Marilyn Monroe, sex symbol 50 years after her death
Marilyn Monroe, absolute icon of sensuality and glamor and archetype of the explosive blonde, she died suddenly 50 years ago, but her sex symbol aura remains intact.
She was not the first attractive woman in Hollywood. She was not even a natural blonde. But in her famous red skinny sweater, the nudity of her in Playboy, and her pleated dress blown up by the breeze over a New York subway grate, young Norma Jeane Baker drove America and the world crazy.
It was her love affairs and marriages that gave him a fame that went far beyond the relatively modest list of her movies, but her image as her sex symbol remains revered by pop stars, actresses, and lovers. of fashion.
"Marilyn Monroe managed to have an aura," Goetz Grossmann, executive producer of a film about the actress, told AFP. "You cannot escape Marilyn Monroe. She has achieved iconic status."
In addition to autobiographical films, such as the recent "My Week With Marilyn", Hollywood, the music industry and the fashion world continue to be haunted by this beautiful woman who died on August 5, 1962 at age 36 from an apparent overdose of drugs in what could have been a suicide.
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Stylist Joe Zee, "The Bomb" continues to inspire the runways. And celebrities like Taylor Swift and Scarlett Johansson often adopt her iconic image of her plunging neckline, blonde curls, and tight white dresses.
Megan Fox got - and later removed - a large tattoo of Monroe's face on her forearm. And Lindsay Lohan makes no secret of her obsession with Marilyn: in her last Playboy appearance she imitated the nude Monroe from the 1953 issue of Hugh Hefner's magazine. "I identify myself," confessed the young actress.
Monroe's long-lasting magnetism may seem strange. Despite her brilliant performance in "Some Like it Hot" (1959, Con faldas ya lo loco in Spain, Una Eva y dos Adanes en Latin America) and a handful of other films, her Hollywood career is not outstanding, and her history of Heartbreak and dark death do not seem recommendable either.
Permeating everything is her sex appeal, but still it remains unclear whether her seductive personality evidenced her independence or her submission to men.
For Lois Banner, author of the recent biography "Marilyn: The Passion and the Paradox", there is no doubt that Monroe controlled the use of her body.
"She forged her career," Banner said in a telephone interview. "She was very cunning. She knew very well what she was doing and she took a risk ... The newspapers wanted an explosive blonde and that's what she was."
According to Banner, who spent 10 years investigating the few unexplored loopholes about Marilyn Monroe, the actress was aware that she was playing a high-stakes game, and lost control only towards the end, when she linked up with the Kennedys and the Rat Pack. by Frank Sinatra.
"She slept with men to get to the top. Did they use her? Yes. Did she use them? Yes," Banner said. "She showed her body because she wanted to maintain her power over men."
But Rosanna Hertz, a sociology professor at Wellesley College, said Monroe was not the heroine of young women.
"When sexuality is commercialized, the question for me is, 'Who controls it?'" Hertz said.
If anything, Monroe's story could be seen as a warning to women who are hoping that her attractiveness will bring them glamor and wealth.
"It takes a lot of work to become a trophy wife," Hertz said. "It is something that many young women try to emulate." (The TV show) 'The Bachelorette' is about that. I don't think the girls who aspire to that know how difficult it is: to find out who the rich men are, to pursue them ... ".
Many tried to imitate Monroe, but one of the few who managed to match - and even exceed - her formula of sensuality and stardom is the pop singer Madonna.
She too dyed blonde and made up a new name, and she developed a career synonymous with sexual confidence.
But although they may look alike, Madonna is strong when Marilyn was fragile and this is the fundamental difference that allowed Madonna to survive.
Madonna "is a machine, always in control," Grossman said.
"Marilyn is a forerunner of Madonna," added Hertz.
