So I watched BLONDE... 

"Art's not meant to be comfortable!" So rich of them to say when they're not the ones being caricatured, degraded, violated onscreen, or stereotyped as a gender.

Oates and Dominik are like two college freshmen who just discovered Marilyn Monroe and think they're blowing everyone's minds by telling them she was, like, really sad all the time. Lol

"What does Marilyn Monroe mean?" Bruh, she's a person, not a vocabulary word.

When the actress portraying Marilyn complained that people were putting clips from this movie on porn hub and that that was disrespecting her right to control how her own image would be portrayed, without realizing that making explicit sex scenes while impersonating another woman who fought her entire career to be acknowledged as more than a sex symbol was the same kind of fucked, I realized this movie would be a problem. I refused to give it a chance so I didn't know if I was right, but now I see my suspicions were confirmed

Why does nobody ever talk about how Marilyn had her own production studio in Hollywood?!? Tidbits like that are MUCH more interesting to me than Blonde.

Also, Andrew and Joyce keep saying “killed herself” when in reality we do not know if it was an accidental overdose or not. Not to mention filming in the actual spot where she died just feels so exploitive.

Blonde felt like someone's Wattpad version of Marilyn.

That whole quote about women not being empowered if they killed themselves made me feel so sick. Not only as a women that deals with depression but because I admire so many women writers that had taken their own lives. What they did while alive was wonderful, killing yourself doesn’t make you less

You know which scene truly pissed me off? The one in DiMaggio's place with his relatives, they ask her something about being famous, maybe, and Marilyn responds: "Oh, I'm just the blonde from the movies." Then someone goes "So the hair is real?" And she says, aloof, "No." When they all laugh she just looks confused and doe-eyed, like, you mean to tell me that Marilyn "I just wear Chanel no 5 to bed" Monroe wouldn't have made that joke on purpose???

It amazes me that people still don't realize how much part Marilyn had in shaping her image and persona. There was an intelligence and subversion in how she portrayed herself, knowing and self-aware in ways most stars during that era couldn't possibly fathom. And why must we always magnify the tragedy? These would-be chroniclers never talk about her incredible wit, her desire to sharpen her skills with Strasberg, or even the creation of her film production company. She was a focused, dedicated actor with a budding business sense. If we must constantly speak her name, then let's speak of her as the complex, multifaceted being that she was.

Calling her performance in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes “romanticized whoredom” says everything you need to know about the director. GPB is (first of all amazing) but more interestingly, about two women who do what they want, enjoy sex, have fun, give smart and convincing justifications for why it isn’t wrong to want nice things, and ultimately *are not punished for it*. Like how do you watch a movie like that and get to “sad prostitute, I’d rather watch her be sad, hate everything, and die”. It’s borderline Puritanical. Also serious but rhetorical question for the culture: would any of these straight men (and I’m looking at Sam Levinson rn) make media about women with addictions and mental illness if the women in question weren’t conventionally gorgeous? Because sometimes it feels like intellectually they’re operating on the level of “Nooo don’t kill urself ur too sexy 😭”.

Just before the Oscars this year, Turner Classic Movies put out a video where the nominated artists reflected on their favorite films and performances. Guillermo del Toro talked about "Some Like It Hot" and spoke so admiringly of Marilyn's knowledge of literature and how well she understood acting in front of a camera. It's a short snippet, only 28 seconds, but it treats Marilyn with more respect than Blonde does in 3 hours.

Honestly, I’m disappointed in Ana de Armas for thinking this was the biopic that we’ve been waiting for. All her talk of “visiting her grave” and feeling Marilyn’s presence in her while shooting seems equally as exploitative as whatever this director thought he was doing. I hope this (and Elvis) get few to join awards and turn studios off these weird, needlessly hyper-sexual “biopics”

Is anyone else very disturbed by the claim that anyone who dies by suicide can not and should not be an empowering icon or a feminist icon? Like, if she did, in fact, die by choice/urge and not accident (which is not a given), then she *lived* with that pain for a long time before it overwhelmed her. That would make her a hell of a survivor, I think, totally separate from her professional accomplishments.

The ectopic pregnancy bit made me cry and laugh at the same time. It was framed very badly by the film and I hate it, but I think a lot of people are framing it as ‘well it wasn’t that bad for marilyn, it wasn’t even an actual pregnancy or a grown fetus yet.’ And that’s very untrue, it really hurt her.

