Is life “priceless,” or can life be bought and sold like a commodity? Anthropological theory has not yet been able to integrate incommensurable value with commensurable value. But such an integrated theory of value exists—not explicitly in theory but implicitly in everyday ethics and fictional narratives. I analyze how the movie Titanic, one of the most commercially valuable artefacts of all time, reveals a comprehensive ideology of how life and material wealth should be valued. Titanic works through key themes in economic anthropology: social inequality, class struggle, gift/commodity distinctions, the meaning of money, and inalienable possessions. Titanic demonstrates that the tension between ethical values and economic value can be resolved when short-term individual gains are transcended by a mutuality of being that reaches beyond death. Titanic proposes that American capitalism can integrate core cultural values with economic freedom and self-realization.

中文翻译：

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生命是一份礼物：好莱坞电影中的宇宙论价值

生命是“无价的”，还是可以像商品一样买卖？人类学理论尚未能够将不可通约价值与可通约价值整合起来。但这样一种综合的价值理论是存在的——不是在理论上明确存在，而是隐含在日常伦理和虚构叙事中。我分析了电影《泰坦尼克号》 ——有史以来最具商业价值的文物之一——如何揭示了如何评价生命和物质财富的全面意识形态。《泰坦尼克号》探讨了经济人类学的关键主题：社会不平等、阶级斗争、礼物/商品区别、金钱的意义和不可剥夺的财产。泰坦尼克号表明，当短期的个人利益被超越死亡的相互存在所超越时，道德价值观和经济价值之间的紧张关系就可以得到解决。泰坦尼克号提出美国资本主义可以将核心文化价值观与经济自由和自我实现相结合。