Netflix is facing a backlash after bringing the 1997 film “Titanic” back to its platform—barely a week after five people tragically lost their lives during a deep-sea expedition to the wreck of the famous ocean liner.
On June 18, the Titan, a small submersible en route to visit the wreck of the Titanic some 12,500 feet below sea level, lost contact with its mother ship. After a rescue mission lasting several days, the U.S. Navy stated that its equipment had detected an acoustic “anomaly” that day that was likely the fatal implosion of the vessel.
The debris of the Titan, which was owned by OceanGate Expeditions, was subsequently found strewn on the ocean bottom about 1,600 feet away from the bow of the Titanic.
A few days later, Netflix announced that James Cameron’s film “Titanic,” starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, would make its return to the company’s U.S. and Canadian streaming services on July 1. Many online commentators took offense, however.
“Beyond distasteful,” one person wrote on Twitter. Other comments included “The timing is so wrong,” “too soon,” and “They didn’t waste any time.”
“Netflix hosting Titanic a week after the Oceangate incident is actually disgusting,” one person wrote on Twitter. “They never disappoint to show everyone how greedy they are.”
“I didn’t think Netflix would sink so low as to add Titanic to their streaming list during this time.”
Despite the criticism, it remains unclear when Netflix made the decision to add the “Titanic” movie to its streaming platform. The question remains, however, of whether the film’s introduction could have been postponed in light of the recent tragedy.
James Cameron, who directed the “Titanic” film, is co-owner of a submarine manufacturing company named Triton. Cameron became an expert in the field during the filming of his claustrophobic 1989 underwater thriller “The Abyss,” and has himself made several trips to the wreck of the Titanic.
The director said he was not surprised that an accident had occurred with the Titan, and expressed his skepticism about the carbon fiber material the Titan’s hull had been made of. “There was a lot of concern about this outfit and this sub,” Cameron said during an interview.
Cameron’s award-winning “Titanic” is, at its heart, a love story set during the maiden and only voyage of the Titanic—at that time the largest ocean liner in the world, and one that had been advertised as being “unsinkable.”
Upon its release, the film enjoyed significant critical and commercial success, winning 11 Oscars, thus tying with the 1959 epic “Ben-Hur” for the most Oscars won by a single film.
