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CaptainDigitalPirate t1_j2edki0 wrote

I haven't seen Blonde but I kinda figured this would be the reaction to the movie. And if it's not your thing that's entirely fine. I absolutely understand.

I think really society has a somewhat romanticized depiction of Marilyn Monroe and that her life was perfect and she was always happy but that's not what it was like at all. She had a lot of issues like a lot of people and even moreso studios really only saw her as a pretty face. Her attractive looks were highlighted in her movies despite the fact she wanted to show some actual range instead of just being the pretty girl, and she didn't have much control over the stuff she was starring in. Hell she was published as a centerfold and cover in Playboy without her consent.

She was married to a man who was reportedly abusive and controlling, the studio paid her less than her costars and it was in her contract that she's not entitled to giving creative input and in addition to this the studios supposedly were sabotaging her attempts to get into movies that portrayed her as more than a sex symbol. When she remarried and was happy, the media proceeded to slander the marriage and claimed it was a mismatch and when she finally got to star in dramatic roles, directors just expected her to be pretty. And we know at this time people did not have an issue blatantly telling a woman to shut up and look attractive.

In addition to that she had an extreme drug addiction which was so bad they had to apply makeup when she was passed out. She was suffering from Gallstones, her mental health was so bad people could tell she was genuinely breaking down on set for scenes and wasn't acting. Her dramatic movies were critical bombs meaning when she finally got her wish, it tanked her career. She was hospitalized for depression while also needing surgery and people claimed she was faking her issues.

Hell she died via overdose. And it wasn't accidental considering it was 7 times the lethal limit. She committed suicide.

Again. I totally get it if you're not about movies that are not happy and difficult to watch but I honestly don't know what people were expecting from a Marilyn Monroe movie. She was an inspiring woman but ultimately a very tragic person considering she was a victim of Hollywood wanting to make money off her and they didn't actually care about her as a person. Any biopic of her is going to be hard to watch and if it tries to be happy movie, it is not an accurate biopic at that point. It's what a Marilyn Monroe movie HAS to be considering the life she lived.

Thank you for coming to my TEDTalk.

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sayjunecar t1_j2f2f4a wrote

>Any biopic of her is going to be hard to watch and if it tries to be a happy movie, it is not an accurate biopic at that point

The main problem is that Blonde is hard to watch to the point of exploitation and also still inaccurate. The issues with Marilyn's life you mention are interesting and could have made for a good movie, but Blonde only includes some of them, and in twisted ways. Also while I'm almost 100% certain the creators intended the opposite, part of the movie feels unsympathetic to Marilyn, and even sometimes paints her in the stupid, hysterical light her detractors/abusers forced onto her image.

Beautifully shot though, I wish the same visual talent had been used for almost any other film.

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watermelonfucka t1_j2erbqz wrote

Did her baby talk to her in her womb about the moral failings of abortions? I don’t remember that part in her biography.

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CaptainDigitalPirate t1_j2esck7 wrote

Again haven't seen the movie so idk how accurate it is but uh... Based on reality doesn't sound like it happened. 😂

Again idk how accurate the events are but like any biopic there's gonna be artistic liberties taken.

Really overall, the point I was trying to convey was a Marilyn Monroe Biopic (done accurately or atleast faithfully) is going to be hard to watch since she lived a very sad and tragic life

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paul-is-single t1_j2f2j3h wrote

I respectfully disagree with this because I don’t think society has a romanticized view of Marilyn. Yes, she’s an icon of beauty, glamour, all of that. But, she is also very widely seen as tragically vulnerable and a victim of her fame, someone who was only looked at superficially. The woman who seemed to have it all but was lonely and wounded irl. None of that is a revelation.

There’s a way to depict the tragic parts of her life without entirely reducing her to that. The issue with Blonde is that it only portrays her as this beaten down, broken woman. Not only that but it sexualizes her to such an excessive degree that the depictions of her treatment at the hands of men come across as just as exploitative in the film as it was in reality. The film just wants her to cry or show her tits or both. Oh and there is the fact that the filmmaker, on the record, called Marilyn nothing but a well-dressed whore, totally dismissing her talent and contribution to film history.

In spite of how depressed or abused a person was, every person is multifaceted and has a wide range of experiences. No sad person is sad all the time or in pain all the time. Blonde doesn’t treat Marilyn like a dimensional person. It treats her like a one-note punching bag and does it in a way that is absolutely ridiculous.

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filmroses t1_j2fj4wo wrote

Except Marilyn fought hard against all of that. She was known to be a strong-willed person. In this movie she just whimpers and cries, she's like a child.

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