In the epic film Titanic, actress Kathy Bates plays the role of Margaret Molly Brown. Of Irish descent, Molly is depicted as a straight-shooting, no-nonsense, wealthy Texan with a penchant for social climbing. However, the smug, condescending aura, exuded by the elites, never washes over her. After escaping the sinking Titanic in a one-third empty lifeboat, surrounded mostly by married women and a few male staff, Molly is appalled by her fellow survivors’ callousness. Molly wants to rescue nearby male passengers, fighting for their lives in the frigid sea. Her lifeboat is less than 200 feet from the men screaming...