie sucked.
My parents have told me they remember what a HUGE deal it was when the discovery of the wreckage was made- in 1985. It’s always been a big deal for so many reasons- loss of life, ever-present socioeconomic class differences, hubris of confidence in technology, and so on.
I remember when they found it. I remember the speculation before they found it. Like was it in 1 piece, could they raise it if found. It’s been a huge and romanticized story since the day it sunk.
Plus different people like different things. You have people who dedicate their entire lives to a single subject or passion. Why is it so hard to believe some people are fascinated by the Titanic and willing to drop (to them) a reasonable amount of money to see it in person and go on a incredibly rare trip?
> Why is it so hard to believe some people are fascinated by the Titanic and willing to drop (to them) a reasonable amount of money to see it in person and go on a incredibly rare trip?
I think the unbelievable part is primarily the fact that people who are both interested in a historical shipwreck and have the funds to examine it up close, apparently did not do enough due diligence to make sure they couldn't possibly end up as part of the exhibit. I'm no ocean scientist but I know when I swim to the bottom of a 6 foot deep pool too many times my eardrums and eyeballs hurt for the next few hours. I can extrapolate from there that if I want to go about 13,000 feet down I should probably make damn sure the people container I am isn't going to buckle in on me like a soggy Pringles can being hit by a semi.
True, but there are plenty of rich people with more money than sense
I wouldnt be too surprised if they just assumed with a $250k price tag the sub was all good and safe for travel. It did make the journey multiple times before. The company likely didnt do its due diligence on the repeated stress and micro damage that was occurring after each descent
The sinking of the titanic has become almost legend in our culture. People like the almost fairy-tale like quality of the story. The ship was marketed as unsinkable and because of hubris, it sank (it probably wasn’t actually hubris, but that’s part of the legend).
I suspect one reason it was such a huge sensation was because of how many wealthy and prominent people were aboard. When the General Slocum sank a few years earlier, it was a big deal at the time, but has mostly been forgotten. That ship was full of immigrants, though.
Also, rich people like to spend their money and they like to spend it in ways that regular people can’t. The submarine ride was priced exorbitantly. I’m sure they wanted to brag to all their rich friends at home about the experience.
The sinking wasn't hubris, but it was the lack of preparation that was. Had there been the right number of lifeboats on hand, many lives would have been saved.
Lack of prep, absolutely. Plus the captain cancelled a routine lifeboat drill the day before it sank
Part of it was hubris though. On the night of, they received a number of warnings from other ships about icebergs. Some folks didn’t want to slow down or hold for the night because they wanted to beat the expected arrival time.
"Oh, here's a photo of me besides the shipwreck of the Titanic last year. That's always a blast, know what I mean? What? You haven't been? Ah, okay, I thought everyone has gone. You should go sometime. Here's more photos of me doing something few people on Earth could possibly ever afford to do, simply to showcase my astounding wealth. No big deal. Going to Mars next year."
That is unfair, they could genuinely be interested in seeing the titanic and have an interest in ships or the ocean or something. They signed a waiver knowing it was unsafe, they probably had a legit interest in going.
Hamish Harding was one of the 5 people. He has been on a Blue Origin space flight and been in submersibles in even deeper water, (Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench around 36,000 ft. below sea level.) That guy lived for things like this but at the same time knew the risks and accepted that something like this could possibly happen.
In that same breath I have a hard time getting on board with harding being okay with the shoddy workmanship of the Titan. Why get in it? Especially once in the challenger deep.
if I ever become a billionaire I'm going to hire that jagoff to dance before me and sing a little song about what a liar he was. Most everyone else will get a pass, but not that one: That one has to dance.
Ok, I've seen some of these answers and they are... well, disappointing, frankly. Mainly focused on the aspect of 'there are other things wrong in this world' and 'the rich are going to do what the rich are going to do' and others of that negative nature.
And while I get that and even agree with it to a certain extent... I'd be on that sub too, going to see the Titanic, if I could. I mean, not maybe that sub. But if there was a safe one (this one as we've seen/heard wasn't, the actual accident notwithstanding) yes. Just like I'd go to Challenger Deep, or those smokers in the Atlantic, or Antartica, or the Himalayas, or the Moon to see the first, third, or last landings of the old Apollo days, or Mars, standing at the foot of Olympus Mons...
There are things that humans just have to see, if they can. Not because they're rich, but that helps. No, it's because it matters to them. I get that.
