Marilyn Monroe: More Than Just a Blonde Bombshell 🎬✨
This year marks 100 years since Marilyn Monroe was born and 64 years since she passed away. And yet, she remains one of the most famous actresses in the world.
So when a friend asked me if I wanted to join her for an exhibition about Marilyn, I didn’t hesitate for a second. Let’s go! 💃🏼
After Monroe’s death, her belongings remained carefully stored away for many years. It wasn’t until 37 years later that they went up for auction. Collector Ted Stampfer enthusiastically snapped up many of these unique pieces — and some of those fascinating finds were on display in Groningen 🇳🇱
Marilyn was ahead of her time as a businesswoman, with her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions. She was also outspoken and stood her ground. One example was when she insisted on entering a club through the front door with her friend Ella Fitzgerald, rather than being forced to use the service entrance 👏🏼
Marilyn had many different sides to her, which is probably one of the reasons people can still identify with her today. This exhibition gives you a glimpse of the woman behind the myth. Marilyn Monroe was so much more than a sex symbol and style icon. Her life was filled with mystery, tragedy and loneliness, and her influence as a globally famous pop-culture icon remains undeniable to this day 🌟
I really enjoyed the exhibition, although I did feel that they could have gone into a little more detail here and there. Also, all of the dresses were replicas. Still, it was really fun to see everything, especially the video footage. 🎥
And there were even real envelopes from her production company for sale! They were quite expensive, though 😅 I ended up taking home just a postcard and a mug ☕️💕
The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe 🎞️
The exhibition briefly touched on Marilyn’s death, which made me think of a documentary I had watched before: The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes. So, when I got home, I immediately watched it again.
The Mystery of Marilyn Monroe: The Unheard Tapes is a 2022 Netflix documentary directed by British filmmaker Emma Cooper. It was released on Netflix on April 27, 2022.
What makes the documentary particularly interesting is already hinted at in the title. It uses previously unreleased audio interviews recorded by journalist Anthony Summers in the 1980s.
Anthony Summers was a British journalist and former BBC reporter. When Marilyn’s death was reinvestigated in 1982, he began conducting an enormous investigation of his own. He eventually spoke to around 650 people who had known Marilyn or had somehow been involved in the final years of her life and her death.
He recorded many of these conversations on cassette tapes. His research eventually resulted in the book Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe, which was published in 1985. The documentary is largely based on that book and those original interviews.
And that makes the documentary quite special. You’re not simply hearing a modern-day filmmaker explain what someone supposedly said decades ago — you’re actually hearing the voices of people who personally knew Marilyn 🎙️ And, of course, Marilyn’s own voice can be heard as well.
Essentially, the documentary has two layers.
1. Marilyn Monroe the person 👩🏼
The documentary goes back to Norma Jeane Baker: her difficult childhood, her search for love and acceptance, her transformation into Marilyn Monroe, her enormous fame, and her relationships and marriages — including those with Joe DiMaggio and Arthur Miller.
The film tries to break down the image of Marilyn as nothing more than a superficial, “dumb blonde.” Instead, Cooper puts Marilyn’s own voice and personality at the center of the story.
2. Her mysterious final months and death 🕵🏼♀️
This is where things get really interesting.
Marilyn was found dead in her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, on August 5, 1962. She was just 36 years old. Her death was officially ruled a probable suicide caused by an overdose of barbiturates (sleeping pills).
But questions have surrounded her death from the very beginning:
• Why didn’t some of the timelines seem to add up?
• Who had spoken to Marilyn that evening?
• What exactly happened during the hours before her death?
• Why were some people so reluctant to talk about what they knew?
• What role did her connections with John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy play?
• Was there a cover-up?
• And most importantly: did Marilyn really die by suicide, or did something else happen?
The documentary naturally plays heavily with the possibility of a conspiracy, particularly because of Marilyn’s connections with the Kennedys and the inconsistencies surrounding her final hours.
However, it does not provide conclusive evidence that Marilyn was murdered.
In fact, Summers’ own conclusion is much more nuanced than the typical “the Kennedys had Marilyn killed” theory. The documentary mainly suggests that, according to his research, there were many aspects surrounding her death that were never properly explained and may have been covered up — but that does not automatically prove that she was murdered.
While watching the documentary, I found myself thinking about a book by Laura Lynne Jackson. That got me thinking about mediums and whether anyone had ever claimed to make contact with Marilyn.
So, naturally, I went down a YouTube rabbit hole!
I found THIS video by Sloan, and honestly, I think she is sincere. I found it really interesting.
A little later, I came across THIS video by Lauren The Mortician. That was very interesting too, although I heard some things in that video that I hadn’t heard before.
There are so many theories about what might actually have happened to Marilyn, and… I’m really curious whether we will ever truly find out what happened.
Will the truth ever come to light? I guess we’ll have to wait and see…
Whatever the truth may be, I definitely recommend both the exhibition and the documentary. ⭐
I’ve also added Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe to my wishlist, and I’m sure I’ll be coming back to that one! 📚
Thanks so much for reading! 🩷
