Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

CyanideSkittles t1_j98lwlh wrote

Why did these go unreleased for so long?

312

KawaiiPotato15 t1_j98r7xc wrote

Some of this footage was used in an 80s documentary about the wreck, so it isn't completely brand new. There's been hundreds of dives to the wreck and thousands of hours of footage has been recorded, but most of it never gets released publicly. We only get to see a small portion that manages to make its way into documentaries or photos in books and magazines. Most of it was recovered decades ago, so there wasn't really any way to make it easily available to the public, but then again most footage from recent dives isn't public either. I'm honestly not sure why they don't release it.

291

cksc51 t1_j9az0f4 wrote

Shipwrecks are also underwater tombs for those that were trapped inside. Though they don't always get footage of bodies, when they do the more ethical crews won't make that footage public. Either out of respect for surviving family or because they don't want to make a spectacle out of a person's remains. Also there is most likely a large amount of boring footage that just isn't interesting to most.

98

StrikingDegree7508 t1_j9c73tw wrote

I remember when they first found the Titanic, one of the survivors said something like “Please don’t disturb the wreck, that’s my father’s grave.” And that’s kind of how I’ve thought about it ever since, although it’s been 84 years since I’ve seen that interview and I can’t quite trust my memory.

41

05110909 t1_j9cp51n wrote

When Ballard and crew found the wreckage they started yelling and celebrating in the sub. Then they realized they were literally dancing on a mass grave and everyone straightened up.

25

StrikingDegree7508 t1_j9d9899 wrote

Yeah, Ballard has always been a decent and respectful person. He wants to make the whole thing into a museum and preserve it. I like that idea.

9

licuala t1_j9cb14n wrote

I read that any corpses are estimated to have completely disappeared by the end of the 1940s.

In any case, no bodies have been found in or around the Titanic. Suggestive pairs of shoes is the closest we've got.

32

05110909 t1_j9cp7ii wrote

I'm surprised they'd last that young. That's over 30 years.

6

StampYoPassport t1_j9gjv54 wrote

No easy way to share hours and hours of footage to the world, easily and cheaply, in 1986.

1