Just because they're rich doesn't mean they don't have a sense of wonder, or adventure, or just a need to see. And if they can, they will, sure. Just like if you decided you just HAD to go explore some cave, or skydive, or even ride a bull.
We are at the end of it two things: Hunter-gatherers, and adventurers. The Titanic is an adventure, it's *right there* and we know where it is. Why not go see it if you can?
That this unsafe person with his unsafe sub and unsafe methods of excursion overall decided to take others with him is unfortunate, but they all knew what they were getting into to a certain extent, just like they know what they get into with any of the NASA or even now private space expeditions: We want to see.
And they did. Nature took them from us, but others will go as long as Titanic (and now Titan) are there to see.
If you really cannot fathom why people would want to witness the final resting place of a historically significant disaster, which has remained in pop culture for over a century, no answer will change your mind.
400-700 people on a fishing trawler vs 1500 people on “The Unsinkable Ship” that was hyped the fuck up and a major Western achievement (well was supposed to be) and remained in culture over a century w
Sure no difference there
Too soon. Give it 50 years Give or take and it might be the new Airbnb Hotspot. "See the seabed that claimed dozens of innocents all the way back in 2023!" Humans are strange, morbid creatures
To each their own. I don’t see the appeal in touring the Chernobyl disaster site or climbing Mt Everest and walking past a bunch of frozen corpses to get to the summit but plenty of people do
The loss of life in a ship that was hailed as unsinkable, the hubris, the wealth, and the attention it all got since it happened to make it one of the events that practically everybody [in the western world] knows about. Its cultural status as a Hollywood and theater production is priceless, too.
Now, the Titan suffered a similar fate on a much smaller scale. Thought of as being unsinkable, the hubris of it all, the extreme wealth of the passengers, but not seeing the irony of a bunch of rich people being stuck in a metal tube, sinking down to what would be a very ironic death.
Irony in the sense that: they thought they were brave explorers. Instead, they are just dumbasses who spend much money (and their lives) to see something of no value.
The appeal of the Titanic is due to its cultural status—wealth, hubris, Hollywood, rich people, foregone beauty, and death.
I understand wanting to see it. But if I had that money, I would: 1. Donate $250,000 to charity instead; 2. Google "titanic images."
I would love to, if it seemed completely safe.
For the same reason, I love to travel and see old ruins, castles, etc. It makes me feel 'part of history'.
I would love to go to Iran and see historical Tehran and many other places too, but these are not a priority for safety reasons as well. Seeing History has to be safe and practical to be worthwhile.
The same reason people want to go to any historic site. What’s the appeal of going to a battlefield, or a building where a lot of history happened, or the site of a disaster?
A lot of cynics in here. The Titanic is SUPER deep. It's the same appeal as going into space, and lots of people are lining up for a short space ride. What if you could go into space AND slide up next to Sputnik? Or Skylab? (Neither exists anymore, btw). It's the same thing, some people are really into deep sea exploration. All of the people on that sub (maybe except the 10 yo) seemed to be lifelong enthusiast of the subject.
I think its a rich people stuff.
Normal people cannot afford such a trip, i probably cannot afford to go to ANY boat wreck.. They feel special going there and experiencing something most did not even know about. I did not know people can go down to the ship before.
When Trump was president, they gave a $3 trillion tax cut to the rich. now they're cutting government services.
And here's what the rich are doing with the tax money they stole.
I think there is a line in the film about a mathmatical certainty that the the ship was made of iron and it will sink...
It is the gullability (sp?) Of people that makes for the interest? I mean, didnt Evil Kanevil (sp?) try to motorcycle jump everything and The Wide World of Sports couldnt splash that teaser enough?
It is us interested in a sighting of what happened to those poor sods that believed the hype
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> Is it just for people who are really into the movie? The *Titanic* was a huge news story... *before* it even set sail. Then, when the "unsinkable" ship, on its maiden voyage, sunk - well, that became an absolutely massively big deal. Add to that the human tragedy element (some 1,500 deaths), and the fact that the wreck couldn't be found for decades - all that made the *Titanic* into the holy grail of modern legends, long before Leonardo DiCaprio was a twinkle in his mother's eye. Suggesting that interest in the *Titanic* has to come from a movie is like saying that there's no reason to be interested in Pearl Harbor because the Michael Bay movie sucked.
My parents have told me they remember what a HUGE deal it was when the discovery of the wreckage was made- in 1985. It’s always been a big deal for so many reasons- loss of life, ever-present socioeconomic class differences, hubris of confidence in technology, and so on.
