For those who are interested, there's an editorial on the cnn website where the die-hard fans of the Titanic movie are admonished. The title is something like "Visit the church of Titanic" Though I'm a big fan of the movie and the history of the real thing, I have to admit what was written was pretty funny. See if you guys agree...

-- Michael Klimek (foo@bar.com), April 22, 1998

Answers

You'd think that CNN would supply links to topics raised in their articles!

For those about to take-up yoyoing as a hobby: http://www.yoyoing.com/

TitanicShack (tm): Your full-service website since 1997! (sm)

-- Thomas M. Terashima (tom@nucleus.com), April 22, 1998.

Response to Movie die-hards urged to get a life

Thanks for the story Micheal it was very enjoyable and really said what I've been feeling for the past month. Enough already!! Ecspecially the constant gossip on DiCaprio.

-- MARIE (foo@bar.com), April 22, 1998.

Response to Movie die-hards urged to get a life

That's: http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9804/22/oped.titanic/

{-e-}

-- Thomas M. Terashima (titanicShack@yahoo.com), April 22, 1998.

Attending the church of 'Titanic'
Reviewer says it's time for the services to end

From Reviewer Paul Tatara

(CNN) -- I recently grew dizzy with fear after reading a couple of "news" items concerning "Titanic"-mania, and CNN has generously allowed me some space to address the situation before people all over America start wearing little Leonardo DiCaprios around their necks in lieu of the more conventional crucifix.

I know you liked the movie. I know you've seen it six times and squeal with delight every time Leo and Kate hold hands and run through that steaming engine room. Hell, I liked the movie, too (number 3 on my "Best of 1997" list, although I don't recall squealing). I do think, however, that enough is enough. It's a great big world with lots of theaters, lots of movies, and lots of video stores. James Cameron has already embarrassingly announced that he's the King of the World. So maybe, billion-dollar gross or not, it's time to for a bit of dissent against the monarchy.

Why now? you might ask. Well, here's one good reason. It seems that there are some warehouses down in Mexico that housed the movie's enormous sets during filming, and ever since the story entered the 24-hour-a-day eating-breathing-and-pooping consciousness of millions of Americans, these warehouses have been drawing more tourists than the healing waters at Lourdes. Those of you who are unfamiliar with the term "warehouse" will be surprised to know that it means, "a large, ugly building used for storing things."

There's not much of anything remaining in these warehouses, mind you. The 9/10-size replica of the ship was dismantled shortly after filming ended to make way for an underwater sequence in the latest James Bond movie, but people are still making the pilgrimage, possibly in the hope that there will be some sort of hem available for them to touch. Realizing that a cash cow can moo in an amazing variety of pastures, the good people who run the warehouse/studio have temporarily converted it into a "Titanic" museum that allows the demented to pony up a couple of bucks for the chance to stroke some prop suitcases and pose in front of a phony boiler. I don't know anybody who's actually done this, and, if I did, I would immediately stop knowing them.

As if this situation weren't disturbing enough, "Newsweek" recently reported that cheese-filled singing figurine Celine Dion's recording of the movie's theme song has become the hot number to play at funerals in the past several months. Maybe it's just me, but when a marketing blitz starts affecting the dead it may be time to take a step back and tremble. Besides, Booker T. and the M.G.'s "Green Onions" is a far cooler groove for lowering a casket.

Kinda gives you that sinking feeling, doesn't it? I don't for a minute understand what chord has been struck to make grown-ups start acting like automatons in the service of the (often poorly scripted) word of Cameron, and, frankly, I don't really care. What bothers me is the predicament that number-crunching American filmmakers and far less than discerning audiences have gotten themselves into. It seems to me that people have grown so starved for a scrap of popular culture that moves them emotionally they've actually begun ascribing a very enjoyable, though certainly flawed (i.e. Billy Zane as Snidely Whiplash, among other missteps), piece of celluloid with the power to redeem our souls.

And I'm not just making that up. Recently, on our CNN bulletin board, what was supposed to be an open discussion of the Academy Award nominations turned into damn near 200 missives on why "Titanic" is the most significant moment in American history since the death of Franklin Roosevelt. The most troubling aspect of some of these postings was that people seemed to be taking responsibility for the movie themselves, as if the filmmakers were secondary participants to the audience's willingness to spend as much time and money as possible on what, no matter how you slice it, still comes up a movie.

