Did Jack really need to sacrifice himself so Rose could survive the sinking of the Titanic? This has remained one of the most discussed and polarising questions among fans since the release of James Cameron’s magnum opus Titanic in 1997. More than two decades later, the director of the film says he conducted a study to answer the question “once and for all.”
For the uninitiated, the row revolves around the controversial scene that takes place after the sinking of RMS Titanic in the 1997 film. Star-crossed lovers Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater find themselves in freezing water, but Jack helps Rose onto a thick wooden door floating in the ocean.
Rose gets onto the door without problem, but when Jack tries to do the same, they both fall off. Jack remains in water, allowing Rose to survive the sinking of the Titanic by sacrificing himself. By the time rescue boats circle back to the couple, Jack has frozen to death, but Rose survives.
Ever since the film released, people have discussed and debated at length if there was room for both Jack and Rose on the door. Could it not have stayed afloat with both of them on board?
In short: Did Jack really have to die in Titanic?
James Cameron finally has an answer.
“We have done a scientific study to put this whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all,” the director told Postmedia, according to the Toronto Sun.
Cameron’s study brought together a hypothermia expert who reproduced the raft from the movie, as well as two people who have roughly the same body mass of Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio (who played Rose and Jack in the film).
The study found that “there was no way they both could have survived. Only one could survive,” said Cameron.
“We took two stunt people who were the same body mass of Kate and Leo and we put sensors all over them and inside them and we put them in ice water and we tested to see whether they could have survived through a variety of methods and the answer was, there was no way they both could have survived. Only one could survive,” the filmmaker explained.
The study’s results only echo what Kate Winslet recently said on a podcast when questioned – yet again – about Jack’s ‘unnecessary’ death in the blockbuster.
“I have to be honest: I actually don’t believe that we would have survived if we had both gotten on that door. I think he would have fit, but it would have tipped and it would not have been a sustainable idea,” the actor said.
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