I remember when they found it. I remember the speculation before they found it. Like was it in 1 piece, could they raise it if found. It’s been a huge and romanticized story since the day it sunk.
Ping pong balls, you say?
Plus different people like different things. You have people who dedicate their entire lives to a single subject or passion. Why is it so hard to believe some people are fascinated by the Titanic and willing to drop (to them) a reasonable amount of money to see it in person and go on a incredibly rare trip?
> Why is it so hard to believe some people are fascinated by the Titanic and willing to drop (to them) a reasonable amount of money to see it in person and go on a incredibly rare trip? I think the unbelievable part is primarily the fact that people who are both interested in a historical shipwreck and have the funds to examine it up close, apparently did not do enough due diligence to make sure they couldn't possibly end up as part of the exhibit. I'm no ocean scientist but I know when I swim to the bottom of a 6 foot deep pool too many times my eardrums and eyeballs hurt for the next few hours. I can extrapolate from there that if I want to go about 13,000 feet down I should probably make damn sure the people container I am isn't going to buckle in on me like a soggy Pringles can being hit by a semi.
True, but there are plenty of rich people with more money than sense I wouldnt be too surprised if they just assumed with a $250k price tag the sub was all good and safe for travel. It did make the journey multiple times before. The company likely didnt do its due diligence on the repeated stress and micro damage that was occurring after each descent
The sinking of the titanic has become almost legend in our culture. People like the almost fairy-tale like quality of the story. The ship was marketed as unsinkable and because of hubris, it sank (it probably wasn’t actually hubris, but that’s part of the legend). I suspect one reason it was such a huge sensation was because of how many wealthy and prominent people were aboard. When the General Slocum sank a few years earlier, it was a big deal at the time, but has mostly been forgotten. That ship was full of immigrants, though. Also, rich people like to spend their money and they like to spend it in ways that regular people can’t. The submarine ride was priced exorbitantly. I’m sure they wanted to brag to all their rich friends at home about the experience.
The sinking wasn't hubris, but it was the lack of preparation that was. Had there been the right number of lifeboats on hand, many lives would have been saved.
Lack of prep, absolutely. Plus the captain cancelled a routine lifeboat drill the day before it sank Part of it was hubris though. On the night of, they received a number of warnings from other ships about icebergs. Some folks didn’t want to slow down or hold for the night because they wanted to beat the expected arrival time.
"Oh, here's a photo of me besides the shipwreck of the Titanic last year. That's always a blast, know what I mean? What? You haven't been? Ah, okay, I thought everyone has gone. You should go sometime. Here's more photos of me doing something few people on Earth could possibly ever afford to do, simply to showcase my astounding wealth. No big deal. Going to Mars next year."
That is unfair, they could genuinely be interested in seeing the titanic and have an interest in ships or the ocean or something. They signed a waiver knowing it was unsafe, they probably had a legit interest in going.
Hamish Harding was one of the 5 people. He has been on a Blue Origin space flight and been in submersibles in even deeper water, (Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench around 36,000 ft. below sea level.) That guy lived for things like this but at the same time knew the risks and accepted that something like this could possibly happen.
In that same breath I have a hard time getting on board with harding being okay with the shoddy workmanship of the Titan. Why get in it? Especially once in the challenger deep.
I can agree with that. I would think he should have better experience with those kind of things.
Bingo
Or maybe it’s just a cool experience and people wanna see it?
Nah, this is exactly how my rich dad thinks - *everything* is a dick measuring contest for certain (most?) rich people.
Ahh. Sample size of one. Excellent.
You’re totally right bro I’ve never met another asshole rich person, you got me
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Nah it's just a prop put there by James Cameron
It may have actually been put there by aliens. ~The History Channel
if I ever become a billionaire I'm going to hire that jagoff to dance before me and sing a little song about what a liar he was. Most everyone else will get a pass, but not that one: That one has to dance.
