Could Jack Have Survived the Unforgettable Disaster? James Cameron Investigates

Cameron, who did the analysis as part of a National Geographic special, used two stunt people to test four scenarios.

In the first scenario, both people got on the floating debris with their midsections and lower limbs submerged in the water.

Cameron concluded that neither Jack nor Rose could have survived because part of their bodies would still be subjected to freezing temperatures. When the Titanic sank, the sea was 28°F, which would possibly have killed a person in 30 minutes.

Now, what if Jack lifted his upper body out of the water and left only a small part of his legs submerged? To do that though, he would have used up more upper body strength with a lot of arm shaking.

Cameron said that this scenario could have extended his life by few hours. However, he probably wouldn’t have had enough strength and energy to hold that pose for long.

In the third scenario, Cameron took into account the fact that both Jack and Rose had endured a lot of action, and were already exhausted even before the door scene. They reenacted the part where a man attacked Rose to try to get her life jacket, and Jack came to defend her.

After the previous scenario, both went back to the door and Rose gave her life jacket to Jack to try to keep him warm and floating.

Cameron admitted this could have bought Jack time and protected him at least until a lifeboat came to the rescue. “But there's a lot of variables,” he added. “I think his thought process was, ‘I’m not going to do one thing that jeopardizes her.’ And that's 100 percent in character.”

TL;DR: After Cameron did this analysis, he revealed in an interview that “there was no way they both could have survived. Only one could survive.”