ICYMI, another interesting critical take in Hyperallergic:
"Many filmmakers, particularly male filmmakers, don’t know what to do with the heights of feminine emotion — despair, longing, rage, madness. Often, rather than truly engage with these emotions they romanticize, aestheticize, sensationalize, and fetishize — in Blonde, the depictions of Monroe’s pain are always framed as spectacle. "
All I can think of when I think of the 50’s, is my grandmother saying everyone was thin because food was scarce, didn’t keep well, didn’t transport well, so most everything tasted like shit until Julia came along and taught us all to drown everything in sauce.
The question "How do the circumstances of Monroe’s death challenge the industry’s major marketing line — that beauty equals confidence, that beauty equals happiness?" really articulates something I've been trying to understand about my own lifelong obsession with Monroe--so thank you for your insights, as always!!
I was so struck in Blonde with how (even during the abortion scene) they keep Monroe's makeup on despite maintaining the moment from JCO's book in which she sees herself in "Gentlemen..." and calls Marilyn "that thing." The movie was awful for so many reasons, but it really got to me that they didn't spend any time on her transition to the Marilyn persona/drag or acknowledge that she, in fact, was often *not* in that persona. It was such a violent erasure of her personhood and, just, like, most basic interiority.
Oct 7, 2022·edited Oct 7, 2022Liked by Jessica DeFino
Forever saying what I am thinking. I haven't even seen either movie but I could already sense these things from promo and trailers alone. Thanks for confirming! Thanks for saying the things we are all feeling so we don't feel alone.
I enjoyed the movie, and walked in knowing that critics and audiences alike found it very polarizing. I liked how they showed all the iconic shots of Marilyn's photos in real time. Were we not allowed to enjoy it? Or be entertained by it? It certainly disturbed me. But I will see any Marilyn movie that they make so that I can dwell within her space. I drew a lot of parallels with the abuse that Britney Spears' suffered under her conservatorship and the Elvis movie, about how possessing beauty can make you an object of someone else's manipulation.
> Beauty is a weapon wielded against women, whether you have it or you don’t
That describes my thoughts on Blonde so well omg. I am equally bothered by the director's knowledge of the effect this film will have on modern women and the original exploitation of the complex human being but I'm not able to describe it. It pisses me the fuck off that people are getting so obsessed with the violence and abuse of this woman and whether it DESERVES to be called 'quality cinema'.
🙌 This is the kind of film commentary I love!
ICYMI, another interesting critical take in Hyperallergic:
"Many filmmakers, particularly male filmmakers, don’t know what to do with the heights of feminine emotion — despair, longing, rage, madness. Often, rather than truly engage with these emotions they romanticize, aestheticize, sensationalize, and fetishize — in Blonde, the depictions of Monroe’s pain are always framed as spectacle. "
https://hyperallergic.com/765751/stop-fetishizing-marilyn-monroes-trauma/
All I can think of when I think of the 50’s, is my grandmother saying everyone was thin because food was scarce, didn’t keep well, didn’t transport well, so most everything tasted like shit until Julia came along and taught us all to drown everything in sauce.
"Beauty is a weapon wielded against women, whether you have it or you don’t...." YES YES YES YES
The question "How do the circumstances of Monroe’s death challenge the industry’s major marketing line — that beauty equals confidence, that beauty equals happiness?" really articulates something I've been trying to understand about my own lifelong obsession with Monroe--so thank you for your insights, as always!!
I was so struck in Blonde with how (even during the abortion scene) they keep Monroe's makeup on despite maintaining the moment from JCO's book in which she sees herself in "Gentlemen..." and calls Marilyn "that thing." The movie was awful for so many reasons, but it really got to me that they didn't spend any time on her transition to the Marilyn persona/drag or acknowledge that she, in fact, was often *not* in that persona. It was such a violent erasure of her personhood and, just, like, most basic interiority.
Forever saying what I am thinking. I haven't even seen either movie but I could already sense these things from promo and trailers alone. Thanks for confirming! Thanks for saying the things we are all feeling so we don't feel alone.
YES!! 🤯 Mind blown in the best way. This is the kind of analysis I live for. Surgical!!!
I think that collectively, as a people, we are waking up. God I hope so...
I enjoyed the movie, and walked in knowing that critics and audiences alike found it very polarizing. I liked how they showed all the iconic shots of Marilyn's photos in real time. Were we not allowed to enjoy it? Or be entertained by it? It certainly disturbed me. But I will see any Marilyn movie that they make so that I can dwell within her space. I drew a lot of parallels with the abuse that Britney Spears' suffered under her conservatorship and the Elvis movie, about how possessing beauty can make you an object of someone else's manipulation.
> Beauty is a weapon wielded against women, whether you have it or you don’t
That describes my thoughts on Blonde so well omg. I am equally bothered by the director's knowledge of the effect this film will have on modern women and the original exploitation of the complex human being but I'm not able to describe it. It pisses me the fuck off that people are getting so obsessed with the violence and abuse of this woman and whether it DESERVES to be called 'quality cinema'.