TITAN: THE OCEANGATE DISASTER
Unchecked Personal Ambition Leads to Deadly Disaster
What You Need To Know
TITAN: THE OCEANGATE DISASTER is a documentary on Netflix that chronicles the downfall of a CEO and his underwater tourism company. In 2023, an underwater vehicle suffers a structural failure, resulting in the deaths of billionaire Stockton Rush and his crew. Two years later, answers regarding the company’s malfeasance remain deep in the ocean. Will the filmmakers get to the bottom of this mystery?
Set after the “Titan” submersible disaster of 2023, TITAN delves into the downfall of the company behind the scandal. The documentary focuses on Stockton Rush, the former CEO of Oceangate, an underwater tourism company. Rush was an ambitious billionaire inventor who aimed to expand deep-sea exploration for humanity. The movie explores Rush’s fascination with the Titanic shipwreck, but also his disregard to honest criticism.
The movie intercuts between Oceangate’s secret archival footage, courtroom hearings, and exclusive interviews with former Oceangate employees and their families. The whistleblowers are engineers, accountants and divers who describe Rush’s cult-like leadership. Throughout the doc, the filmmakers stress Rush’s disregard of industry safety standards and his numerous threats of corporate blackmail. Will this be enough to get to the bottom of Rush’s demise?
TITAN: THE OCEANGATE DISASTER is decked out with high production values. The camerawork, sound mixing and overall editing are spectacular. For viewers who specialize in documentaries, TITAN goes above and beyond connecting disparate pieces of footage into a cohesive narrative. The movie balances whistleblower interviews, handheld archival footage, and original “scientific graph paper” animations without feeling “lost at sea.” Altogether, it’s miraculous, riveting package that will keep most viewers hooked.
TITAN is slanted towards a strong moral compass. The documentary leans in favor of professional integrity, strong safety standards, and shining a light on corporate malfeasance. The former employees that were interview admit to sticking up to their corrupt CEO. Various engineers and divers realize a structural flaw in Oceangate’s submarine design. These employees tried to warn the company of this lethal mistake. When the company denied their concerns, these employees quit en masse. Moreover, the movie provides a sympathetic look at the victims affected by Oceangate’s scandals.
Sadly, however, TITAN has 10 obscenities, including five “f” words and three lewd insults. The movie has no onscreen violence, but it features real-world news footage of the aftermath of the 2023 disaster. The CEO openly admits to threatening physical violence towards employees who challenged him. Furthermore, Oceangate executives admit to purposely ignoring safety standards despite damning evidence. Lastly, the company threatens lawsuits and corporate blackmail against its enemies. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution for the movie’s crude language
That said, TITAN: THE OCEANGATE DISASTER is a superb piece of investigative filmmaking.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
<p class="p1">(BB, C, HH, LL, V, S, MMM):<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><b>
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>Strong moral worldview that upholds personal integrity and condemns unchecked personal ambition, a billionaire CEO uses manipulated safety data to sell his “underwater expeditions” to the public, the CEO is self-obsessed entrepreneur who ran a cult of personality, the Oceangate company threatens a lawsuit and other slimy tactics to silence its whistleblowers, former Oceangate employees quit the company in protest against the CEO’s short-sighted behavior, one employee sues the company over withholding damaging safety data, the same ex-employees divulge Oceangate’s internal scandals to the public, one influencer mentions praying to God after he realizes he dodged the Titan disaster, and the filmmakers showcase empathy towards the victims affected by the 2023 scandal; <b>
Foul Language
<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></b>10 obscenities (including five “f” words) and no profanities; <b>
Violence
</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>No onscreen physical violence, but the CEO alludes to a threat a violence if employees leaked his internal scandals, real life news footage of the Titan disaster aftermath is played onscreen, several scenes of carbon fiber tubes make large cracks under heavy pressure tests, and three “animated” infographics feature loud “metal cracking” noises concerning submarine safety data; <b>
Sex
</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>No sex scenes but three lewd insults; <b>
Nudity
</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>No nudity; <b>
Alcohol Use
</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>No alcohol use; <b>
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>No smoking or drugs; and, <b>
Miscellaneous Immorality
</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>The CEO misleads the public over the safety of his “carbon fiber” submersible vehicles, the same CEO threatens to sue potential whistleblowers for leaking crucial information, a company executive openly admits to “buying a Congressman for $50,000” (bribery), the company threatens corporate blackmail over the engineers who were worried over the “Titan” vehicle’s structural integrity, a man tries to promote a female accountant as a “prominent female diver” to bolster easy media points, and Oceangate refuses to do communications with the victims’ families after the 2023 disaster.</p>
