![]() ![]() Having studied the myths around Monroe for many years and analyzed them in my book The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe, I have seen how persistent and popular these tropes remain. Since the first studio-written press release in 1946, the search for the real Norma Jeane behind the supposedly artificial persona of Marilyn Monroe has driven endless stories. The idea that Norma Jeane is more important than Marilyn Monroe will not fade away, as both the premise of Blonde and its critical reception make all too clear. ![]() “I got very interested in writing about an American girl who is Norma Jeane Baker who becomes a celebrity later in life … To me, she’s always Norma Jeane.” It was hardly a new idea then, and it isn’t one now. “I have to tell you immediately that I never would have written any book about Marilyn Monroe,” Oates said in an interview promoting the novel at the time. The film is based on Joyce Carol Oates’s 2000 novel, which promised 20 years ago to reveal, through fiction, the real person behind the celebrated image. Yet Andrew Dominik’s recent Netflix film, Blonde, has lingered in the public consciousness weeks after its release and subsequent criticism for a simple reason: the enduring star power of Marilyn Monroe. ![]() Most films that are widely reviled upon release simply evaporate into their own disfavor. ![]()
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