I recently had to write an argumentative paper for class and decided to write about Marilyn being more than just a pretty face and wanted top get your opinion on it if that is ok?

                    Silver Screen Goddess

                                                     By: Uriel Diaz

A white dress blowing up over a subway grate exposing long beautiful legs set in a pair of white high heels. Without saying her name the world knows it is Marilyn Monroe. The name roles off the tongue with such elegance. She has been called the dumb blonde with no substance. The truth is Marilyn Monroe is not only an icon but was also an intelligent and influential actress. Admiration has been given from peers and very famous fans for decades. These views on her intelligence and moral level had a lot to do with comparisons to some of the characters she played on the silver screen. For example playing a dumb blonde searching for a rich husband in “Gentleman Prefer Blondes” or a clumsy girl down grading her intelligence for a man in “How to Marry a Millionaire,” made people often mistake that as her actual personality. 

Norma Jeane Mortenson was born June 1, 1926 to a single mother. This little girl had a troubling childhood, moving from family to family never having a real home. Her mother was mentally ill and could not care for her. This illness ran in Norma Jean’s family and she lived in terror of receiving the illness. She had a lot taken from her as a child but one thing she kept was her love for the movies. Going to the movies was such a rare treat for her. She loved and later channeled Jean Harlow. When she was sixteen she married a family friend to avoid being moved to another orphanage, his name was Jim Dougherty.  When her husband was sent to the Pacific with the Merchant Marine she began working at an assembly line. Working there she was discovered by a photographer and within months was lined up for magazine covers and a screen test for 20th Century Fox. Instantly her presence was noticed, the combination of innocence and sexuality was so refreshing to the studio. Platinum blonde and ready, she changed her name to Marilyn Monroe and at that moment an icon was born. Her roles consisted of comical characters but she longed to be taken serious as a great actress. 

One of the many misconstrued views of Marilyn was that she was promiscuous due to three marriages, countless lovers, and a very handsome president. The fact that she was highly admired and criticized for her sexuality was not helpful either. Love was always her mission and why shouldn’t a woman be allowed to search for her true love? This was a crack in opening the door to double standards. Her male counter parts had many women they loved, she only saw it fair that she should be able to explore as well. She was never shy about her sexuality and was quoted many times embracing it to empower women. “I don’t mind living in a man’s world, as long as I can be a woman in it”(De La Hoz 117).  Marilyn was very much proud to be a strong female figure that men drooled over and women looked up too. 

Ms. Monroe was also viewed to be a very mediocre actress with nothing but a pretty face and big breast.  She was not satisfied with just being famous, so she broke her contract with Fox Studios and began her studies at The Actor’s Studio. During this time her latest movie “The Seven Year Itch” was booming in the box office and basically saved Fox Studios from bankruptcy.  Of course 20th Century Fox was scrambling to get Marilyn back. In those days actors had no say in roles, directors, or movies they were placed in. Marilyn after a long negotiation strike won, being the first actor to have the right to choose what roles she played, directors she worked with, movies she did and became an owner of her own production company.  This was unheard of for any actor back in the fifties much less a woman. She kicked those low budget mediocre films and the ”dumb blonde” characters to the dumps. 

On her mission to prove her skill as an actress she began working on “Bust Stop” the first film under her production company. The news on the film had everyone buzzing to see this “New Marilyn.” Everything was going smoothly until the studio got rid of many scenes she wanted to keep in order to keep some sort of power over the film. Regardless the movie was a hit for the studio and Marilyn. She gained rave reviews on her acting “HOLD onto your chairs, everybody, and get set for a rattling surprise. Marilyn Monroe has finally proved herself an actress in “Bus Stop.” She and the picture are swell!” (De La Hoz 207). 

Scandalous, beautiful, glamorous and sensual are what are usually said when asked to describe her. Intelligent and inspiring should be added to that list. This woman has been through many things but always with a smile on her face. She has inspired women like Angelina Jolie, Madonna, and Scarlett Johansson. Marilyn has shown to always love yourself and embrace life. The drive this one woman had has made her the most iconic woman in film history. Up till this day she continues to be hung on people walls, watched on movie screens, and loved by millions of fans. Her legacy has not only made a difference for actors and actress but for many people who did not feel pretty enough or smart enough, people who fought to be more than a stereotype. Unfortunately we lost her at the young age of 36 in 1962, her death has always been one of Hollywood’s most notorious mystery’s. In death she continues to grace covers of magazines and “new” pictures and rumors resurface. It is true what they say you can never kill a legend.  

What Marilyn means to me.

Though it was just over a year ago that I fell in love with Marilyn, I didn’t think it was possible to have so much love, gratitude, and affection towards a human being that had passed away years before my birth. In January of 2011, I came across the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes of course I’ve heard of Marilyn Monroe but I didn’t know her story, who she truly was. Sitting there watching this film I was intrigued and captivated by her beauty, grace, and talent. At films end I wanted more, I thought to myself, how could I have not watched her films before? There was something so special about her. From that point on I began to learn everything I could about her. I have read countless biographies, watched numerous biopics about her life, and have transformed the walls of my bedroom so that every space possible hangs a portrait of Marilyn. I admire that through her hardships and struggles in life she never lost sight of what she wanted to attain in her life. She didn’t give up nor did she back down and she stayed true to herself. She inspires me to do those things also, to take risks and challenge myself, and never give up on a dream. Marilyn will always live on in our hearts. Through her films and from her photographs we will always be reminded of her beauty, sweetness, talent, and the way she glowed.

i saw my first marilyn movie when i was 7 years old and now i’m 17 and still absolutely in love with this beautiful woman.  i owe her so much, she has helped me through some really tough times <3 

Marilyn and Me

I’m a Marilyn fan since a year. But I became a fan of her because of Madonna. I’m a Madonna fan since I was 10 years old, and I always knew that she channeled her many many times and she made the ‘Material Girl’ video inspired in Diamond’s are a girl’s best friend.. but I never knew who she really was. So one night, I was really really bored so I started to look for photos of her and read some information. The next day, my love and obssesion began. Sometimes I feel like a connection… I often feel that her soul and essence is with me everywhere I go. Well, I love her and I think she was a misunderstood girl who wanted to be loved like anyone of us.

