Marilyn Monroe the legend!
Marilyn Monroe was far more than the glamorous screen siren who became a global icon.
Los Angeles, US, June 1 (EFE).- By Mónica Rubalcava
Behind the enduring image of the blonde bombshell was a disciplined method actress and pioneering producer who challenged Hollywood’s studio system and helped redefine what creative control could look like for women in the film industry.
“Marilyn Monroe was, in herself, the ultimate performance. That wasn’t really her. She was Norma Jeane Baker. The creation of ‘Marilyn Monroe’ was the supreme performance,” Emily Carman, associate professor of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University, told EFE.
Amy Greene, wife of photographer Milton H. Greene, one of Monroe’s closest collaborators and friends, recalled how the actress seemed to transform instantly from Norma Jeane, the reserved and private woman behind the myth, into Marilyn Monroe, the dazzling star who captivated everyone around her.
After a childhood marked by family instability, abuse and an early marriage, Monroe began working as a model. Her ambitions, however, soon drew her to Hollywood.
The path was far from easy. Within a few years, she secured a contract with 20th Century Fox and began building a career through supporting roles that gradually established her screen presence.
Her breakthrough came with films such as “Niagara” (1953), “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1953) and “How to Marry a Millionaire” (1953), which made her one of the most recognizable stars of her generation.
Yet the characters she often portrayed, gold-diggers, ingénues and stereotypical “dumb blondes,” combined with the sex-symbol image reinforced by the unauthorized publication of nude photographs, overshadowed the complexity of her work for years.
Beyond the stereotype
“There is a great misunderstanding about her abilities as an actress,” Carman said, arguing that Monroe was among the key figures who helped bring method acting to Hollywood, a technique then associated primarily with actors such as Marlon Brando.
In 1954, Monroe rebelled against the studio system, refusing to appear in “The Girl in Pink Tights” as part of an effort to distance herself from one-dimensional roles and protest a salary she considered unfair compared with those of her male co-stars.
At the height of her fame, she took the risk of moving to New York to study under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio, a decision that, according to Carman, “demonstrates the extent of her commitment to her craft.”
“She was a very serious actress, even when portraying characters that capitalized on the ‘ditzy blonde’ image,” Carman added, citing her performance in Some Like It Hot.
Taking creative control
At a time when Hollywood stars were bound by restrictive contracts and had little say over their careers, Monroe defied industry norms by founding Marilyn Monroe Productions in 1955 with Milton H. Greene.
Her goal was not simply to improve her financial standing but to earn the artistic recognition she believed Hollywood had denied her.
Monroe returned to Fox on her own terms with “Bus Stop” (1956), a film that allowed her to showcase a more dramatic range.
A year later, she released “The Prince” and the “Showgirl,” an independent production from her own company that earned her a BAFTA nomination and the David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress.
Toward the end of her career, Monroe found in “The Misfits” (1961) the kind of role she had long sought.
Written specifically for her by her then-husband, Arthur Miller, the screenplay offered a level of emotional depth rarely afforded to her by the industry.
“In ‘The Misfits,’ she is the moral authority. The men are held accountable to her for their exploitation of the land, the animals and, in a sense, of herself,” Carman said.
The film, co-starring Clark Gable and Montgomery Clift, presents Monroe not as a stereotype but as a woman of emotional complexity and moral conviction.
As the centenary of her birth begins, Monroe, born on June 1, 1926, remains an enduring cultural myth, shaped by her turbulent personal life, her death, and the fascination her image continues to exert worldwide.
“Because her image has become so globally ubiquitous, it has in many ways become disconnected from her films,” Carman said.
“As a result, we may still be overlooking her true depth and the ways in which we can, and should, understand her legacy.” EFE
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