let's discuss: the obsession with marilyn monroe

I also think the obsession may actually stem from her tragically early death. Hollywood has this obsession with female youth and a tendency to immediately throw away any women that age. However with Marilyn because she passed before ever reaching that point she became this immortalized picture of female innocence, youth and sexuality that Hollywood and pop culture could latch onto.

It’s so sweet that she gave some of her will to her therapist

I assume marilyn’s comedy is often overlooked as well because we don’t typically view women as capable of being intentionally funny. Instead of acknowledging her character as a representation of marilyn’s comedic talent, we assumed that she WAS the over the top ditzy character, because somehow that was more believable to us than her being intentionally humorous

The fact that Hugh Hefner could BUY a final resting place next to Marilyn is appalling to me. And Kim Kardashian could just buy a fast wear of a dress Marilyn herself wished no one else would wear. People forget Marilyn was a person. You can be inspired but this is objectifying, the same thing that was done to her as a sex symbol when she lived.

This is how I feel as a Mexican woman in regards to Selena Quintanilla. Let her rest. I love that we keep her memory alive and I get that, but all these remakes are really tiring.

i'd love to see one for Amy Winehouse. She isn't hollywood but the glorification, villainisation, sexualisation and commentary on her is... a wild ride and i'd love to see a discussion by you on her as she was such an incredible person who once again, passed too soon

The more and more I learn about Marilyn the person, the more and more I love and appreciate her. It's just so sad that she's not even person anymore but a marble deity.

the treatment of marylin's comedic acting reminds me of how men so often dont pick up on women's jokes and sarcasm, they just assume that women are being literal and stupid.

Instead of reframing Marilyn's tragedies in life as "empowering", why not make it common knowledge how unfairly she was treated despite being such a remarkable woman? How steps in her career reflected this mistreatment and put deeper meaning to her actions and legacy than just being the most glamorous woman in Hollywood. Acknowledge that she was wrongfully reduced to a sex symbol when she was, in fact, a talented actress in her own right. Don't diminish important things about her like with the Kim Kardashian Met Gala dress situation-people claim Marilyn would "love seeing another curvy woman wear her dress" when in reality, Marilyn had that dress made specifically for her and her alone in response to the mistreatment and injustice she experienced.

I always feel deep sadness in my soul whenever Marilyn is mentioned. Her image is being dragged through so much, she deserves respectful remembrance, not exploitation and idolization after her death.

Your commentary reminds me of that story Amy Greene, the wife of Marilyn’s personal photographer, told where she recalled her and Marilyn were “walking around New York City… she loved New York because no one bothered her there like they did in Hollywood, she could put on her plain Jane clothes and no one would notice her. She loved that.

My grandmother who was a young lady around the same time as Marilyn had told me she wasn't a fan because of how suggestive she was in films. Although she never held anything against her as a fellow person. Mostly because my grandmother and Marilyn shared the same body type and that caused a lot of men to show unwanted interest in her. My grandmother was genuinely pure of heart (I haven't known anyone sweeter) and men would try to get her to be /like/ Marilyn. So she married the biggest nerd she could find that treated her with respect and encouraged her college education rather than seeing her as something pretty to own.

I was grossed out by Heffner making sure that after he died, he was buried right next to her. It felt a bit like he sexually assaulted her memory

It's so sad how Marilyn was treated by many people that she cared about. Even Arthur Miller, at that point where she was again trying to turn her life around, seemed to discard her as soon as he saw that she was a human, vulnerable and flawed like everyone else. What he wrote about her, was so horrible, and later how the Kennedy brothers are said to have passed her around like a horse to ride. I hope that at least some men watching eg the Marilyn Neyflix documentary will see this- how even the woman framed as this 'ultimate beauty' was essentially just *used*. And now let's remember that this is a blonde white woman with all the privileges that brings... and what this says about what kind of treatment women of colour had/have to deal with.

Growing up I would see imagery of her and Audrey Hepburn slapped on just about anything, I knew her picture long before I knew who she was or what she did. Even today if you walk into an ICING store youll see them on random dorm room decor for no reason. I never really understood the obsession, like it’s not praise/admiration for Marilyn’s work in movies or singing or anything, it’s just her IMAGE itself, it’s so odd. Like how many people who say they “love Marilyn Monroe” have actually seen her films?

"To see a woman so in charge of her sexuality..." Idk, to me it sounds like she did it out of necessity, not because she was glad to. And sure, that takes a level of guts. But it's also sad to be backed into that corner. That's not empowering.

I hate when people constantly wax lyrical about how she was "the most beautiful woman in the world." It's really creepy and makes her into a doll or an object. She was not a goddess or somehow different than other people. It's very disturbing to have people do this. All they seemingly care about is her body and they refuse to see her as human.

I used to roll my eyes whenever people would mention and gush over Marilyn Monroe. I didn't get the obsession over her (and still don't) because to me, she was just another rich white woman who was overly fetishized and exaggerated. That is, until I learned of how she was very cool towards African Americans back in the era where racism was openly displayed and even encouraged. When I read about how Marilyn helped an African American singer to be able to perform at a very famous club owned by a racist owner who discriminated against the singer performing there, I was honestly surprised. She did not have to do what she did, yet she did it anyway. Marilyn sat in the club every time the African American singer performed just so that the woman can sing. That gave me a newfound respect for her. There were also other things Marilyn did to help out other African Americans but the other side of Marilyn rarely gets talked about. All anyone wants to talk about is how beautiful and sexually inspiring she is. No one also mentions how Marilyn herself was inspired by someone else to be the way that she is. Women wanted to be like Marilyn but Marilyn wanted to be like Dorothy Dandridge, her best friend, a woman of color. Sadly, they both died almost the exact same way.

the obsession with marilyn monroe has always been there but now with all these movies and documentaries and kim kardashian its become so crazy... you can be inspired by her without being weird and some things (like kim getting a lock of her hair) are just TOO MUCH. It's sad marilyn deserves better :(

People wax poetic about how tragic she is without realizing their obsessed behavior towards her was a huge part of what drove her to that tragic end. She was never allowed to be a person and that is soul crushing.