Titanic Centennial - A Not-so-Grave Memorial
70James Cameron turned the tragedy of the Titanic into a blockbuster Hollywood production. The saga of the RMS Titanic is now all set to take one more strange turn, with the coming carnival over its April 14 centennial.
Just before midnight on April 14, 1912 the RMS Titanic got hit by an iceberg and went down two hours and forty minutes later. 1,517 of the 2,223 people on board died.
I'm not looking to rehash well known history. It's just that I find it tasteless that a tragedy of this magnitude is ending up as a full-fledged entertainment zone in Belfast's Titanic Quarter.
Not to mention the morbid Memorial Cruise which will be retracing the same route on the same dates, and will be anchored in the exact spot off Newfoundland where the Titanic went down, when it went down.
If you think I'm overreacting, consider how you would feel if Hollywood made a blockbuster based on 9/11 which somehow takes away the horror of the day, and the movie becomes more important than the reality.
Then, to make matters worse, suppose the WTC Memorial gets turned into an entertainment zone, and tourists get joyrides in planes buzzing over Ground Zero on the morning of Sept 11. Burns your heart, doesn't it?
The crass commercialization of everything associated with the Titanic and its sinking is just as wrong.
Nevertheless, the buildup to the Centennial (April 14, 2012) continues, and the countdown begins on April 14, 2011. Details below.
Titanic Quarter, Belfast
The Titanic Quarter in Belfast, Northern Ireland is a 185 acre site formerly owned by Harland and Wolff shipyards, who built the RMS Titanic.
BIllions of dollars are being spent to develop it into a riverside entertainment district.
The plans include a Titanic themed attraction, a 5-star Titanic Hotel and other entertainment facilities to attract tourists.
The name of the developer is also Titanic Quarter, and it is expected that 20,000 people will be working or living in the Titanic Quarter.
The development is being rushed, in order to take advantage of the 2012 centerary interest and attract visitors.
Titanic Memorial Cruise
The Titanic Memorial Cruise is being organized by British travel firm Miles Morgan Travel.
The MS Balmoral will sail from from Southampton on 8th April 2012, and will follow the RMS Titanic's original itinerary.
The Balmoral will arrive at the site on April 14 2012, exactly 100 years after the Titanic sank, and will remain there until April 15. A memorial service will be held at the location.
From there, the ship will sail to Halifax, Nova Scotia to visit the graves of many who died on that fateful night.
The Balmoral will then end its morbid journey by docking at New York, thus finishing the job the Titanic left incomplete.
Photo credits:- Titanic Boat tour - f_shields; Titanic Quarter - Titanic Quarter Ltd.; Memorial - 48states; All other photos public domain
Good Hub. Can't agree with some of your views, thouhgh. For example, you mention how people would feel if Hollywood made a film about 9/11. They have, and not long afer the event. It was about some of the rescue fire men trapped in the rubble. I saw it myself.
As for it being morbid to celebrate or commemorate in an inappropriate way, in this country (Australia) we celebrate Anzac Day with a public holiday. This day commerates an utter defeat for the Australian and New Zealand forces who were slaughtered on the beaches of Anzac Cove by our then enemy, the Turks. Now we flock over there to Turkey in our hundreds if not thousands to celebrate the dawn landing. Moreover, the Turks celebrate with us. So what's so bad about celebrating one of our great maritime follies.
Js 20 months ago
And then there is this:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=96
Cruisers preparing for memorial cruise. Starts getting bizzare by page 4 - costume parties for dressing up as dead people, celebrations, shows planned. On page 11 they laugh at a relative of a Titanic victim.