The Death of Marilyn Monroe
By: Shallmon Sigmon
Background Information
Pop culture icon, Marilyn Monroe was found dead on her bed at the age of 36 with an empty sleeping pill bottle next to her. The death, which was officially ruled as a drug overdose, has been speculated by many to have been a number of various other things. The most popular female icon of her time and arguably all time, Monroe was the "sex icon" of the century. Singing at JFK's birthday, she was at her prime in the "industry" but was soon met with film flops and disappointments in the two years prior to her death.
Perspective (One)
One view of the death of Marilyn was that she killed herself after a few bouts with depression and overwhelming sadness at times. Found with an empty pill bottle that had contained 40 pills which she presumably took all of, the media definitely hopped on the train of making it seem as if she took all of the pills at once, on purpose. As usual, the media made it seem as if she was a drug addicted train wreck who had been on drugs for years. Questioning the validity of these assumptions has been few and far between.
PERSPECTIVE (TWO)
A second more conspiracy type theory was that one of the Kennedy's, be it either Bobby or John F. had her killed after having romantic affairs with her. After no traces of pills or anything to drink along with them were found in her system following an autopsy, it raised even more questions. It is rumored, not originally, but as time went on that specifically more, that Bobby had her killed to cover up traces of the affair or other political things she'd found out. Bobby had been rumored to have possibly had the Mafia take care of this for him, possibly injecting something in her bloodstream to kill her. Some say that this struggle was evident considering the random bruises, which were proven to have been recent, on her back and leg.
Media Biases
The media was biased against Marilyn as they are most other high-end celebrities or ones that are "the big deal", by using certain word choice. In most of the Marilyn Death newspaper articles you'll find, you will see a shift away from her accomplishments, and more towards her death. Twisted different ways in each story, it is made to make you question your opinion on her death and feel the need to look more into it. Most of the stories cast her out as an almost avid drug user while others made her seem pure crazy. I truly believe, in the midst of wild media speculation, that Marilyn was targeted and murdered. Whether it was the drugs that killed her, I can't answer, but I truly believe she was targeted. As a "superstar" like she was, there are always targets on your back, as seen with Tupac, Michael Jackson, and sadly now Prince. Being in that position, you'll find that the ones closest to you are the ones who make you meet your demise. Marilyn was a victim of the sad part of the stardom world that I call "The Industry".
CRITICISM (ONE)
One lens that the Death of Marilyn Monroe can be looked at through is the lens of historical criticism. Being that in these days there were very few news outlets to view, people only had certain ways of viewing information about her when she was alive, and more importantly when she was deceased. Unless you had money, and sometimes even if you did, you didn't have a television for new broadcasts. There was only newspapers and radio broadcasting, which were at time extremely biased and opinionated giving viewers their own twist on a story. Many people had certain suspicions about Monroe's death that evolved merely from theories that newspapers and radio stations had come up with.
CRITICISM (TWO)
Another way that Marilyn's death could be looked at is through a feminist criticism perspective. Noting that in almost every new article published and every radio broadcast, it was mentioned very apparently that Monroe was nude at the time of her death. This was highly popularized due to not only for her being known as "America's Sex Symbol" but also because she was a woman. It wouldn't likely have been as much of a big deal if Robin Williams or Prince were found nude when they passed but because Monroe was a woman, and the attractive woman she was, it was made into a firestorm of media coverage merely because she didn't happen to have any clothes on in her own bed.
CITATIONS
"Dead at Age 36" - bio.com/people/marilyn-monroe - web - Date : N/A
Marilyn Monroe Death Conspiracy Theories: How Did Norma Jean Die? - International Business Times - Date : 5/30/15
Marilyn Monroe Death Conspiracy Theories : Who or What Killed Marilyn - Metro News of UK - Date: 8/5/14