Titanic on Repeat: Lessons from the Pandemic and a Sunken Ship
by Scarlett Eisenhauer
The best movies are those that reflect our own lives back to us, spelling out the human conditions that connect us on an emotional level. The 1997 blockbuster “Titanic” did exactly that for a vast number of viewers. Re-visiting the film today — amidst the Covid-19 pandemic — reveals how we may still be on board the RMS Titanic, and how values and the concept of responsibility play a pivotal role in crossing the line between success and tragedy.
Except this time the glittering, doomed-to-sink ship is our global society and the iceberg is the present coronavirus crisis (and future crises).
Most of us know the story of the Titanic as portrayed in the film: the illustrious, untouchable ship forges ahead into the open blue with all the glitz, glam, and the…
… anticipation of making (positive) history
… promise of unbeatable, unsinkable technology
… social inequalities that our society suffers from to this day
… neglected foresight of the disastrous consequences.
And then there was the iceberg. Damn that iceberg. Without it, imagine the ways the film might have ended:
… history would have been triumphantly made thanks to the speed and technical brilliance of the ship.
… the promises fulfilled and technology proven to triumph in the name of human progress.
… the social inequalities could have been forgotten — after all, everyone got to their destination with new “American dreams” happily within reach.
… the ignored consequences would have played no role.
But there is always going to be an iceberg. No matter how often we watch the movie — no matter how often the individuals on board rely on and trust in the ship, the crew, and the builders, whom the passengers believe to have their best interests and safety at heart.
Perhaps there could have been another ending to the film somewhere in between the sunken Titanic and one that could have arrived safely in New York: one where most passengers scamper aboard lifeboats with well-organized instructions and they suffer only a few casualties. Where the ship sinks more slowly and sound emergency procedures are in place.
What the movie Titanic did so well was weave many facets together that let us believe an alternate ending to the Titanic’s tragic end could have been possible. I believe one is particularly noteworthy.
Perhaps you can recount the moment when Rose — the leading lady — speaks to Mr. Andrews, the head architect of the RMS Titanic right after the Captain had announced that despite the “normal” iceberg warnings, they were speeding up the ship. In perhaps what is the most divisive moment of foreshadowing, Rose comes to the following conclusion:
“Mr. Andrews? Forgive me. I did the sum in my head. And with the number of lifeboats times the capacity you mentioned [of passengers on board]… Forgive me, but it seems there are not enough for everyone aboard.”
Mr. Andrews agrees:
“Not enough by half actually. Gosh, Rose, you miss nothing do you? I had originally intended for there to be more, but it was thought by some that the deck would look too cluttered. So I was overruled.”
And then the terrible happens. Rose is silenced by the opinions of others. And Mr. Andrews assures her, “Sleep soundly, young Rose. I have built you a strong ship.” Young Rose. Go to sleep.
As the movie progresses, we see even Rose forget about her lifeboat worries as she is caught up in our own life dramas and blossoming romance. After all, who needs to care about lifeboats on an unsinkable ship?
The answer, of course, to the audience watching the story unfold is “everyone! Because of the damn iceberg!”
Now imagine a few of the if’s:
… what if Rose had not been silenced but listened to?
… what if not just Rose, but everyone else had refused to board a ship without enough lifeboats?
… what if Mr. Andrews had not been seduced into conceding?
… what if the Captain, knowing full well there were not enough lifeboats, slowed the RMS Titanic — record setting be damned?
… what if the lower decks, cramped un-charming quarters that could be locked, barring access to the upper decks, had been otherwise integrated into the Titanic’s cultural ecosystem? (If you have not seen the film, these scenes alone provide a sobering account of how our society even today treats those with little money or those working to keep the “ship” moving.)
If, if, if. At each “if” stage, there is the corresponding question: why didn’t individuals take responsibility? It could have prevented such a momentous tragedy.
