The problem as I see it in making a movie that casts THE Marilyn Monroe as a victim is that that's not her legacy. Marilyn Monroe stands for ultimate femininity and beguiling power. As Miss Caswell in "All About Eve" (1950), it's striking how much presence she has. She stands out even against Bette Davis! She has perfect comedic timing. She exudes confidence, likability, and intelligence. She's simply amazing. That's her legacy. Marilyn Monroe is an icon because she is powerful, undermining this by making her a sad-sack victim is completely unappealing.
Many people in the public eye/entertainment industry have committed suicide, but that's not what the fans focus on or wish to remember about their heroes, nor have movies been made to portray their entire amazing lives as a series of tragedies. That's not the truth. Marilyn Monroe couldn't have made the movies she made if she had seen herself as a victim, so I don't think we should be encouraged to see her that way either.
And it almost seems like a kind of jealousy or resentment is what's really behind wanting to believe that a woman like Marilyn Monroe—who had the world in the palm of her hands and continues to exert a cultural influence decades after her death—was somehow always sad. The truth is she had the kind of great, wonderful, impactful life that most people will never come close to achieving.
The focus you place on the positive aspects of Monroe's life, and there are many, are relatively well known and not in any serious doubt. The vital question you don't address, in your totally correct lauding of Monroe's virtues, is why powerful, successful, intelligent men didn't respect those assets in the way that you do. What is it that you see that they either overlooked, discounted or outright exploited? To the point where they beat, sexually toyed with, debased and used her to enhance their own "masculine" profiles? They weren't concerned enough to prevent what a county coroner testified was the taking of her own life.
You value her. Why couldn't they? For decades of her life. That's what "Blonde", the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, and now, the movie, are throwing light on. Telling that story honors Monroe's memory far more than the roses De Maggio left at her burial site. It reveals to us how powerful, successful men who should have known better did their very worst when it came to Monroe, whom they reduced in their minds to little more than an object, a possession. Their viciousness needs to be exposed.
We all need to be reminded how powerful, exploiting men can use ANY woman for their needs and pleasure and, to this day, get away with it. Even the Marilyn Monroe you quite rightly admire and remember with pleasure. "Blonde" isn't about her legacy. It's about her forgotten, covered up, struggle against cruel and insensitive men. Their numbers in this world don't seem to have decreased in the years since Monroe's death. Their crimes are being committed every day, to this hour. If it could happen to her, how much more hideous and unchronicled must be the suffering women undergo today at the hands of insecure, weak-willed, hate-fueled men, who get away with it just because they're men.
Thanks very much for your interest and your extremely thoughtful comment.
The problem as I see it in making a movie that casts THE Marilyn Monroe as a victim is that that's not her legacy. Marilyn Monroe stands for ultimate femininity and beguiling power. As Miss Caswell in "All About Eve" (1950), it's striking how much presence she has. She stands out even against Bette Davis! She has perfect comedic timing. She exudes confidence, likability, and intelligence. She's simply amazing. That's her legacy. Marilyn Monroe is an icon because she is powerful, undermining this by making her a sad-sack victim is completely unappealing.
Many people in the public eye/entertainment industry have committed suicide, but that's not what the fans focus on or wish to remember about their heroes, nor have movies been made to portray their entire amazing lives as a series of tragedies. That's not the truth. Marilyn Monroe couldn't have made the movies she made if she had seen herself as a victim, so I don't think we should be encouraged to see her that way either.
And it almost seems like a kind of jealousy or resentment is what's really behind wanting to believe that a woman like Marilyn Monroe—who had the world in the palm of her hands and continues to exert a cultural influence decades after her death—was somehow always sad. The truth is she had the kind of great, wonderful, impactful life that most people will never come close to achieving.
The focus you place on the positive aspects of Monroe's life, and there are many, are relatively well known and not in any serious doubt. The vital question you don't address, in your totally correct lauding of Monroe's virtues, is why powerful, successful, intelligent men didn't respect those assets in the way that you do. What is it that you see that they either overlooked, discounted or outright exploited? To the point where they beat, sexually toyed with, debased and used her to enhance their own "masculine" profiles? They weren't concerned enough to prevent what a county coroner testified was the taking of her own life.
You value her. Why couldn't they? For decades of her life. That's what "Blonde", the novel by Joyce Carol Oates, and now, the movie, are throwing light on. Telling that story honors Monroe's memory far more than the roses De Maggio left at her burial site. It reveals to us how powerful, successful men who should have known better did their very worst when it came to Monroe, whom they reduced in their minds to little more than an object, a possession. Their viciousness needs to be exposed.
We all need to be reminded how powerful, exploiting men can use ANY woman for their needs and pleasure and, to this day, get away with it. Even the Marilyn Monroe you quite rightly admire and remember with pleasure. "Blonde" isn't about her legacy. It's about her forgotten, covered up, struggle against cruel and insensitive men. Their numbers in this world don't seem to have decreased in the years since Monroe's death. Their crimes are being committed every day, to this hour. If it could happen to her, how much more hideous and unchronicled must be the suffering women undergo today at the hands of insecure, weak-willed, hate-fueled men, who get away with it just because they're men.
Thanks very much for your interest and your extremely thoughtful comment.