This was not a simple and stratospheric rise, but a series of stop/start events. And the image of Monroe as a peroxide-haired bombshell did not spring forth fully formed. She was a very willing participant in the process of her star-making, from her name change to her dye job, her “Jell-O on strings” walk to the perhaps apocryphal story that she put marbles in the tips of her bra for added sex appeal. Monroe understood how to maximize her star potential. She worked with a personal makeup artist, Allan “Whitey” Snyder and agreed to a staggering range of promotional gimmicks at the behest of her studio.
No matter what came her way, she was canny, ambitious and self-starting: far from the “little girl lost” cliché so often attached to her. In 1952 for instance, the discovery of Monroe’s nude Playboy photoshoot threatened to hobble her climb to the top. The team of publicity men at 20th Century Fox insisted the photos would ruin her career, but Monroe — wisely — got out in front of the rumors. She openly admitted it was her and explained the reason was simply she was about to be evicted at the time and needed the money.
It was a calculated risk, and it paid off: instead of ruining her career, the scandal poured rocket fuel on it. Mid-century America was generally a socially conservative place, but the va-va-voom powers of the pinup and the bombshell during the war years likely paved the way for a more risqué image of American womanhood.
When, in 1954, Marilyn announced the founding of Marilyn Monroe Productions, Zanuck panicked and suspended her contract, but she refused to come crawling back. Instead, she called his bluff, knowing just how popular she was with audiences, and refused to return until major changes were made to her contract with 20th Century Fox.
Remarkably, by 1955, she won her battle with 20th Century Fox. Fox upped her salary and offered her script, director and even cinematographer approval on each of her films with them. This was essentially unheard of for the time, proving yet again that Marilyn authored her image and her career far more than the domineering men in her life.
In the final analysis, it doesn’t matter much to me whether we slap the label of “feminist” or “proto-feminist” on someone of her era. She did unquestionably pioneering things, and she was equally victimized and forced to tolerate shameless misogyny. What matters is her story and her work stand in proud monument to a deeper cultural understanding and embrace of women’s agency and desire. Marilyn Monroe held great power, and in admiring her, so do we.
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