Image Of Marilyn Monroe example essay topic

'A star image consists both of what we normally refer to as his or her "image", made up of screen roles and obviously stage managed appearances, and also of images of the manufacturing of that "image" and of the real person'. Discuss this sta In the 1950's Hollywood was at it best. It was the golden years where many of the film stars achieve icon status. The studios of this time produced many stars, which resulted in them earning a lot of money.

Some of these stars were Gene Kelly, Grace Kelly, James Stewart and Marilyn Monroe. The studio companies of Hollywood soon realised that they could make a lot of money through these stars so they put them in the best roles and marketed them very well in order to draw the public in. They manufactured some of these stars in a certain way in order to attract the right sector of the public, which were those who would spend money on the films and merchandise. At this time Marilyn Monroe was just entering the film world. She was not yet in the mainstream which gave the studio companies time to work on her and create her own image, one that would earn them recognition and money. Marilyn Monroe was a unique woman who was different in a special way with many hidden talents as well as visual ones.

They used her image to sell her to the public and they loved her. Men thought they could be with her and women thought they could be her. Marilyn Monroe was a sex goddess of the 50's. She had fans throughout the world that felt inspired by her.

She was loved by so many people and had everything a girl could dream of. But this was not always the case. As a child she was known as Norma Jean Baker she had a bad childhood, no father figure and her mother suffer from psychological problem and spent most of her time in mental hospitals while Norma bounced from foster home to foster home. She too like many other people had her idols those that she looked up to and wanted to be like. Jean Harlow the original platinum blonde and Lana Turner inspired her and like them she wanted to be a famous beautiful actress when she grew up. She wanted to have thousands of people to love her so that she felt needed and wanted.

She wanted the beauty and the riches. "The whole world seemed sort of closed to me. I felt on the outside of everything, all I could do was to dream". Due to the fact that she had an unusually upbringing she became more determine than ever to make a life in the film business.

She wanted to change her image re-invent herself to be the opposite of what she was and in a way create a totally different life for herself. Therefore she set out to make her dreams come true. The first thing she done was to change her name and dye her hair platinum blonde. Soon after this she was notice by a photographer and he described her as 'every photographers dream'. She then began modelling around 1944 and received much attention. She signed her first studio contract with Fox in 1946.

In 1948 Tom Kelley photograph her for playboy. She was on the cover for the first edition of playboy, which also included her golden dreams calendar. She was soon becoming the 'living embodiment' of what the image of a woman should be. Monroe began to create an image, which would be successful and earn her good movie roles. In this picture Monroe was completely nude posing in a quite seductive position and it became the topic of discussion in men's locker rooms.

As Monroe status accelerated much controversy was raised about the calendar and picture. Hollywood had the unwanted connection with playboy and disliked the image but what the public failed to recognise was that the picture was taken 4 years ago and at the time Monroe needed the money. Monroe made it clear that she didn't regret having the picture taken 'I'm not ashamed of it. I've done nothing wrong'. Zolo tow, 1961 Through playboy Monroe was able to express her feelings about sexuality, how she was not na " ive about it and did not feel ashamed discussing her sexual needs, which soon made her one of the most famous sexists icons of the 20th century. Many people saw her as a sexual object due to the fact that her pin-ups and movies always in some shape or form made reference to sex.

In a way she began her career as a symbol of sex and that symbol has stuck with her especially in her films. Her films were geared toward a feminine audience and now woman had a female role model to look up towards. This was to be the beginning of something phenomenal. Her image throughout the years was to be an important factor of her fame status as she was to become known as the beautiful blonde bombshell of Hollywood. Her career soon began to take of and throughout her film life she made around 30 movies. Within each of these films Monroe had a certain image to portray.

She did this with extreme perfection and was well credited for her performances. Many critics have said from the beginning her roles in films were to play 'The Girl' who was there purely to characterize elements of age gender and sexual appeal. In her films this was shown through the way she was dressed, her mannerisms and jobs. Also we see this through the camera movements, how they are mostly from the males P.O. V due to the fact that she is the object of the 'males sexual gaze'. Much attention is paid to her image in these films also which I will try to show.

Within our course the three films which we studied about Monroe where "Clash By Night", "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and "Some Like It Hot". These films came from different periods of her career and show her talents and abilities and all address questions of sexuality. First we have "Clash By Night" 1952 which was one of her earlier films. Monroe plays a young girl of 20 called Peggy.

Even though Monroe is not the main character in this film she is certainly the most identifiable with in terms of the public. Our first introduction of her is when she is climbing out of bed to go to work. She drags on some jeans and heads of to work. Her job is not full of glamour but yet it is good honest work, she is a lively girl who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She comes across as being very friendly always willing to help and always sticks by her fellow female friends.

She is not portrayed as the beautiful woman who is the eye of perfection like many of her other films. She is realistic and independent. She is tough and sticks up for herself but she is still sexy. When we see her on the beach she runs about in a bikini and is horse playing with Joe. The image in this scene would have been very popular among the male audience due to her sex appeal. In the bar she is wearing a bikini top and jeans, she flirts with other men like Earl in front of Joe who is her boyfriend but this is because she enjoys the male attention.