In other words, the record-breaking box office dollar figure is just as exhilarating as the film. If that's not the definition of Hollywood getting the audience exactly where it wants them, I don't know what is. Many "Titanic" maniacs (not you, of course) have convinced themselves that they've somehow made the world a better place by being obsessed with a movie. When I was a kid, I displayed a major interest in whether or not Fonzie could safely land his motorcycle after making that huge jump in the parking lot at Arnold's, but it didn't occur to me that the landing would be "the greatest moment of my life," as one person posted on the bulletin board after "Titanic" raked in its Oscar nominations. My life takes place in my home and in my heart, not on a movie or TV screen.

So I'd just like to say, and I mean this sincerely: GET A LIFE, PEOPLE. Flowers are blooming, bees are bumbling, babies are being born, and, God forbid, the summer movie season is heading our way. Whenever I nail a movie in one of my reviews for not having any thematic complexity or filmmaking gumption, someone always writes in and says that I'm being too hard, that I should understand that movies are just entertainment, not great art. Well, for once, I agree. Stop going to see "Titanic" and buy yourself a yo-yo. Or clean the house. I would imagine the place has started to look a little unkempt during your addiction.

{-e-}

-- Dan Draghici (ddraghic@sprint.ca), April 22, 1998.

www.yoyoing.com???? Thomas, how do you know this stuff? I'm beginning to worry here.... :-)

There truly is a website for *everything*.

ml

-- Mary Lynne Nielsen (m.nielsen@ieee.org), April 23, 1998.

In response to the posting by Dan in which he wrote a book just to say to all us bone-headed Titanimaniacs "Get a life!", I have only a few words to say.

First of all what interests you and what interests us are not exactly the same. So what if you don't like to hear us ramble on about TITANIC day and night. We have had to listen to people like you ramble on and on about non-stop daily gossip for years. Stuff so boring and meaningless that all of it could be compressed on the head of a pin and still leave room for the Bible.

Second, if you don't like what we print or post, don't look at it. If you don't like what we say, don't listen. If you don't like what we do, don't pay attention. That's what I do around people who are saying, doing or writing things I don't care for.

Third, men should stop being so jealous of Leo. They cannot stand that pretty girls love Leo so much even though they have never met him while they pay scant attention to the men they do know. Get over it, as you might say. Little girls like LEO. Period.

Fourth, as for adults who have joined the ranks of TITANIC lovers, well you can count this 27-year-old dude in. Not because of LEO or KAte, but because of somethiing else, something I cannot explain though I have tried many times. So i'm not going to try now.

Finally, if you had a life you wouldn't be so bored that you had to tell others to get a life!!!

{-e-}

-- Ed (e3916@aol.com), May 19, 1998.

Uh, Ed, I think you meant to direct your comments towards Paul Tatara, right? Dan was just posting the actual article from the cnn website, presumably so that anyone accessing this thread could read it right here. Dan didn't write it himself.

-- Michael (foo@bar.com), May 20, 1998.

Dan talks to much anyway, so I enjoyed the cutdown. Get a life Dan. We have had it up to here with your ad nauseum personal information. You immigrated to Canada. Great. Now do what Canadians expected of you. contribute to society. Get a job. You have to much free time.

-- Felicia (felicia@prodigy.net), May 20, 1998.

LMAO!!! That is sooooo funny!!! Don't get me wrong here people, i loved the movie as well, saw it five times and have both movie posters, the soundtrack, want yet another poster and have sevral books on Titanic, and will no doubt have the movie when it comes to vidieo and the second soundtrack.....however, some things can be taken a little tooo far. I think when people actually started to talk about building "another Titanic" is when I decided that it was WAY to far. Selling props, books, t-shirts ect. is one thing but when you actually are going to attempt to remake history it's going a bit far. I mean, it's history, it can never be exactly the same. And while I think it'd be cool to walk the decks of the Titanic in period costume, I would not wish to sail on it. It was a beautiful ship when it was made and the movie brought that to us in color and up close but it is time to let some of it go.

-- Miranda Swearingen (Kylen1@hotmail.com), May 21, 1998.