It’s one of the few lines in American cinema that can instantly break the heart of anyone within earshot. Kate Winslet’s hypothermic face in ‘Titanic’ comes to mind before the line’s halfway over.

‘I’ll never let go, Jack. I’ll never let go.’

But Rose isn’t the only one who’s held onto Jack years after his icy frame sunk into the ocean. Everyone who could sit in a movie theater in 1997 held a special place in his or her (but mostly her) heart for James Cameron’s box office shattering love story.

I can’t be the only one who convinces herself the boat won’t sink every time I watch it

Luckily, Cameron has given us a new ticket to board the Titanic 15 years later. ‘Titanic’ was released yesterday, this time in 3-D. Instead of just imagining it, we can really feel like the awkward third wheel on that now infamous floating door.

For some, this will be their first trip on the Titanic, giving them the opportunity to fall in love like so many before them. There’s an entire unfortunate generation who can only see Leonardo DiCaprio as ‘that guy from ‘Inception.”

For us, it’s a hard idea to wrap our heads around. There are kids out there who think the Spice Girls are stars of a cooking show. They’ll never understand that there’s more to Topanga Lawrence than a weird name. Their goal will never be to catch ’em all.

I’m not ready to live in a world where everyone doesn’t want to be the very best – like no one ever was. But the times, they have a changed.

Since ‘Titanic’ first crashed into theaters, cinematic romance hasn’t been able to go to the same places Jack and Rose did. Granted, the tragic couple did leave the bar pretty high.

The last 15 years has seen the rise of the systematic romance. For every classic, like ‘The Notebook’ or ‘Moulin Rouge,’ there are five bad Katherine Hiegl rom-coms. I want to know who thought America really needed to see ‘One for the Money.’

Girls are growing up thinking there are five professions they can choose from and still find their happy ending. Most of them involve fashion and all of them demand not believing in love until the surprise storybook ending.

If you’ve seen one romance movie in the last 10 years, you’ve seen all of them. There’s no need to waste 90 minutes of your life waiting for Jennifer Aniston to realize Mr. Right has been in front of her the whole time.

But with ‘Titanic,’ it’s different. Rose isn’t a fashion designer. She doesn’t live in New York City. Her biggest problem isn’t that she can’t find the right guy in the big city.

Instead, her story offers something more than the idea a new haircut changes everything. Rose shows girls that you can make your own decisions. It’s OK to go after the charismatic artist with a thin wallet instead of the hotshot finance major.

She proves your life can make an unexpected turn and that’s OK. New people can completely shake up your plans, and that’s not a bad thing. She teaches us an important life lesson: If the famously unsinkable ship in the world goes down, roll with the punches.

But most importantly, the movie’s newest travelers are learning something often forgotten. You can withstand the loss of your first love. As Celine Dion preaches, your heart will go on.

If Rose had to watch Jack freeze to death, you can survive anything.

Ariana Romero is a sophomore magazine journalism and political science major. Her column appears every Thursday. She can be reached at akromero@syr.edu. 

Published on April 4, 2012 at 12:00 pm