The Pianist and Titanic combined

I have seen Titanic on numerous accounts but not once did I ever examine it as a Marxist reading. However, through our discussions in class and reading assignments, I can now review this movie through Marx’s view points.

In Titanic, the idea of a class system is illustrated from the very beginning of the movie. As the passengers enter the ship, they are automatically separated according to their class. The upper stories of the ship are reserved for the upper class and the lower stories for the middle and lower class. The upper class is presented with luxury, beautiful rooms, and a spacious dinning hall while the lower classmen are bestowed with small dwellings to basically sleep and eat in. The ironic aspect here is that Titanic was supposed to migrate its passengers to America, the land of opportunity and freedom, yet the ship itself contained social and political issues.

The class struggle is further witnessed by Jack and Rose’s forbidden relationship. Even thought Rose was engaged to a rich, blue blooded business man, she fell in love with an individual who was below her class. Her mother, due to Jack’s social status, forbade her to have any contact with him. Rose and Jack however, strived to unite the two classes in a unique manner, their love for one another. Perhaps, they were hoping to break the “fetters” that chained down each generation. However, this task was not accomplished because Jack died at the end of the movie.

Another situation that demonstrates the social and class struggle in the movie was when the ship collided with an iceberg and began to sink. Since, the creators of Titanic believed that the ship was unsinkable, even though created by metal, they did not provide enough emergency boats in case of an emergency. Due to the shortage of emergency boats, the upper class was given the opportunity to escape the ship first. This concept is hard to comprehend because how does any individual decide who gets to die and who is permitted to live. Should someone’s existence be truly valued by materialistic objects? I also recall how the gates in the lower stories of the ship, where the lower classmen dwelled, were locked which prevented individuals from escaping death. Basically, in this situation, the established class system caused people their lives.

Another movie in which Marx’s ideas were portrayed in was The Pianist. In this movie individuals who were not Christian, German or from the Arian race were executed by the Nazis. The non-Arian citizens of Germany were considered lower class individuals and were shipped of to concentration camps. While the upper class dwelled in luxury and wealth, the lower class was forced to work vigorously. The lower class citizens were abused, tortured, and murdered. Once again, who has the right to decide which class an individual belongs to? This class struggle caused a great deal of deaths as well. However, in this society the upper class failed and eventually vanished.