| JWBear |
07-28-2008 06:53 PM |
I wanted to respond to iSm's post in another thread, but I wanted to do so here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by innerSpaceman
(Post 227804)
I'm not done hijacking. Things like Murdock's suicide and Nearer My God to Thee are NOT things Cameron made up. There's more chance they're legend as opposed to fact ... but the real facts are NO ONE WHO KNOWS MADE IT OUT ALIVE. So these are things shrouded in the mist of history. It was perfectly legit for Cameron to use the more dramatic possibilities of the possible events, reported by witnesses (though perhaps lacking credibility).
Fudging the exact nationality and career paths of a couple of below-minor characters is also not historical sacrelige.
For that matter, no one knows the Strauss's really died in bed-enbrace together. No one was there. No one knows the captain met his doom alone on the bridge. He just disappeared at one point (and various legends have him doing various things), but it's widely assumed ... and only assumed he died alone on the bridge when it went down.
Can you fault Cameron for using these two elements? They are more likely, but no more "confirmed" than Murdoch not shooting himself, and the band playing Autumn as their final number.
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There is absolutely no evidence Murdoch committed suicide. None. There were two eyewitness reports of someone shooting themselves. No one knows who they were. There is nothing linking these reports with Murdoch. People who knew him said that it would have been completely out of character for him. He was a fighter. He was last seen on the boat deck trying to right the overturned collapsible "B".
Nearer My God To Thee is a myth, a very persistent myth, but a myth nevertheless. If you want, I can go into great depth why it could not have been played by the band (as a group) as the Titanic sank. This is all common knowledge among Titanic historians. Cameron chose to use it anyway.
It's unlikely the Strauses died in their cabin; unlikely, but not impossible. They were last seen on deck minutes before the end. Isadore Straus's body was recovered by the Mackay-Bennett wearing a life vest. Ida Straus's body was not recovered. But since their cabin was in the area where she broke in two, I give Cameron a pass on that one.
Captain Smith's end is also an unknown. So, again, I have no issue with the way it was portrayed. |