Now, compare the Titanic to our current situation. Instead of lifeboats, we need ventilators, more healthcare workers, and economic allowances for those living “on the lower decks” and for companies that cannot stay afloat (excuse the bad pun). Our entire innovative, industrial and technological advances on which we have created our global societies, have the same gaps as the Titanic did. We have not valued integrating these issues into our “progress.” But…
… what if we didn’t rush forward, laboring constantly for efficiency and instead ensured our societies had enough “excess” ventilators, hospital staff, and safety gear should a crisis occur? We have been treating these resources much like the lifeboats aboard the Titanic.
… what if we, the passengers of our society, refused to “get on board” based on the glitz, glam and promises of glory and demanded responsibility instead? We each could be better versions of Rose herself — not only do some calculations and notice there is not enough for everyone, but also demand those realizations be taken into meaningful account.
… what if we didn’t leave such swaths of the global population on the threshold between survival and existence — what if the lower class was allowed to mingle on the upper deck? What the pandemic has done is re-expose with shocking clarity how little our global society is able to cope with extra strain. Our solution has been to have locked doors while rich educated work from home even as unemployment applications rise and funding runs dry.
… and what if the Mr. Andrews and Captains of today — decision makers, company CEOs, political leaders, tech designers and engineers — all actually took control and made important decisions that could run counter to “what would look cluttered.” (There are feel-good examples out there — isolated country success and flexibility stories, political leaders, isolated CEOs and pop culture/sport figure heads helping out and fighting for better assurances, but this is far from the norm compared to the vastness of the pandemic. Nor had these individuals halted a society with these issues in the years leading up to the pandemic.)
On every level, there are paths to take responsibility toward our global society and how they are run. Just as the cracks in the Titanic’s ecosystem become painfully obvious once the iceberg has been hit (even then with some delay resulting from sluggish action), the cracks in our society (which have long existed and been warned about) have been ripped bare for us to see.
And what the Covid-19 crisis has shown is that we have failed in this regard and have a plethora of paradoxes left to be solved.
- We have cut corners in the name of efficiency so our hospitals are not stocked, yet they are portrayed as integral to our welfare (even the Titanic would not do away with all the lifeboats. Don’t forget the chaos that caused in the movie! Seems familiar…).
- We continue to rely on technology to steam us into the future and invest so much in this story that we often forget how technology is not the target. We call the working class heroes for delivering packages and keeping warehouses running, but continue to cluster them in the lower decks of our society.
- And the moment consumer behavior drops — a much needed respite for our climate — we clamor to see it go back to normal for the sake of the economy because we cannot innovate a new way to protect people’s livelihoods.
We largely ignore the threat of icebergs where it matters most, despite the warnings and despite knowing that they will arise.
This crisis is a much needed, world rattling wake-up call that our innovative, economic and technological “progress” do not automatically equate an unsinkable society; our global society is vulnerable. And should we take the call, we can begin engaging in exciting new innovative directions that emphasize sustainable and social values.
We need to infuse innovation with a fresh breath of values re-orientation: how can we measure our success differently? The clamor to get back to normality only means we are headed towards the next icebergs unprepared (the next corona, the continued pressures of climate change, the uncalculated consequences of untested technology…). These values need to become the normative orientation of our innovations. And the responsibility rests on many shoulders.
Let us not invest in the myth of an unsinkable ship, but rather invest in what it means to be ready when the sinking begins.
For more reading consider the following of many resources:
How Corona is pushing those living on the brink over the edge:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/27/world/asia/indonesia-jakarta-trash-mountain.html
https://www.sapiens.org/column/borders/pandemic-refugees/
https://www.sapiens.org/culture/coronavirus-and-ecotourism/
How efficiency may be our downfall and not returning to normality:
The tensions with climate change:
https://idahonews.com/news/nation-world/germany-britain-call-for-green-recovery-from-pandemic
https://www.nzz.ch/international/das-coronavirus-stoppt-den-klimawandel-nicht-ld.1553304
Humorous:
http://agitator.thedonorvoice.com/were-all-in-this-together-is-horseshit/