There's that Amy Greene quote that talks about the way Marilyn could switch the persona on and off at will, did so one time in front of her walking down the street in New York, going from a regular stroll down 5th to suddenly turning heads and stopping traffic just by removing her scarf and shifting something in her bearing ("want me to be her?")... to be able to control the way people perceive you in such an active way is an incredible skill, it takes so much charisma and poise and emotional intelligence. Sex appeal isn't only about looking good, and people's admiration for Marilyn wasn't only based in her sex appeal. The ability to draw people in, charm them, keep their attention, that's not something that comes naturally to a lot of people. Are we supposed to dismiss this thing that she was incredibly good at and probably put a lot of work into just because it was associated with sex?

I find an it weird when people such as Joyce Carol Oates say that unless we frame women as victims we're ignoring the hard truth of sexism and choosing instead to just see the palatable image that we want to see. I think you can acknowledge sexism and violence towards women without reducing women to mere victims. In fact, framing women like Marilyn, who endured assault and abuse, as simply victims is another way of disempowering them. 'Blonde' could have told a nuanced story about Marilyn's skills, intelligence and her fight to be taken seriously as an actor rather than merely as a sex symbol, but instead the film reduced her to her body and her treatment at the hands of men. It entirely portrayed her through the male gaze and ignored her personality. Perhaps the film feels uncomfortable to watch because in a sense it mirrors those assaults; it objectifies her and makes her suffering into an unnuanced spectacle that reduces her to a symbol rather than a person.

I’m going in having not even watched blonde, partially because I love this channel that much, and partially because I just refuse. Can we please let Marilyn Monroe *rest?* The poor woman spent her whole life being exploited and not even death could end it for her

even my boyfriend wanted to turn off the movie...even a man couldn't stand it. he admires Marilyn and just remarked "I'll just stick with her movies."

I hate that even in biopics they only talk about/or show Marilyn in a sexual way. I also hate the abortion scene when Marilyn talked on multiple occasions about her dream of being a mom. She was so much more then her sexuality she was smart, poetic, and an all around good person.

What I find interesting about this whole fascination with Norma vs Marilyn and "who was she really" is that pretty much every star during that era had a persona. This was not unique to her and she was not the only person who struggled. I also think operating on this idea that she was doomed or destined to die because she had mental health and addiction issues flattens her just as much as any "girl boss" biopic would. Also, that perspective is also just very gross and disrespectful.

My favourite story about Marilyn Monroe was her friendship with Ella Fitzgerald.

IDK Why but the “what the talking fetus would actually look like” bit honestly made me laugh much harder than it should have

May i also add, i think one of the reasons why her fans are so protective of her is because of films like Blonde. Marilyn is a tragic figure. And thats all anyone ever talks about. No one does care about her and who she really was, we want to rescue her because we hate seeing her tragety, her pain, be - once again - monotized by another man for HIS sake. Not hers. The woman was so sexualized that EVEN IN HER OWN GRAVE she is buried between two men, one of whom is supposedly entombed face down so that he could "always be on top of her." When a woman like Marilyn, who i believe never had the chance to actually achive the Dolly Parton style fame, is constantly redused to just her tragity a film like Blonde is just tragity porn and does nothing but continue that narrative of her only being tragic. Its frustrating and only encourages us to protect her.

What makes me eyeroll at blonde's director is that he acts like the audience is not aware of how exploited women are in Hollywood, and that what he's making is a revolutionary reveal to the viewers. If anything it just makes me go "no duh, dude".

She came from nothing. She was a hard working woman, savy business woman, who's legacy isn't big simply bcos of her looks but who she was.

im not easily shaken by sexual violence scenes in movies (im normally kinda uncomfortable but can sit thru it just fine, it registers in my mind the same way as movie gore), but I fully had to look away when anything like that happened. it always caught me off guard, and the fact that this is supposed to be about a real person just made my stomach turn. for the record I did not stream this movie on Netflix bc there was no way that shit was getting my watch time.

The “Old Hollywood Tragedy about abused star” is practically its own genre at this point. Oates et al. could have made Blonde without using Marilyn’s name, likeness, or iconography. There will be people who watch or read Blonde and think it’s a fairly accurate and well-researched biopic. I believe you owe it to the real people to use caution when using their names.

I’m so pleased someone has mentioned Dominik’s own ever changing interpretation of what the film ultimately is about on the press tour. I feel like it really highlights he had no vision of what he wanted to say, and it shows in the final product.

