Titanic Appreciation Post: How this film influenced my pre-teen years

The DVD underneath and the two VHS cassettes at the top. 

I was eleven years old when I saw Titanic for the first time. Now I have three copies of the film in total, the DVD, which I bought in stores for some odd reason even though I already had it (you know, just an eleven-year-old buying a movie I already have, no big deal). I also have part one and two in VHS cassettes because the movie is too long and overwhelming for one cassette. Now that I think of it, it is kind of strange that a movie based on a real-life tragedy influenced my pre-teen years so much. The thing is, it wasn't the tragedy but the film overall. Yes, I was a pretty nerdy kid who loved reading books about the history of the RMS Titanic but I was also eleven and was obsessed with celebrities and tales of romance. 

One of the most influential things (or persons) in Titanic was Kate Winslet. As a pre-teen, I looked up to her when it came to beauty. I remember thinking how blessed I would be as an adult if I did end up having big breasts like her. Winslet also wasn't super skinny like most actresses, she was thick. At that time, I was transitioning from a skinny girl to a chubby pre-teen. To this day, I still can't truly say if my body was average or chubby because of the mixed comments I received from others. All I knew was that Kate Winslet wasn't super skinny and neither was I. That was super comforting. I remember attempting to put my hair back just like hers (the way she had it during that scene where Jack tells her, "sooner or later that fire that I love about you, Rose... that fire's gonna burn out." And Jack Dawson, I remember hoping that I would someday marry someone like him. His noble qualities were what drew me to him and the way he cared so much about Rose although he barely knew her. At some point, I thought the two actors were actually together in real life. It makes me so darn happy to know that they are actually best friends and Titanic was what brought them together. 

I remember badly wanting a necklace that looked like the heart of the ocean. I somehow ended up getting a small cheap version of it and wearing it to school proudly every day. For my school assignments, I would use any opportunity I had just to write about Titanic. On my twelfth birthday, I had the movie playing in the living room. On my thirteenth birthday, I was so excited to finally be thirteen because I was finally at the recommended age to watch Titanic. What a perk of being thirteen, huh? I also want to add that I still have a Pop Quiz book on Leonardo Dicaprio (lol). I remember thinking how lucky Cora was because she was the little girl in the film who got to dance with Jack! Over time, it has been a pleasure seeing articles and pictures of Titanic or of Leo and Kate's relationship. I remember seeing a funny meme of Cal holding a child saying, "I have a child" with the heading of "Men who don't see their children claiming to be fathers during tax season." It doesn't make me feel so alone when I realize that many people also love this movie. Maybe there is an eleven-year-old who is currently obsessed with the film right now, who knows. 

Now that I'm twenty-three years old, I may not have Kate's exact body, but I sure do have the parts I desired when I was younger (wink). I'm definitely not married but I sure do have close friendships like Kate and Leo's, and I do know guys with Jack's noble qualities. I watch the movie twice a year the most, or I watch it in parts. And yes, I still know all the lines. (You jump, I jump, right?). I still listen to "My Heart Will Go On" and to "Rose's theme" whenever I'm writing. Just like Kate Winslet told Leo during the 2009 Golden Globes, "I've loved you for thirteen years" and indeed I have loved this film for thirteen years. 

I also went to watch the film when it was back in theatres in 2012, the 100 year anniversary of the tragedy.