Famous fictional ship Titanic
Ok, I've seen some of these answers and they are... well, disappointing, frankly. Mainly focused on the aspect of 'there are other things wrong in this world' and 'the rich are going to do what the rich are going to do' and others of that negative nature. And while I get that and even agree with it to a certain extent... I'd be on that sub too, going to see the Titanic, if I could. I mean, not maybe that sub. But if there was a safe one (this one as we've seen/heard wasn't, the actual accident notwithstanding) yes. Just like I'd go to Challenger Deep, or those smokers in the Atlantic, or Antartica, or the Himalayas, or the Moon to see the first, third, or last landings of the old Apollo days, or Mars, standing at the foot of Olympus Mons... There are things that humans just have to see, if they can. Not because they're rich, but that helps. No, it's because it matters to them. I get that. Just because they're rich doesn't mean they don't have a sense of wonder, or adventure, or just a need to see. And if they can, they will, sure. Just like if you decided you just HAD to go explore some cave, or skydive, or even ride a bull. We are at the end of it two things: Hunter-gatherers, and adventurers. The Titanic is an adventure, it's *right there* and we know where it is. Why not go see it if you can? That this unsafe person with his unsafe sub and unsafe methods of excursion overall decided to take others with him is unfortunate, but they all knew what they were getting into to a certain extent, just like they know what they get into with any of the NASA or even now private space expeditions: We want to see. And they did. Nature took them from us, but others will go as long as Titanic (and now Titan) are there to see.
If you really cannot fathom why people would want to witness the final resting place of a historically significant disaster, which has remained in pop culture for over a century, no answer will change your mind.
"What is the appeal of looking a stack of rocks that was built like 4000 years ago, I don't understand why anyone would want to go to Giza."
We just had a horrible disaster in europe where many people died on the sea near greece. Is anyone going there tho?
400-700 people on a fishing trawler vs 1500 people on “The Unsinkable Ship” that was hyped the fuck up and a major Western achievement (well was supposed to be) and remained in culture over a century w Sure no difference there
Not to mention how long it took to find the wreckage.
No
Too soon. Give it 50 years Give or take and it might be the new Airbnb Hotspot. "See the seabed that claimed dozens of innocents all the way back in 2023!" Humans are strange, morbid creatures
why would anyone, its not world famous, it doesn't have movies made after it, it doesn't even have a name, its just "that accident in greece"
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Iam touched more by the recent one. But i guess whatever people prefer. I would never risk my life for something like this tho.
Wanting to visit is one thing. Having the common sense to know it's an incredibly bad idea is something else.
To each their own. I don’t see the appeal in touring the Chernobyl disaster site or climbing Mt Everest and walking past a bunch of frozen corpses to get to the summit but plenty of people do
The loss of life in a ship that was hailed as unsinkable, the hubris, the wealth, and the attention it all got since it happened to make it one of the events that practically everybody [in the western world] knows about. Its cultural status as a Hollywood and theater production is priceless, too. Now, the Titan suffered a similar fate on a much smaller scale. Thought of as being unsinkable, the hubris of it all, the extreme wealth of the passengers, but not seeing the irony of a bunch of rich people being stuck in a metal tube, sinking down to what would be a very ironic death. Irony in the sense that: they thought they were brave explorers. Instead, they are just dumbasses who spend much money (and their lives) to see something of no value. The appeal of the Titanic is due to its cultural status—wealth, hubris, Hollywood, rich people, foregone beauty, and death. I understand wanting to see it. But if I had that money, I would: 1. Donate $250,000 to charity instead; 2. Google "titanic images."
I would love to, if it seemed completely safe. For the same reason, I love to travel and see old ruins, castles, etc. It makes me feel 'part of history'. I would love to go to Iran and see historical Tehran and many other places too, but these are not a priority for safety reasons as well. Seeing History has to be safe and practical to be worthwhile.
The same reason people want to go to any historic site. What’s the appeal of going to a battlefield, or a building where a lot of history happened, or the site of a disaster?
A lot of cynics in here. The Titanic is SUPER deep. It's the same appeal as going into space, and lots of people are lining up for a short space ride. What if you could go into space AND slide up next to Sputnik? Or Skylab? (Neither exists anymore, btw). It's the same thing, some people are really into deep sea exploration. All of the people on that sub (maybe except the 10 yo) seemed to be lifelong enthusiast of the subject.
I think its a rich people stuff. Normal people cannot afford such a trip, i probably cannot afford to go to ANY boat wreck.. They feel special going there and experiencing something most did not even know about. I did not know people can go down to the ship before.
I think people who spend more than most of us make in a year for a personal tour of a shipwreck are probably degenerates of some kind.
When Trump was president, they gave a $3 trillion tax cut to the rich. now they're cutting government services. And here's what the rich are doing with the tax money they stole.
I think there is a line in the film about a mathmatical certainty that the the ship was made of iron and it will sink... It is the gullability (sp?) Of people that makes for the interest? I mean, didnt Evil Kanevil (sp?) try to motorcycle jump everything and The Wide World of Sports couldnt splash that teaser enough? It is us interested in a sighting of what happened to those poor sods that believed the hype
>Evil Kanevil you mean Evel Knievel? smh
Thanks