Titanic: An Unsinkable Mystery

So it seems that the Titanic’s supposed unsinkablilty was in large part created after the sinking itself. The many pamphlets and leaflets that were distributed out to the public before the ship embarked on its maiden voyage rendered the ship “practically unsinkable” and compared its safety system to be similar to that of many other ships. Even survivors of the ship’s untimely demise make no reference to the ship’s rumored unsinkability until after it had already floundered. Many of the survivors tell of how the clam and collected the ship’s passengers were during the sinking. Those who agree with pre-unsinkable say this is because the passengers believed that the ship was unsinkable and that they had no reason to be hysterical because the ship could simply not sink. However, according to some of the survivors the reason for the calmness was a number of other factors. One such factor was the peacefulness of the night and the no apparent danger. For quite some time , even after the ship had began sinking, there was no indication that the ship was sinking and that no real danger was present (Beesley 103). Even the band played a light and cheery tune as the ship plummeted. Commander Lightoller, another survivor, has this to say about his experiences while loading the lifeboats, “ I could hear the band playing a cheery sort of music. I don’t like jazz music as a rule, but I was glad to hear it that night. I think it helped us all.” Charles Pellegrino, a studier of the Titanic, states, “…you cannot count on any eyewitness accounts as truth.”

It is not very hard at all to fathom the media and press created (if not created greatly exaggerated) Titanic’s unsinkability to make the entire story more interesting to the readers. Especially when the actual event was seen only by a handful of survivors who just wanted to move on. If the ship had not been considered “unsinkable” even today, would it still be as great as story and widely recognized? I think not. The story is tragic yes, but with an unsinkable ship sinking on it’s maiden voyage across the ocean and thousands dying because of it is a media hayday! It is almost to dramatic to be reality. All of the accounts of the Titanic being completely unsinkable come after her sinking. We see this every day in the news, in magazines, and on the radio. The media hamming up an event just to make it more appealing to our wild fantasies. Without it’s unsinkability, the Titanic would not have had nearly the impact it has had on popular culture today. Yes, perhaps, we would remember it but only when it was being studied in history class and not much more. The media always has and always will do whatever is necessary to have it’s story remembered and idolized, and when it comes to the Titanic they did one hell of a job.