1 of 3

Write now Article Tools

Cinema has preserved the life of Marilyn Monroe's body, keeping her eternally young and in the public eye. Since she died aged 36 no image of her beyond this age exists therefore it is hard to image how much of an enduring star she would have become had she lived to have entered her 80s now.

Most studies on Monroe have concentrated on her star persona, especially how her body was displayed for the pleasure of men (or the male gaze) and while this is an important part of Monroe's persona, most apparent during the 1950s, I also wish to look at what her image means for young women today who wear t-shirts and carry handbags baring her image.

Therefore this essay is concerned with the striking shift from Monroe's historical appeal to men to her contemporary appeal to women, which can be seen as both a complex and fascinating process. This essay will address how this phenomenon has developed, paying particular attention to the countless items of merchandise that has been produced for women over the past few years baring Monroe's image. I wish to address how women relate to Monroe through the merchandise they purchase and how existing work on stardom, by the likes of Jackie Stacey and Rachel Moseley, offers some insight into how fans make meanings through a range of practices and consumptions.

I will discuss the Monroe phenomenon in relation to broader debates about female stardom and female fandom, linking my own work to debates in this field. In this essay I will engage with a small number of critical works in some detail, showing both how this work has informed my analysis and how this essay might complicate, challenge and/or confirm the findings of existing work, comparing Monroe's image to the star persona of another enduring 1950s icon: Audrey Hepburn.

Marilyn Monroe's star image has long since overpowered her capacities as a performer. Both public and media attention had fallen not on her achievements as an actress, but on the sensational aspects of her private life and the look of her body. Highly publicised marriages and divorces, illness, breakdowns and eventual death (still shrouded in mystery) have sustained her reputation as one of the most celebrated figures of cinema. Her looks and celebrity status have been given priority over her acting ability and instead, attention has been on Monroe the legend, rather than Monroe the actress. Even though there were arguably better actresses and more beautiful women, Monroe is the star who has most endured throughout

• 1
• 2
• 3
• ...
• 15
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Marilyn Monroe oddities?
We want to hear your view. Write now!