Why 'Titanic' Conquered the World; Buenos Aires
In Argentina, where an average of 70,000 people have seen 'Titanic' each week since it opened in February, the film has become the stuff of television parody. On one popular morning talk program, for example, the host, Georgissa, let fly barbs about the country's social and political ills as she hung on to a sinking ship, soaked to the skin.
In a similar vein, the top-rated soap opera in Brazil, 'Por Amor' ('For Love'), used a crucial scene from 'Titanic' to celebrate the reconciliation of two of the show's stars. Reunited after a bitter interlude of jealous recrimination, the couple decide to take a second honeymoon on a private ship. As the man persuades the woman to stand on the edge of the ship's bow, he says, 'I want to do exactly what I saw in the 'Titanic.' It was so romantic. Trust me.'
CALVIN SIMS