To think this cake is inappropriate

One of my nephews was obsessed with Titanic the film and could def see him asking for that cake

Very, very odd.

I don't think it would be inappropriate at all, for a certain kind of child who was obsessed with the story. Children's culture hasn't always been as sanitised as 21st century parents think it ought to be. Should we ban Ring a Ring o' Roses as well, since it references the Black Death? I think a few people died there, too. How about The Good Ship Sailed on the Ally Ally O? I recall singing that one at a church toddler group. It's about...the Titanic.

Are you me? Because that is exactly my DS.

His Titanic phase was nothing to do with the DiCaprio/Winslet movie, but there were no shortage of child-orientated Titanic toys and books, so it's obviously not a rare interest for that age group.

I think Titanic has transcended the tragic elements of its story and ingrained itself in the public imagination so much that it's a unique case. They made a joke about in Ghostbusters fgs. As such it's not a cake I could be offended by.

True. 😆

Mine was into Titanic and other ocean liners at 5 and still is, I wouldn't allow this though

Agree its a bit odd

That's said the Titanic is a beautiful ship and significant. I wouldn't have a issue with baking a Titanic cake not in a state of sinking. I make models and the have just started a Moskva ship as it is a significant vessel like wise I would happily build a Titanic or Bismarck in their original state. The sinking and the loss of life is only part of the life of these vessels there is nothing wrong with appreciating the rest.

@CockleburIck it says 5th birthday on the cake?

Problem with that cake is the icing to sponge/filling ratio is gonna be way off. That’s why you shouldn’t have ship hulls on cakes.

Well I think it does matter a bit that there's nobody alive now who survived.

There's an interesting question here about time and tragedy. Standardly in society we react totally differently to hearing about long past tragedies than recent tragedies. E.g. you can learn how many people died in the battle of hastings as part of a history lesson, and there may be no serious atmosphere in the room at all. If you find out it was twice as many people as you thought, you can just say 'oh right 2000 not 1000' without any emotional reaction at all, and none is expected. You can look at a Bayeux tapestry of Henry getting an arrow in his eye entirely without the hushed atmosphere you'd get if you were looking at recent news footage. Horrible histories focuses on these 'gory' bits because they know many children will find them interesting, and if they are from long ago then there is no attempt to make children take them seriously instead.

Something happens to how people react to tragedies as they get further into the past, and I think that society with its views about what is 'tasteful' and what is not reflects this.
Many people are similarly short-sighted to tragedies happening at the current time, but at a great distance. And some people think that they shouldn't be. What difference does it make whether people are nearby or far away? If they are suffering then they are suffering. But - unlike distance in space - distance in time really does seem to make a difference. Do we ever think of having a silence for the people who died in the Persian war?
I wonder whether for the OP this whole attitude is just distasteful, and we should always think about the human suffering of an event we're presented with no matter how long ago it was? I've got some sympathy with that. Or whether the Titanic is just not long enough ago yet. To help figure this out - OP, what would you think of a history fan getting made a cake with the Trojan horse on it? A lot of people died in that war.

I know what you mean, BUT you also have to remember that the Titanic was brought into a new light thanks to the movie industry. The child probably isn't a fan of the true story, rather the movie.

Have you never been on a cruise and seen people doing the Jack/Rose pose on the edge of the ship? That's glamourising it too, no? But the MOVIE, not the real life, tragic event.

Absolutely appalling. I'm disgusted. The former president of the British Titanic Society was once asked to comment on a bath toy on the market of an inflatable Titanic which came with an inflatable iceberg you could repeatedly crash it into. Equally tasteless. He said that you wouldn't make a toy out of a skyscraper with a plane that you could repeatedly fly into it.

Awful that such an appalling loss of life could be reduced to a novelty cake.

That’s interesting. So not a child’s birthday cake after all? Hmm.

Hang on…. Not me personally.

But the way they’ve gone viral, facebook feeds, seen on TV news. Perhaps I should have phrased it better?

I’m not cheering anything out there.

Lot’s of young children are really interested in the Titanic. There is a whole Titanic industry - films, books, mugs, the Titanic Experience in Belfast etc. At ine stage DS would have loved this cake.

In addition to the stories of tragedies, it was also a story of survival, immense bravery by some and immense self sacrifice by others. Or at least that is how it is now portrayed. I do not think you can compare it to a recent tragedy like Grenfell where people directly affected are still alive and suffering as a result.

And I think that cake is awesome!

@MrsSkylerWhite I was obsessed with aircrash documentaries when I was 5 because my dad loved them 😂 so doesn't seem entirely impossible?

Sure.

but did it taste nice?

Cloud16 · 13/05/2022 10:35
The kid could just be a big fan of the film. Although if that was the case, maybe the addition of Leo and Kate would've helped matters.“

at 5, really?

The kid could just be a big fan of the film. Although if that was the case, maybe the addition of Leo and Kate would've helped matters.

Yes, but the reference is still crass. Why fucking go there? It obviously risks distressing and offending people.

And does that say a 5th birthday?! Random thing for a 5 year old to be into

At 5 my ds was obsessed by the Titanic. He then branched out to maritime disasters in general, got stuck on the Hood and Bismarck for a bit and
now at 7 is fascinated by aircraft carriers and Vulcan bombers.

I personally prefer it to pokemon which many of his school friends seem to be into.