I grew up thinking she was a ditzy bombshell. But when I started watching her films, I noticed how funny she was and how good her acting was. She had great comedic timing. Marilyn deserves to be seen as a full human being, instead of becoming an idea filtered through the male gaze over and over again.

Joyce is shoving Marilyn inside a box that she can understand. She has made herself a god who decides what a person can and cannot be, probably because it's easier to write. A complex character is difficult to achieve because it is reality.

I'm tired of seeing her suffer. Its disturbing to me. She suffered in life and now we keep dragging her ideal not her personhood through the mud.

I really feel like Dominic hates Marilyn cause wow. It was terrible. Damn let the woman Rest In Peace. I hate that they say it’s not biographical but uses real moments in life and mix fiction with it blurring the lines of real and fake.

24:24 “bad things make a person sad” is the perfect summation of how intelligent blonde as a film is

I've heard or read people who knew Garland and Monroe that they are frustrated that everything written or created about them emphasize their unhappiness when their personalities were so much more than that. Of course, their lives had sad endings but don't all lives have sad endings? If a person dies of cancer, are their lives all about cancer or did they simply end because of it?

I also like "The Prince and the Showgirl" as she's depicted as a woman who is widely thought of as a bit of fluff, an airhead and she turns out to be the smartest person in the room. Monroe produced the film and, when you view it now, is still as fresh, sly and contemporary as when it was shot, whereas everyone else seems rather stiff and stagey. I think it's one of her very best.

You know what? I think I would really love a proper Marilyn Monroe biopic - not something that looks at her sideways through the male gaze, but a proper, earnest look at what an amazing comic gift she had and how charismatic she was, even in still photographs. A depiction that, yes, portrays her abuse sympathetically and takes it into account as shaping her, but also celebrates her fight against the studio system, her remarkable performances on screen, her dedication to the craft of acting, and her amazing friendships with the women who recognised her as an equal. Could we just make a rule that filmmakers cannot touch Marilyn's legacy unless they actually appreicate her work as an actress?

What irritates me about any discussion of Marilyn is the dismissal of her “dumb blond” roles. She was a talented comedienne who had a deft touch so much so that people assume she actually is dumb. You can’t tell a joke without getting the joke. Yes, she made more traditional dramas but always assuming that comedies are lesser is still pervasive today and I find it deeply irritating.

Shelley Winters, in one of her memoirs, said that she didn't get the narrative of Monroe as a tragedy figure (or just as a tragedy figure). They had been roommates early on, and Winters said they had lots of fun. At any rate, much thanks for the review! You showed enough that I don't need to bother watching it!

I just felt sorry for Marilyn after watching this movie. Not because of what was portrayed, but because of how Hollywood, yet again, took advantage of her as an icon long after her death. Doing the very thing portrayed in the movie under the excuse of “art”.

Andrew Dominic saw her as a prop, a product, not an actual person. a prop he could dress up in his own product, and sell to the public. I doubt he gave the film anymore thought than that. its shot fantastically, with a known "brand name". all shine and no substance

I think the urge to "rescue" Marilyn is a frustration and desire to see her be respected and understood as a complex person - because if she's not, then they can just as easily do the same to any other woman, including yourself. It's a feeling of solidarity to me.

I fell down a RU-vid rabbit hole, I think it was after your last Marilyn video and watched all those old interviews with her former roomate, Shelly Winters. Shelly spoke with great fondness, and forcefulness, probably because she was used to pushback on this, of the amount of fun they used to have together. And that struck me, because in most of the media around Marilyn you don't think of her as having fun, or being able to have fun. That her persona may have been arduous, but there were times when it was also fun, and she had a good time. That's just kind of absent in the discussion of her.

Funny how I keep hearing both "Well, it's not supposed to be a real depiction of her life! It's fiction!" and also "She really did endure a lot of abuse, the filmmakers are just daring to be honest!"

Can we just leave Marilyn biopics in the past now. The retelling and reimagining of her life, using her as a symbol of a female martyr for the audience and giving actresses the opportunity to raise their profile by getting into Marilyn drag and wear her life like a costume. It's honestly becoming grotesque. We keep resurrecting her only to watch her tragic demise again and again. I love Marilyn's films, not this tripe.

