Missing submarine: why is the Titanic so fascinating?

A tragic shipwreck and an impossible romance. In 1997, director James Cameron brought these two elements together to bring the drama of Titanic to the big screen. Since then, the story of the largest liner in the world – and the refrain of “My Heart Will Go On” – resound in everyone’s head. The wreck is regularly visited by tourists and treasure seekers, maintaining the myth. On June 18, five passengers set out to discover it aboard the Titan submarine, which disappeared at sea. The search is intensifying to find it, while the crew should very quickly run out of oxygen, according to the calculations of the US Coast Guard…

This news again shines the spotlight on the Titanic. Already during its sinking, in 1912, the disaster fascinates. At the time, it was the largest ocean liner in the world, presented as unsinkable. He left the British city of Southampton on April 10 to join New York. Five days later, it sank after hitting an iceberg. Of the 2,224 passengers and crew, nearly 1,500 perished. “The event immediately aroused a great media frenzy”, explains to The Express Antoine Resche, historian and president of the French Titanic Association. In 1912 alone, three films were produced on the subject: “Saved from the Titanic”, “In Nacht und Eis” and “La Hantise”.

Of course, the sinking shocks by its death toll. But “it is not the deadliest”, specifies Antoine Resche. In 1937, the Wilhem Gustloff sank after being torpedoed, killing over 5,000 people. The deaths also number in the thousands in the sinking of the Cap Arcona in 1945, without the precise toll being known. Another example: the Dona Paz, which sank in 1987 with thousands of people missing there too. the dead were raining down,” notes Antoine Resche. “There is also the phenomenon of dead mileage, and a racist bias. On top of that, some of the passengers on the Titanic were important personalities, unlike other shipwrecks, where the victims are anonymous.”

But even more than the circumstances of the drama, it is its symbolism that makes it go down in history. The Titanic is an exceptional boat. It marks the peak of the golden age of large ocean liners. At the time of its construction, “it embodies the idea that technology, made possible by industrial society, can overcome all natural obstacles”, analyzes for The Express Sylvain Venayre, historian and specialist in circulations and imaginations. When the Titanic sinks, it engages “a reflection on the limits of human action”, he concludes.

A mysterious wreck

The myth could stop there. But 111 years after the disaster, various elements continue to maintain the legend. “Already, there was the discovery of the wreck in 1985”, notes Sylvain Venayre. She was found 650 kilometers from the Canadian coast, in the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean, after 73 years of research and mystery. This new news has created renewed interest in the Titanic and continues to fascinate the public. “The seabed resists human knowledge”, explains Sylvain Venayre. Since the wreck is located 4,000 meters deep, it attracts many visitors by playing on the image of adventure.

Second major event: the release of James Cameron’s film in 1997, very quickly considered one of the biggest successes in cinema. The story of Rose and Jack is broadcast around the world, allowing the Titanic to be much better known than other shipwrecks. Today, the popular enthusiasm remains intact. It is expressed in various ways: “some may be passionate about underwater exploration, others about the destiny of the passengers, still others about the ship and its construction…”, lists Antoine Resche. So many aspects which, in 2023, prove that the Titanic is not yet ready to be forgotten.