Bourgeois vs. Proletariats: a Marxist Criticism of Titanic

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Bourgeois vs. Proletariats: a Marxist Criticism of Titanic “There is no class so pitiably wretched as that which possesses money and nothing else” (Carnegie Libraries). The movie, Titanic, takes place in the year of 1912 on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic. The two main characters, Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater, are from opposite social classes, yet they manage to fall madly in love. However, Rose is engaged to Cal Hockley, a wealthy capitalist in the steel industry. She must make the critical ultimatum of choosing between Jack, the man that she loves, or Cal, the man that will ensure her family and she social and financial power. Throughout this film, Rose develops her own perspective between first and third class. She struggles between what she wants and what is best for her family. Although a luxurious, powerful life sounds appealing, the movie Titanic displays the defeat of the bourgeois due to the clash of classes. In the film Titanic, it becomes obvious that the first class passengers are the priority and other passengers are not. “Our epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie, possesses, however, this distinct feature: it has simplified class antagonisms. Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other — bourgeoisie and proletariat.” (Marx and Engels 2). On the RMS Titanic, people in the first class occupied the spacious cabins on the upper levels of the ship with ocean views and extravagant décor. On the other hand, lower class people occupied the lower level of the ship in a small cabin. This presents a metaphor of classism: the first class, bourgeois, occupy the top levels while the lower classes, proletariats, occupy the lower levels. Third class passengers were not allowed to go onto the upper deck of the ship, and one would never catch a first class citizen in the

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