Everytime I hear about this move I can't stop myself from asking "Why was it necessary to use Marilyn as the vehicle for this movie?" especially considering we still have not gotten a film about Marilyn that is from her lens and not one from a male gaze. It feels like Marilyn is being constantly exploited as a character to drive a plot and in the process she is losing more and more of her unique aspects and what made her wonderful in the public eye in the popular culture. I remember finding out all this information about her that contradicted what the pop culture was telling me to the point that it blew my mind when I found out she has a memoir that she wrote and that no one seems to talk about it.

If a director says "they dislike this film because they are..." it is usually a huge red flag.

So they portrayed Marilyn Monroe like how she acted characters in movies and not the way she was, in real life?

Hollywood wants to keep portraying Marilyn as a dumb over sexualized helpless girl, they don’t have the nuance to create a movie about who she actually was and a movie that fully appreciates all of her qualities like how smart she was and how deep thinking she was. It makes me so upset that this is still being fed into and they are too eager to put a big name in the movie as well rather than choose someone who embodies the real Marilyn with her delicacy and her strength and determination and kindness. Not just a sexy woman

I thought her death was accidental? She didn’t intend to harm herself? In either case tho, the “man makes movie about myth of a woman and not actual woman” trope is tiring. I wish someone made a movie about the person Marilyn, not the myth.

Very brilliant essay. It’s not the art in Blonde that makes me uncomfortable, it’s the one sided perspective of Marilyn Monroe that made me uncomfortable. The woman had the full range of emotions and life events.

I think you're absolutely right. Blonde just felt so exploitative, and completely ignored things like MM crafting her own image, absconding from Fox, creating her own production company, negotiating contracts which were not at all common at the time, etc, etc, which was much to its detriment. (Also - I absolutely loved Amanda Konkle's book; it was an extra pleasure to hear her comments).

“An avatar for suffering” I can’t think of a better way to describe this portrayal…

As a video game fan, I would always complain about how the cinematic adaptations of video game franchises would always fail because the people writing/producing/directing the movies weren't actually fans of the original games and wanted to bizarrely portray the content different, portray it in a manner how -they- see fit, not necessarily how the original games functioned and why they succeeded. For every Detective Pikachu, there are dozens of Uncharted and Prince of Persias. Blonde reminds me of this, because it just feels like its a movie made by people that didn't really appreciate or like Marilyn Monroe in the first place. Its one thing to -research- her life and its another to -appreciate- her life, appreciate her gifts, talent, and what she gave to the world even if the world didn't deserve her. I had zero hope for this movie, it never felt like they were even trying to be sensible towards Marilyn Monroe and her roller coaster life, even if the film is based off a novel that also seems to be written by someone who didn't quite appreciate Monroe and wanted to simply use her brand, her imagery, to tell a story and make money.

I felt like I was being harassed watching this film . So for them to create this make me so sad for Marilyn she deserves so much better. Can we just let her rest in peace 🕊️

I don't remember feeling so angry at a movie in my entire life as I was after watching Blonde. And yes I admit that by the end of the film, I was crying, not by how sad the story was but by how angry I felt. Blonde is so hopeless and deprived of empathy that I am not able to see the point of it. Yes, we can make art about everything and everyone but I just don't think it's fair for the subject when you choose to exclude part of her experience just because you want to make some sort of point about her pain. And sorry but I feel very uncomfortable seeing a man talking about her experience, especially about the experience of someone who suffered on such a public level.

"Writer and sometimes twitter troll Joyce Carol Oates" This is gonna be another banger

Examining her whole life as a prelude to her suicide is a mindset that literally belongs in the 60’s. The book Red Comet (about Sylvia Plath) goes over the aftermath with everyone trying to figure out what went wrong with Plath, even as far back as her potty training.

As a huge Marilyn fan i want to thank you for filling the holes in the Blonde book and movie that you exposed and doing what the writer and director didn't bother to do, maybe because you actually see her as a complete human being and not just the iconic object available for exploitation and projection of twisted fantasies disguised as "artistic vision", you got yourself a new subscriber.

Nice parallel to Dolly, it is very interesting how she maintained control of herself and her career. I'm sure Marilyn and other women who were popular in the entertainment industry and taken advantage of by it helped her exponentially in her cleverness. Very smart business woman.

