‘When that great ship went down’: Modern maritime disasters and collective memory

The aim of this article is to examine the social and psychological impact of modern maritime disasters upon the population of a technologically developed nation. Through an innovative research approach using various indirect measurements of public interest including the internet, media response, music and film, the article explores the interest displayed by the American public following the loss of ships such as the Titanic, Andrea Doria, Edmund Fitzgerald, and Andrea Gail. In order to provide a basis for qualitative comparison, disasters involving other modes of transportation are also considered, including the Hindenburg crash, the ‘Great Train Wreck of 1918’ in Nashville, TN, the Tenerife air disaster of 1977, and the Concorde crash of 2000. The article seeks to explain why the American public seems to display more short-term and long-term interest in maritime disasters than in disasters involving other forms of transportation.