Binary Opposites in Titanic

How does Cameron use binary oppositions in Titanic (900-1100 words)

In this extract from Titanic, Cameron uses binary opposition to establish a difference between rich and poor on Rose’s arrival. She arrives in a car plated with gold which is a symbolic sign that denotes wealth. The first part the audience sees of Rose is her hand, it is still and poised, and covered with a white glove. The iconic sign of her hand pausing to allow someone to help her out of the car connotes an upper class citizen, the white glove reinforces this as it is clean and the colour white connotes purity and innocence. In addition to this Rose wears a purple hat signifying wealth reassuring the reader that she is in the upper class of society. Additionally the colour purple is a vibrant colour, this connotes how she may be a strong and bold character later on in the film. This juxtaposes with the use of iconography whereby the first part of Jack the audience sees are his hands. They are dirty and uncovered which is an iconic sign that connotes that he is from the working class. The binary opposition Cameron has used here highlights the difference between each class of that time making the audience understand the social context.

Cameron reinforces the binary opposition of rich and poor as well as black and white when the audience sees the people boarding the ship. The wealthy people board the top of that boat coloured white symbolically showing their upper class. Furthermore the colour white connotes purity and innocence, whereas the poorer people are forced to board the ship at the bottom, coloured black. This connotes their lower class, as well as that black connotes dark and danger. This may make the audience sympathise towards the poorer people due to the fact they are treated unfairly. This idea is reinforced by the fact that poor people must undergo a health check before boarding the ship and rich people don’t.

The Camera then comes through the window to enter a dark saloon. The window connotes a barrier and separation from outside and highlights the binary opposition of light and dark. The location outside in the dock is bright compared to the darkness inside the saloon. The darkness connotes danger which the audience may link to Jacks character because he has a tendency to break the rules. Moreover Cameron uses binary opposition to establish Rose’s reaction to boarding the boat. Meaning is conveyed through the light shining on her face when at the dock, however going into a much darker light walking up to the boat. The audience clearly sees her opinion towards boarding the boat and may make them question why she has such a negative attitude. This gives the effect of making the audience intrigued about her past.

Cameron uses binary opposition of light and dark in the extract from Titanic through colour. In the extract Rose’s fiancé is wearing dark colours, this connotes dullness and perhaps a boring character. Conversely Rose is wearing much brighter colours, this connotes an adventurous character. Furthermore Rose’s mum wears a green dress, the colour green is symbolic to connote jealousy. The audience may believe it to be jealousy of Rose and her youth, the colour green also connotes wealth which ensures that the audience understand that this is a rich family.

In addition to this Cameron uses binary opposition through music to reinforce the opposition of attitudes between Rose and Jack. When rose enters the boat Cameron plays slow, elegant music in the background which contradicts the Irish folk music playing in the background when Jack is running to board the boat in time. The indexical sign of the demur music when Rose boards the boat connotes her character and way of life. Compared to the fast tempo of the background music when Jack boards the boat. This connotes energy and chaos and highlights his adventurous character and risky way of life. This means that the audience can understand how Rose and Jack work in opposition to eachother to create an interesting relationship.

There is a clear sense of structure within this extract from Titanic. There are two scenes in this extract. The first is where the audience meets Rose the female protagonist, the audience understands her class and gets an impression of her character. The second scene then introduces the audience to Jack, the male protagonist. Jack gives the audience the impression that he is an anti-hero due to his gambling in the extract which connotes that he may has a risky personality. The overall opening to this film is very traditional of the Hollywood Studio System (Introducing the male and female protagonist in the first two scenes). It could be argued that there is another sense of structure whereby each time a new location is presented a new character is presented along with it.

Finally in this extract from Titanic, Cameron uses binary opposition to establish the difference between grateful and ungrateful attitudes. When we are introduced to Rose’s fiancé is looks up to the boat and smiles, this denotes his happiness of being able to board this ship. Similarly when Jack wins the tickets to board the boat the audience can clearly see how ecstatic he is due to his reaction. Rose’s facial expressions were completely opposite which shows how from the start of the film Rose as a character works in opposition to many of the other characters.