Death of Marilyn Monroe
By: Kristie May
Background Information
Marilyn Monroe, a well known model and actress, lived a very broken life. When Monroe was just a little girl, she was put into an orphanage because her mother had to live at a psychiatric hospital for being perceived as emotionally unstable. Monroe's childhood consisted of living in various foster homes where she did not know about her family, and was sexually assaulted.
Tragedy of Monroe
On August 5th, 1962 America lost the very popular actress Marilyn Monroe. It was after midnight when Monroe's maid, Eunice Murray, noticed that Monroe had left her light on. When Murray was not able to get into Monroe's locked bedroom and received no response to her phone calls, Murray had Monroe's psychiatrist come over. Doctor Greenson breaks through Monroe's window and finds her laying on the bed with a phone in her hand. Greenson soon discovers that Monroe was dead.
Monroe and the Media
Having Monroe be a very iconic figure in pop culture, the media has been sure to keep her captivating legacy alive. The media portrays Monroe in very positive and negative aspects. Some newspapers showed Monroe with much happiness because "no matter what was going on or what happened in the past, Monroe was always strong and taught women they should do the same" in the words of Mike Harding. Other newspaper articles focused on Monroe being an enduring sex symbol. These articles would capture Monroe's sleaziness with pictures of her modeling nude for magazines or even calendars.
Was Monroe an Idol or a Bad Influence to our society?
America had very mixed feelings about Marilyn Monroe. Some people were huge fans that worshiped Monroe and thought of her like a role model. Other people believed Monroe was a sleazy sex symbol who bribed her way into things she wanted.
Criticism
Marilyn Monroe portrays both Feminist Criticism and Historical Criticism. She shows feminist criticism by being a role model to women all over. Monroe stood up for what she believed in and fought for women to be treated equally. Cultural Criticism is displayed by how people viewed Monroe.
My Perspective on Monroe's Death
When Monroe died America came up with different theories of what caused her death. Some believe Monroe killed herself because she had various issues with depression. Other's thought Monroe had been murdered by one of the Kennedy brothers since she had been involved with both of them at one point in her life. I personally believe Monroe accidentally overdosed on drugs and took her life away before she could even rethink what was going on.
My Movie