Everyone is keeping their eyes out for news on the fate of five passengers aboard a missing submersible that went to explore the wreckage site of the Titanic. The story is hitting the home pages of news sites and taking over TikTok feeds. The hashtag #submersible, for example, has more than 118 million views.
But why, exactly, do we care so much? Much like our fascination with the sinking of the Titanic, no one can look away from a wild, cinematic story, even if it includes tragedy.
“At its core, the missing Titanic submersible vessel contains all the essential elements of an addictive, alluring media spectacle,” says Melvin Williams, associate professor of communication and media studies at Pace University.
The missing submersible taps into ‘most people’s biggest fear’
The story reads like the plot of a movie. Dwindling hours of oxygen that will run out by Thursday. Wealthy passengers that paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for the trip of a lifetime. Multiple countries aiding a search effort as hours tick by.
“The idea of ‘time running out’ is most people’s biggest fear,” says Amy Morin, a psychotherapist and host of the Mentally Stronger podcast. “A lot of people are envisioning what it would be like to be on the sub knowing that you have less than 24 hours of oxygen if you aren’t rescued. We’re also intrigued by adventurers and what risks they’ll take in life.”
But intrigued doesn’t always mean “sign me up” too. “For people who dislike taking risks, they see this as proof they shouldn’t do anything dangerous,” Morin adds.
The Titanic connection
We all know the story of the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic in 1912: The unsinkability. The iceberg. The too-few lifeboats. It’s captivated the world for more than 100 years.
For many, this incident likely makes them want to read (and re-read, and watch) anything and everything on the Titanic story. “The tourist sub’s name immediately triggers nostalgia related to the ill-fated voyage of the R.M.S. Titanic and the subsequent blockbuster 1997 ‘Titanic’ film,” Williams says.
You think: What would you do? “People want to know how some people survived, and what was it like to be in that situation where the ship was sinking and decisions about how to get into a lifeboat were made,” Morin says. “We often wonder what we’d do in a similar situation.”
And this was all well before the age of social media. “The live coverage of this tragedy prompts a pop culture moment that will, irrespective of the outcome, inspire news and social media commentary, documentaries, fictional and nonfictional film and television programming and public enthrallment with the Titanic sub’s rescue efforts,” Williams adds.
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‘Emotions are contagious’
As of now, we don’t know if these people will come out alive. And until we do, hope is a powerful, poignant emotion.
“We love stories where people somehow beat the odds,” Morin says. “Any story that evokes such strong emotions, like sadness and fear, is likely to cause us to keep reading. It gives us an opportunity to feel those emotions from a safe distance. We aren’t actually on the sub and most of us don’t know anyone who is, but it gives us an opportunity to imagine what it must be like to be there from a safe distance.”
That said, fear engages people more than anything. “Readers may share articles about the sub with friends or family so they can talk to someone about the sadness, anxiety and fear that gets stirred up by the articles,” Morin adds. “Emotions are contagious and sometimes we want other people to share in our uncomfortable emotions.”
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