Pop Culture Theory

Every once in awhile I like to make parallels between old and new pop culture, and yesterday I had a little epiphany.

Adam and I were feeling a bit nostalgic, so we decided to watch Titanic. I was in 7th grade when that movie came out twelve (twelve!) years ago, and that movie always brings to mind the Titanic hysteria in the world of 1997's 12-13 year-old kids.

I'm sure no one has to be reminded, but girls my age fell for the Titanic love story in DROVES. Everywhere I looked in my middle school there were girls wearing plastic "Heart of the Ocean" necklaces from Claire's. They would grab hands and spin around in circles during recess, a la Jack and Rose spinning around on the table in that one scene (you know the one). The radio stations were inundated with requests for "My Heart Will Go On," which I'm sure we ALL remember. There were even "remixes" with cheesy dialogue from the movie, which my older sister dutifully taped off the radio. Her favorite one was the remix with dialogue between Jack and Rose, of course.

Then there was the Leo mania. Fans were mobbing Leo, and it took several bad movies and an under the radar five year hiatus for him to move on to what he is now.

Is Twilight not the new Titanic? Of course, the broad appeal of Titanic doesn't quite match the target audience of Twilight; Titanic is the highest grossing movie ever, and I know Twilight doesn't even come close on that count. But the way the teenage fanbase has reacted in their obsession with the movie, books, and last but not least Rob Pattinson, I think Twilight is TOTALLY the new Titanic. And I love it. Who doesn't love a new pop culture phenomenon? (And I mean an actual one - not The Hills).