Are They Stunned?

Perhaps the reason all those people remain immobile in their seats through the credits for “Titanic” has nothing to do with not wanting to “break the spell,” as Larry Yust assumes (Saturday Letters, Feb. 14).

Perhaps they are sitting in stunned incredulity that a subject so rich with potential for drama, portent and grandeur has been so poorly served by the pretentious and mawkishly melodramatic movie they’ve just endured. Perhaps they are awe-struck that so many--critics and public alike-- have made so much of this contrived spectacle, with its shallow, overwrought emotions and unbelievable cardboard characters. Perhaps they are wondering why the film purports to be about the epic sinking of the most famous ocean liner in history but instead is little more than a Harlequin romance on a boat that happens to run into an iceberg. Perhaps they are puzzled at how it can be that anyone beyond the age of 13 would contend that the tawdry love story it depicts constitutes an ode to “the possibility of unconditional, transcendent love” (J.B. White’s letter, same day) when it involves two strangers meeting and knowing each other for three whole days. Perhaps they are wondering where they might find the manager of the theater, so they can demand a refund.

GEORGE CARLISLE

Altadena