This image was very successful among the female population as Peggy was a woman who was independent, who didn't want to be trap into marriage, who believed that men do not own women that they are not a piece of property. At times she seems to be very childish for example when she tries on Mae's dress she dances about the yard in it and talks about love. The image of this character I feel reflects Monroe real life image. Peggy is a sweet innocence girl who is full of dreams but deep down inside all she really wants in to be loved and needed. In many ways this film started Monroe journey to stardom. The second film is "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes".

This film affirmed her acceptance to the realm of stardom. From this we notice how her image had begun to change. Already her figure has changed and she seems to have lost weight. The clothes, which she wears in this film, are quite different from that of "Clash By Night" they are a lot more feminine and sexy. The colours are bright and vibrant drawing attention towards her. In this film she plays a ditzy blonde and at the same time a not so dumb blonde who manipulates men who have money in order for her to receive gifts from them.

She carries this off by her portrayal of sexual innocence's, which also adds elements of comedy to the film. She plays the part of Lorelei a lounge singer who has a fianc'e with a lot of money who buys her diamonds. She actually loves this man but the fact that he has money is a bonus. The image of this character is one of complete sexiness but this is only achieved through Lorelei innocence's. For example when she is on the cruise ship she meets Piggy who is an older man with money. She flirts with him yet she think she is doing nothing wrong when in fact she has a spy following her to make sure she doesn't play away from home and catches her in a situation which could be portrayed as intimate.

Monroe in this film is not the lovable character she was in "Clash By Night" neither is she something to look up toward as a role model. Yet it is clear to see that Monroe in this film is absolutely beautiful she is perfect. The clothes she wears enhance her figure showing off her assets. Her mannerism is more ladylike and she is more goal orientated.

She sings her famous song 'Diamonds are a girls best friend'. Her image oozes confidence but yet like before she needs to be saved by men. This happens twice in the film first by the little boy who helps her out of the window and then at the end by her fianc'e. Therefore throughout this film we can see how Monroe image was successful.

She was able to pull of that childish mannerism yet at the same time that sex appeal which was so popular among males. Her image was that of complete femininity always in a dress with full make up and hair. Again showing the development of her career and image. The third and final film I am to discuss is "Some Like It Hot". This was one of Monroe most famous roles.

She made this film in 1959 and it cemented her career. At this stage in Monroe's life she wanted more out of her roles and felt that this character was just another dumb blonde but what she brought to the character was truly superb. This role in terms of the development of her image and rise to fame is very important. Her performance got excellent reviews 'She's a comedienne with that combination of sex appeal and timing you just cant beat'. She was awarded with a golden globe for her performance for best actress in a musical comedy.

Her image in this film is very famous as she is portrayed as the beautiful bust blonde that was there to satisfy the male audience. In this film she plays Sugar Kane a girl who is trying to escape men by joining an all girl band. Our first introduction of her is when she is going to catch the train. She is notice by Joe and Jerry due to the fact that she is beautiful. The camera soon focuses on her bum from the 2 men's point of view.

Soon she becomes the object of male attention due to her tight fitting clothes and sexy wiggle. We see her becoming quite vulnerable in this film as she lets her guard down to a 'girlfriend' who happens to be male who also is attracted to her. Her image in this film is very important and we can see this through the use of camera movements. In various parts we see how the camera lingers on her body. On the train in the toilets see reveals her legs, dances up and down the train wiggle her bum. On the boat with Joe she flaunts her assets to get his attention.

The attitude of the character is that of a hyper active girl. She is always quite bubbly and happy to be round people. Again this image reflects that of her own personal image. In real life Monroe is a 'vivacious blonde talented women who has a sensual spirit she is a delicate beauty' but at the same time like Sugar Monroe suffered from a poor history with men and alcohol.

This film was very successful because of the qualities with Monroe brought to the screen as well as the themes of sex, cross-dressing infatuation and the male gaze. Monroe became famous for these roles for a number of reasons like her appearance, performance, voice, gestures and clothes. She came across many times as a strong female character that just wants to be loved which is true in her real life also. These films made her into the ultimate icon of beauty and glamour. Monroe's screen images did have many connections with her off screen image. Many of the qualities her characters had she also had.

This is probably why she pulled of her roles resulting in her indescribable fame. Therefore it is clear to see that the image of Monroe will remain forever. The image of Marilyn Monroe has become one of the most repeated in the twentieth century, frequently reappearing in art (Andy Wha rol) and music (Madonna's material girl and Elton John's Candle in the wind). Her 'image' embodies the very notion of stardom. She was the most famous leading female of this era but unfortunately was limited in her choice of roles, and much of the time relied on her sexual attraction. Her image at the beginning of her career was much like the characters she played but maybe this was because we only seen her as her characters and not as a real person living their own life.

She was a woman full of sex appeal and wasn't afraid or ashamed to discuss matters of sex. Because of the sameness of the roles she had been getting she had the craving for some thing new and challenging. She wanted something that was more that a dumb blonde. Unfortunately she never got the chance to fulfil her dreams but she still became known as an icon, a legend and lives on today through the memory of her greatness.

She was the 'Star' and the notion of stardom is embodied in her. She was the most celebrated star in Hollywood and was adored by millions.