I don't think that a man who clearly doesn't see Marilyn as a person, but as a some sort of a vessel or symbol, is the right choice to direct a film about Marilyn's suffering DUE TO her being treated as a symbol. Normally I don't think that an out-group person can't empathise with an in-group experience, but I do think that in this case a female director would be a better choice - Marilyn has been delegated to such an idol status that it can be really hard to make the audiences see her behind the facade, and while women are just as guilty of idolising her as men, I think that it's easier for women to empathise with her sexualisation and therefore understand her better. Maybe most of us are not objectified to the same extent, but I think a lot of us has been in or at least witnessed the exact same situation that she described: where a man mirrors his own desire onto her and then acts as if she's the one responsible for it. So I think a female director would be much subtler. I would love to see a movie about Marilyn directed by, let's say, Sophia Coppola.

I think Marilyn was an intelligent actress! She worked hard in her performances. If you wanted comedy, she would give you comedy. Drama? She could do that too! A musical? HELL YES! Movies like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Misfits, Some Like It Hot, and Don't Bother To Knock showed how diverse her skills were even in roles that still unfortunately relied on her looks

I hate the way people put Marilyn Monroe on a pedestal and forget she was a real person. The thing I love about her is her almost child like quality she brings to the screen a type of innocence at the same time being a sex symbol it's a dual persona that her fans love about her. I've not watched blonde however I have saw most of the other biopics about her life such as the blonde mini series and Marilyn and norma jean. It's interests me why people treat her like a goddess not a human being which she was. The fact she was so human and complicated is what I love about her. I notice photo of her that had not been air brushed and the comments where saying this is not her she did not have wrinkles. They seem to totally forget she was a human being. It's very interesting why she has been put on a pedestal in such as way

Every time I hear something about this movie, all I can think about is the part of Candle in the Wind where Elton John sings, “all the papers had to say was that Marilyn was found in the nude.” That song was released in 1973 and it’s still true.

I already knew what time it was when I saw that scene of Marilyn in her so-called "throuple" with Charlie Chaplin Jr. and Eddy Robinson Jr., with everyone pawing and groping each other in the movie theater like some unhinged exhibitionists. I mentally tapped out after that.

I don't want to just rescue Marilyn -- who is almost always rendered as a stereotype, if a tragic one, rather than a complex human -- I want to rescue 90% of women portrayed in films, where they are always one dimensional girlfriends, best friends, assistants or other wallpaper to the "real" people, the male characters.

I couldn't watch too much of "Blonde". I could see pretty early on the tack the director was taking, and I thought it was a real disservice to Marilyn. She was an extremely intelligent woman, and unlike many much more well educated and lettered people, had something that most of them didn't really possess -- real intellectual curiosity. She read constantly and voraciously, and not novels, either. She was also a terrific actress who worked hard to create the character of Marilyn that Hollywood loved and that made her rich and famous. She was a tireless champion for African Americans and other discriminated against people.

Wow, it's so weird, I remember my dad saying that sentiment when I was young, "If I'd met her, I could have saved her." Amazing how pervasive that thought pattern is around her persona.

22:33 this made me think of Margot Robbie. Incredibly savvy when it comes to business, made iTonya and other films and is a well renounced producer, yet still is a sex symbol in many other ways and suggests nudity when it comes to other roles such as wolf of Wall Street. Considering todays climate is way more understanding and willing to see women in Hollywood as multifaceted I really hope Robbie can cement herself as that for future generations and everything in regards to how Marilyn has been categorized is not pushed onto future actresses the way it is onto her.

16:55, very insightful observation. That really made it click why Spencer fundamentally works far more than Blonde does. Spencer does not shy away from showing really painful and shameful moments in its subject's life, but it also allows us to spend time with Diana during the earnestly joyous moments of her life.

“A fictionalised telling of the life of Marilyn Monroe.” So…a glorified fanfic????

This is - no kidding - the most impressive movie critique I've seen in my life. WELL DONE!!!

I love how you say “so called tragic women” because that’s so true! Highlighting a person’s trauma is a way of looking down at them. Marylin was magnetic because she had a girlish playfulness that was genuine and vulnerable. A winning smile that blossomed from within. And of course her underlying hardships which contrasted with it, created dimension, mystery and awe. It’s not just inaccurate to paint her as pure trauma and pain, but it’s bad art. An indulgent easy way out 🤷‍♀️

I really like what you said about wanting to protect her. I think the movie looked good and Ana acted her ass off but it was definitely trauma porn. I also don't like the director's attitude 🙄 Why did he even take on this project? Love your videos 💕

I love monroe’s quote about the mirror! Omg it perfectly describes how people victim blame in sexual assault!

