The Death of Marilyn Monroe
Aly Matern
Background Information
On August 5,1962, movie actress Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her home in Los Angeles (History, 3, 2009). She was found lying naked on her bed, face down, with a telephone in one of her hands. There were empty bottles of pills, prescribed for depression, lying around the room. Los Angeles police administered a short investigation and concluded that her death was "caused by a self-administered overdose of sedative drugs and that the mode of death is probable suicide." Since Monroe was so depressed that she was under constant care of a psychiatrist, it was reasonable to believe that she had committed suicide. However, recently, there have been a number of conspiracy theories about her death, most involving the possible idea that she was murdered by John or Robert Kennedy, whom she had love affairs with.
Perspective #1
The media portrayed the event in two different lenses. One was through the lens that Marilyn Monroe killed herself due to her severe depression. According to Sam Creighton for mail online, "Marilyn Monroe died as a result of 'medical negligence' and suffered from bipolar disorder" (Creighton, 2, 2015). He states that Marilyn suffered from severe insomnia and relied on sedatives and amphetamines to help her function. He portrays Marilyn as a druggy that strictly relied on drugs, making suicide seem more likely than anything. He also states that she supposedly had a history of suicide attempts using sedatives. He highlights the fact that she had three divorces and was known for having a volatile temper (Creighton, 3, 2015). The focus of the entire article is placed on the mental incapability of Ms. Monroe. It is set on the idea that she committed suicide and other conspiracies are invalid.
Perspective #2
The second perspective, and most recently updated, was that the death of Marilyn Monroe was not a suicide, and she was killed by the Kennedy's to hide an affair. In an article in the American Thinker, Stella Paul goes into details of the cover up of Marilyn's murder. She states how in recently discovered journals of Hollywood private eye Fred Otash, he wrote, "I listened to Marilyn Monroe die." He claimed he had bugged her home and listened to her previous sex sessions with President John Kennedy. He then claimed that on the night of August 5, 1962, he listened as Marilyn had an hysterical argument that led to Bobby suffocating her (Paul, 3, 2013). Stella insults the media, claiming that this should've been a headline article, but they locked up the details due to the Kennedy's being "America's Eternal Saints of Camelot." She goes into details of the murder committed by Teddy Kennedy to portray the side of the Kennedy's that the media threw to the side because of who they are. She ridicules the whole family by stating, "The Kennedy's are gods forever, no matter how many female corpses they leave in their wake." Stella voices the now popular conspiracy theory.
Media Bias
I think the Kennedy's either killed Marilyn themselves or had a huge part in it. Evidence has came up that proves their was an argument between them and Marilyn the night of her death. It would be no coincidence that she later "committed suicide". I think they murdered her to cover up the affairs that were happening and to keep her quiet. There also could have been the possibility that they had the CIA murder her as a recently dying CIA member confessed to being the one that assassinated her. Although this confession has not been confirmed, it also cannot be denied either. The autopsy pointed out that the pills were not in her stomach, but in her bloodstream; therefore, they were injected into her. There is just too much evidence screaming that this was not a suicide, and was actually a murder.
Criticism 1 : Feminist
One criticism that the death of Marilyn Monroe can be examined under is feminist criticism. Marilyn Monroe was a confident, "sexy", timeless icon that was judged and criticized. She was harassed by the media for how comfortable she was with her body and sexuality. She was taken as promiscuous and was considered a "slut". Because of how she presented herself, when she died, many people thought it was just another celebrity gone crazy - a slut that had one too many outcries for attention. This erased the value of her career, her success, and her life.
Criticism 2 : Marxist
Another criticism that the death of Marilyn Monroe can be examined under is Marxist Criticism. This is relevant under the conspiracy that the Kennedys murdered Marilyn Monroe. Since the Kennedy's were so high up in the social ladder, they had the power to murder someone, cover it up, and get away with it. They had people who would do the job for them and keep quiet about it. This also affected the media as they wouldn't post articles accusing the Kennedy's of any harm, even after there was evidence to prove that there was a reason to believe it was, in fact, murder.
The Mysterious Death Of Marilyn Monroe
Citations
"American Thinker." American Thinker. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 May 2016.
"Marilyn Monroe Is Found Dead." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 04 May 2016.
Mailonline, Sam Creighton For. "Marilyn Monroe Died as Result of 'medical Negligence' and Suffered from Bipolar Disorder, Claims New Documentary." Mail Online. Associated Newspapers, 2015. Web. 04 May 2016.