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| Titanic Revealed | | Date Created: Feb 19, 2005, 09:18 PM |
 As seen on the National Geographic Channel...
This is the DVD version. Nothing really new, particularly if you've read and seen just about everything there is regarding the Titanic as I have, but it's certainly the most recent and best technology. And the pictures are endlessly fascinating.
To review for the non-Titanic fanatics, RMS Titanic was the largest moving object in the world and a technological marvel in the Edwardian era when it sank on its maiden voyage to New York City, April 12, 1912. Of the roughly 2,200 on board, less than 800 survived. The wreck lies 2 1/2 miles under the North Atlantic and was undiscovered until Dr. Robert Ballard led an exploration with new technology to explore at that depth. He used a technique that he had learned (classified at the time) while surveying the wrecks of the nuclear submarines Scorpion and Thresher. That was 20 years ago. After the discovery, the renewed interest in the story, the salvage issues, the movie, and a lot of return visits to the depths, Ballard returns to document what's happened in 20 years and fight for his vision of how the wreck should be preserved. He even has a "Rose" moment on the fantail of his latest exploration ship.
The movie is a real documentary, unlike say Fahrenheit 911, but it does have a point of view. It's a bit long on hype and Ken Burns photo ops but a bit short on forensics and details. It's told very much from the persona of Bob Ballard although there are interesting bits from various other people involved and a very reasonable attempt at balance on the issues of perservation.
Strangely, it feels like both Ballard and the salvagers are correct. There's nothing truly different about the archeology of this site except that it's more recent and better preserved than most archeological sites. Ballard thinks government laws will solve the problem. This is rather unrealistic as the movie points out about things that are left on the ocean bottom. He also thinks that the site could be made into a museum. This might be more likely as the technology to do that improves. Still, more people get to experience it if you bring the Titanic to the people rather than the other way around.
As someone pointed out, the ship will fall apart anyway. No one really wants to speed that up and Ballard points out that some salvage damage has been done already.
Perhaps you'd better see this one and see what you think. As Ballard says, the fascination with the Titanic will never end. |
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