Why Marilyn became my idol

I just wanted to say I absolutely love your blog. Marilyn is my idol. I use to be in a very dark place and she was the one that pulled me out of it. I first started to idolize her because of her sheer beauty. Because she wasn’t the skinniest girl, because she had curves and every man loved her. Then I started reading biographies about her and I learned we were much more alike that I had thought. Even though my looks are not even close to her, I share the same insecurities. From what I have read, she never thought she was good enough even though everyone that came across her wonderful life cared for her, loved her. Although I am not nearly as talented or beautiful or loved, she made me realize that I should be proud of my life. Because there are people out there that love me and think I’m their “Marilyn Monroe”. Even though she couldn’t see that for herself, I believe she has opened the eyes of many, including myself, to how important your life is. That is why I love her and idolize her, not just because she was undoubtably beautiful, but because she saved my life when I least expected it and made me value this life. 

Marilyn by ME

For as long as I can remember I have always been a huge movie buff. SO of course one day as a child I ran into a Marilyn film, so to speak. This film was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, I was really young (I’m Twenty now). Of course I mostly remembered the “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend” part. I absolutely loved it, I thought it was one of the best things I’d seen in a movie. I absolutely loved the woman singing it, I say woman and not Marilyn because at the time I honestly didn’t know much about Marilyn and who she was. But the older I got I learned more about her. I was one of those people who saw her as a “sex symbol” but with age comes wisdom. Learning more about her and who she was I began to really appreciate her as an actress and woman. The main reason I like Marilyn is because through reading about her, watching or listening to interviews, and watching her movies it is clear to me that she was a very kind, smart, woman who was truly dedicated to her work. I feel as if people back in the day didn’t take her serious and that was a real shame. I believe that if she were here today she would have reached out to so many women who go through tough times in life, similar to hers or not, not to say she didn’t then and still doesn’t with her legacy. She just seemed like a great woman then, and still would have been today. 

My mum and grandmother had me hooked onto classic film since I was little. Mostly, I watched them with my grandma when I was sick from school. I remember watching “The Seven Year Itch” and “Some Like It Hot” for the first time when I was 6/7 years old. It was not until I was a teenager that I saw more to her than the sex symbol and saw Norma Jean.

When I was 13, I was dealing with an eating disorder because I’m a curvy girl and developed faster than the rest of the girls. I was being bullied in school and not having a good time at all. One night, it was really bad and I happened to turn on the tv where “The Seven Year Itch” was playing. It was the first time I had watched a Marilyn Monroe film since my grandma passed away and I like to think it was a little calling from my grandma telling me that I should be proud of who I am. My mum and grandma always told me that I walked like Marilyn, but I think they were buttering me up. hehe

From then on, I read books about her and watched her movies. I feel very close to her and her life. I actually wrote a book review based on the “Fragments” book for my job, and a reader told me that I could have been the best friend Norma needed in her life. It’s the best compliment I could receive after years of admiring her.

The reasons that I fell in love with and stayed in love with Miss Marilyn Monroe….

I don’t really remember the exact age I was because as far back as I remember I knew who she was. I always liked her. Hearing my father talk about her and my uncles and how they loved her back in the day. The first movie I ever saw with her in it was actually All About Eve and then the first movie I saw with her as the lead role was Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. That one still remains to be my favorite mostly because of that reason. The reasons I fell in love with her was that she was pretty and in my mind at the time the way I thought all women should look. Then I got to know her through her acting and I was like, wow! She can act. This was about the time I was 14. I also thought she was so cute with her voice and stuff and could really sing…then as I got older I started reading books about her and watching old interviews and reading articles about her and getting to know who she really was. Around this time I was going through a really dark time in my life and she made me see the light. I remember thinking “if someone like her can get through all of that and make it big, I can certainly get through this…” She is my idol for everything she was and chose to be. For who she really was and for the character of Marilyn she chose to play. She is one of the most beautiful women to ever grace this planet and one of the most gentle kind of spirits to ever walk this land. She is everything I want to be. She’s just fantastic. I can’t even describe it any other words, because there really aren’t words to describe it. This is the best I can say. I just love her.  Always<3

How I Fell In Love With Marilyn Monroe

I have always seen pictures of Marilyn growing up and thought she was beautiful. I actually fell in love with her while looking up pictures of dead celebrities on Google and a suggestion for Marilyn Monroe came up. I was curious and started reading her entire biography on Wikipedia. I loved her story on her rise to fame all by herself and I started looking up everything I could on her and have been hooked ever since. I believe she is most beautiful woman ever to live and she deserves every bit of fame she has. I love you Marilyn.xx

Marilyn

I fell in love with Marilyn when i was 11 or 12. I was looking through my memere’s (grandmother’s) movies, and found Some Like It Hot. I knew who Marilyn was, but never got around to seeing a film. When i watched it, i quickly became obsessed. I bought books to get to know the real Marilyn, and i fell in love with her courage and wisdom. I bought every Marilyn movie I could, and ordered the rest. She is so beautiful in every way to me, and i’m so blessed that i found her. She truly makes my day, no matter what. She’s my pride and joy. My angel. <3