People who defend Blonde by saying "It's MEANT to be fictionalized!" are missing the point. We're used to parts of biographies being 'fictionalized,' in the sense of filling in the factual and/or emotional gaps in the subject's life with made-up details extrapolated from the facts we DO know. That's what we typically think of as 'fictionalization' of a real person's life. This is NOT what happens in 'Blonde.' Instead, we get the incredibly biased and condescendingly-focused worldview of a person who had already decided his subject was a morally erratic, dysfunctional trauma victim who somehow became a world-renowned sex xymbol, and that those were the only interesting things about her. That in itself puts a very judgemental slant on how they decide to paint those 'fictionalized' parts - which in turn makes the audience question the nuance behind the real-life, factual events and, in many cases, re-evaluate them from the same negative and judgemental viewpoint. And of course Marilyn's dead now, so she can't even defend herself from the nastier and more misogynistic 'fictionalization.' If they'd really wanted to achieve 'honest' filmmaking and storytelling, they should've included the GOOD stuff in her life as well as the bad. People with mental illness from trauma CAN still achieve things, have fun, be successful - heck, they can even be HAPPY sometimes! To depict those who've suffered in that way, by default, as these perpetually powerless, emotional punching bags who stagger from bad decision to exploitative situation is not just false, it's insulting. It's like a rollercoaster that only goes down - the lows are just wearing and hollow without the highs to contrast them.

The same day I watched this movie I found out my apartment is infested with mice. Honestly I'm not sure which was the worse experience

The side by side of 'diamonds are a girl's best friend,' for me, really spotlight's Monroe and why she is so captivating. While the aesthetics are exact between Blonde and GPB - Monroe never looks down, she always looks out. Her angles, how she held her face, even in profile, you can see her eyes. It's so simple but it is incredibly effective and ultimately ... happens once.

I like to imagine Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Princess Diana, Judy Garland, and every other culturally popular figure from the past who has been “depicted” on film to be enjoying each others’ company in the afterlife and sipping on heaven’s nectar through a straw as they sit down to watch the latest rendition of their life on earth being romanticized to death by Hollywood; Rolling their eyes, shaking their heads, and laughing in amusement as they put each biopics’ portrayal under scrutiny.

I'm so disappointed in ana for accepting this. She doesn't gaf and only cares about money and fame. How sad. I remember marilyn was asked once to play jean harlow but refused because the script was so humiliating and inaccurate. Wish ana acted the same way.

Hearing the director try to articulate the meaning of the film (7:03) felt like listening to Harry Styles during that DWD interview.

Emotional snuff film. I was so sad because I really hoped for more. Can't wait to watch your review of it

I think this is why Smash works so much better than other media at portraying her story cause it’s all about finding someone who holds all the parts of her and the push and pull of that is really what her life was

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older… but I knew from the previews that I would not enjoy or appreciate the writer/director’s attempts. Usually a trailer gives the audience teasers of the “best bits” of a film as an enticement.. when I saw the trailer for Blonde it felt like a teaser for torture porn. I love your videos, and I respect, and admire your efforts. I’m always in agreement with your take on things, so thank you for sparing me the displeasure of watching that film. After viewing your assessment I’m really confident I made the right call to give Blonde a hard pass

I was so excited for a post-Me Too and emotionally aware biopic of Marilyn. What we got was just more exploitation, as if she hasn't been exploited enough in her life and death. I had to turn it off 10 minutes in, and I felt so gross having watched even that much. It was just wrong of them to do it. Abuse shouldn't be a spectacle. And a story about abuse shouldn't be further abusive to the victim of the abuse. It could have been amazing. What it ended up being was torture porn.

I have not seen this film, and it’s infuriating to think that the tv show SMASH and its Marilyn bio-musical did more to accurately reflect Marilyn’s life and how she was perceived. SMASH.

How about it plays with ideas about creating a character, both Norma Jeane’s creation of Marilyn and the film’s creation of its leading lady. I think, whether or not it’s intentional, this is a horror movie where the monster is 40s and 50s Hollywood and the male gaze. I really enjoyed it.

