THE TITANIC: A LOCAL PERCEPTION OF THE UNIVERSAL MYTH

Abstract

Even though the myth of the Titanic surpasses by far the individual local contexts its reception is not the same throughout the world. In other words, although it can become a universal topic, the Titanic is not at the same time a universal myth. Since its beginnings it was primarily a Western myth, its associations with the UK and USA multifold – by ownership, place of construction, its departure and arrival ports, the number of (elite) passengers. The potential or the necessity of society to identify itself with some of the key elements of „the Titanic Context“ – be it naval tradition and domination, transatlantic emmigrations, or ship building and maritime trade – are always proportionate to the media and all other participations in the creation of „the Titanic Myth“. All this can certainly be explored for reasons why there is a relatively modest level of interest in the Titanic shown by the Serbian society, and such reasons are the subject of this text.