Marilyn Monroe is not only an actress that defines the period she was alive but she is an actress that has stayed in the spotlight across all generations. Monroe started the wave of women using their sexuality as a tool in films. Monroe characterized the image of “the dumb blonde” and left little to the imagination when toying with the concept of desire in her films. Monroe oozes sexuality and it is so apparent throughout her work and her life.
One thing to note about Monroe is that her work and her life were not separate. Monroe is not only the image of classic Hollywood sexuality but also the image of classic Hollywood publicity. Monroe’s life was controlled by her public image. Her private life being a part of her public image. All of Monroe’s personal relationships were torn apart by the press and everything she did was heavily publicized and scrutinized. Because of this Monroe was taught how to act and what to do. After reading “The Building of Popular Images” by Thomas Harris and learning about this way of publicizing celebrities and Hollywood’s part in tailoring celebrities’ private lives to make good press I began to wonder how genuine is the image of Monroe that we all know and love. The image we know of Monroe had been deciphered by Hollywood before she even acted in her first movie. Monroe came from a lower class family and worked as a pin up girl and the two fo those things branded her as a sex symbol in films rather than as a housewife. Granted this was the 50s and Monroe did not have many other options of roles she could have played, which in my opinion is a shame.
In the Film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Monroe’s character is lacking depth. She is a cabaret dancer who is fawning over a rich man who she evidently only likes for his money and he only likes her for her looks. She deals with men not trusting her but instantly lusting after her. Throughout the film it seems as if the men that are infatuated with her do not take the time to get to know her. This film showcases how in the eyes of men and in the eyes of Hollywood Monroe is just a pretty face. I personally feel as if this film is juxtaposed with her real life. In the film, Lorelei is looking for someone to take her seriously she is fed up with how Gus’s father thinks of her as dumb without ever meeting her. This is similar to Monroe’s real life where she was seen as “the dumb blonde” and not taken seriously regarding her talent.
In Heavenly Bodies written by Richard Dyer, Dyer explains how Monroe is responsible for liberating women’s sexuality in the 1950s. Monroe made it socially acceptable to be sexual. Monroe made it socially acceptable for a woman to want sex in the same way that a man did. While Monroe did help women her main audience was men and she would draw packs of them to the theatre as well as marry several men herself. On the outside Monroe’s life looked perfect and glamorous but, in real life Monroe was distraught and struggling with various internal anxieties that eventually led to her tragic death. Would this starlet have been saved if it weren’t for Hollywood, maybe, maybe not; but one thing I can say for certain is as much as Hollywood may have changed Monroe, Monroe etched in history a new Hollywood for generations to come.