All I can say is the man who made this movie is no different from all the other men who used Marilyn & her image when she was alive… terrible. Completely agree with everything you guys said in this video. Beautiful. Marilyn was far more complex and charismatic than people try to make her out to be. That Oates chick is just like the men that have always used Marilyn to be whatever is convenient. They always take the true humanity out of her image, and paint her as what they want her to be. Grew up on Marilyn movies, and when little me realized that the girl from don’t bother to knock & misfits was the same actress from how to marry a millionaire & gentleman perfect blondes 🤯🤯 little mind blown. She was an amazing actress and I wish they had given her more of the roles she wanted. She could’ve done so much more if they had given her the credit she deserved…

So cool that you got Amanda Konkle to participate in this video! She’s brilliant!

in scriptwriting the first thing we teach is do not judge your characters when developing your story. The problem here is that he came in with a judgement and one that did not change as they made the film, but rather got worse and deeper about just the pain.

Broey Deschanel made an incredible video called celebrity as abuse and it’s about Britney Spears. I would love an essay about the abuse that Marilyn experienced and the continued abuse she’s subjected to in contrast to Britney and what could potentially become of Britney’s legacy like Marilyn’s.

I wondered if you were going to make a video about this because it was SUCH a ghastly insult to Marilyn herself AND Marilyn's legacy. It's great to hear your thoughts and I love that you looped back to Dolly Parton about how to distinguish (or not) between ~The Sexy Entertainer~ and ~The Person~. Wonderful video!

Blonde was awful and traumatizing to watch. Geez and Ana sounded nothing like Marilyn. It’s the trauma porn (literally) and the lack of believability for me. This is exactly why men shouldn’t try to do Marilyn movies.

Personally I have seen Marilyn Monroe as a warm woman who never got what she really wanted in life. She just happened to be one of the most famous human beings in modern times. I don't think I'll ever see a film that is really true to her real life. It wouldn't be sexy, gritty or controversial enough to get made.

They should put THIS video on the Blu-Ray. This explains everything I needed and wanted to know about it. Thanks so much for uploading.

I think lifetime actually did a way better job. Their biopic two part miniseries is what made me become interested in her as teenager. It humanized her in a way that I haven’t really seen before it or since then. It displayed some painful moments without it being the sole focus. It didn’t act like it knew exactly why she died. it did show enough of what really happened in a responsible way. It’s why I didn’t want to watch blonde because I knew it couldn’t compare.

Misogyny and objectification aside, one of the biggest issues with Blonde is that it just has too damn much plot. When it comes to biopics, I feel like you can either do a play by play of the events of their life, or you can do a character study. I can't really think of many/any examples where trying to do both was especially successful. I don't feel like Marilyn's life is really conducive to "and then this happened, and then this happened, and then this happened." She suffered a great deal, and the only way to make a story out of that is to really amplify it. And that's what you get with Blonde. I don't think it's an especially interesting way to look at Marilyn because she herself is far more interesting than any of the events in her life. She's a very emotionally complex woman, and trying to make a narrative ark out of a string of people abusing her is going to be incredibly reductive. I hate to say this because these women are so frequently compared, and that's really not my intent, but I feel like a movie in the realm of Jackie would have been far more successful. Jackie has almost no plot. All of the events depicted really just serve as a backdrop for an in depth character study of a fascinating and complex woman. That's really the treatment Marilyn deserved.

I feel like what you're describing is the Star 80 problem--the characterization of the tragedy of a life disrespected without attempting seriously to respect that life.

I think Norma Jean would be gobsmacked to learn she is the subject of scholarly treatises. She's finally taken seriously.

Thank you Stephanie Marrie . When I watched "Blonde" as a fan of Marlyn Monroe movies and the Icon herself..... it broke something inside of me on an emotional level.... I felt hollow from watching it . There were moments where the videography was absolutely stunning and I was is awe but then mostly through out the rest of the movie Marlyn was hated, betrayed, and dragged into the gutter . The only reason I watched until the end was I hoped for some redemption arc for not only Marlyn ,Ana , other cast members but for the whole movie but No redemption ever came and I was left feeling numb for what I had just seen . I was not expecting an accurate portrayal in scene by scene or even something close to the truth but I saw the artless degradation of someone many see as beloved heartless and done in sheer malicious intent . How many actors have songs written about them.... mentioning how admired they are ....such as "Candle In The Wind" ? Naming Marlyn a Legend and later this Blonde movie was made .... if I had known her this would be heartbreaking . I very much appreciate the narration here for mentioning some fictional moments and I appreciate this channel .