From the Archives: “Comprehending Cameron”
This week, James Cameron’s box-office colussus Titanic was re-released in theaters, fully converted to 3-D. Cameron, the maven of the movie event, has been a subject of fascination for me for a long time, since I’m not sure what it is about his work touches people so deeply. For the re-release of Titanic, I present “Comprehending Cameron,” a little-seen article on what makes Cameron’s films tick that appeared almost a full year ago in the early days of Jentleman Film Journal.
15 April 2011
Comprehending Cameron
The other day, I watched Titanic for what was, incredibly, only the first time – I was a little too young for it when it came out in theaters, and I guess I’ve avoided it since then because I was convinced that it couldn’t possibly be all that good. However, following my negative feelings about Avatar, and being sick and tired of being constantly told that I justhad to see Titanic, I thought it was time to give it a shot.
Surprisingly, I didn’t hate it, though I have a feeling that I could pretty easily talk myself into hating it if I spent a couple solid hours thinking about it. More interesting than any review of the film, though (because, really, what is there to say about it that hasn’t already been said?) is how it reflects, and is reflected by, Avatar, which shares fundamentally the same preoccupations. That in turn reflects the interests and efforts of writer / director Cameron, and – maybe – can tell us something about what about these fundamentally mediocre efforts so connected with audiences.
