Different Perspective on Film ‘Titanic’

Last Saturday I took my two young daughters to see James Cameron’s epic “Titanic.” So it was interesting to read, in the next day’s Times, Tina Carlson’s personal take on the movie “For Some, Titanic Was All Too Real,” (Dec. 28).

I fully understand Carlson’s reaction to the movie. As a young child, recently arrived from communist Cuba, I had a similar reaction to Hollywood’s film paean to Che Guevara. That 1970s movie, and the attendant publicity that it received, brought back many painful memories of the evil that many Cubans, including members of my family, endured at the hands of Castro’s and Che’s henchmen.

I am certain, however, that African Americans watching the recently released “Amistad” or Jews watching “Schindler’s List” have experienced similar reactions.

The fact of the matter is, regardless of what the audience’s feelings might be, Hollywood will continue to dip heavily into history to find sources of inspiration for movies. That, by itself, is not a bad thing.

But as long as Hollywood treats its subject with sensitivity and adheres to the historical record (allowing, of course, for poetic license), audiences will benefit. The experience of watching a cinematic re-creation of a historical event can, potentially, expand an audience’s understanding for what the passengers and crew members must have experienced in the last few hours of the Titanic’s voyage.

My daughters and I came away with a special feeling of affection for the stokers who labored to keep the ship’s mighty furnaces well-fed. So Tina, although I never knew your great-granddad, this movie brought me a new understanding of what his life in that big ship must have been like. In that sense, Carlson should see the movie as a success.

ERNESTO J. ACOSTA

Moorpark