Take a look at the latest issues of Playboy nowadays, and look at Monroe’s cover on December 1953, she even with a nude photo inside that very issue. Nothing different, one can presume. Now take in consideration the period that she posed for the photos. It was a time when those shots were ultimately tabooed and when catering to nudity is synonymous to being a resident of Gomorrah. Monroe was not only a 50’s sex symbol: she also represented the emergence of the new Hollywood, where a man’s fantasies of money, power and sex were just a movie ticket apart.
Monroe starred in one of her most iconic movies “Seven Year Itch” in 1955 where she accidentally sported the skirt-blowing fashion, a caricature attributed to her. The Betty Boop caricature was attributed to this image of hers, and a multitude of imitators abound not only in the US but in the whole world. Don’t also forget her signature blonde, stocky hairdo and the silver dress that sold $4.6 million dollars in an auction.
Her times were more constricting in its morality. The people these times were most reserved, especially the timid girls who were contented in being covered with a dress from neck to wrist to ankle. She broke these social constraints, telling in one of the famous Marilyn Monroe quotes, ““If I'd observed all the rules I'd never have got anywhere.”
Speaking of quotes, Monroe has had her fair share of enlightening quotes, most of which were her ideas on femininity and show business. One of her famous lines is addressed for those who aspires her, telling them, “I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.” One of her most famous comments about Hollywood and show business was a very realistic one; “Hollywood is a place where they'll pay you a thousand dollars for a kiss and fifty cents for your soul. I know, because I turned down the first offer often enough and held out for the fifty cents.”
Her contributions to American pop culture, and every inch in her that contributed to her strong image made her endure all the way until the 21st century. The things that she did continually create ripples, if not those ripples were still felt for Monroe’s appeal to be alive in Marilyn Monroe Posters hanging around art galleries or cafes.
Hollywood, who gave her fame and success, now reminds America of their once shining symbol of beauty and sex in the film “My Week with Marilyn”. The film stars Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe herself and gets Kenneth Branagh as Laurence Olivier. The film narrates the back story of the creation of Monroe’s film “The Prince and the Showgirl” back in 1957. An added twist to it (spoiler ahead!) was a love triangle with Lucy, played by Harry Potter star Emma Watson. Branagh, the actor playing Olivier, used to fill in the roles of the real Laurence Olivier in Shakespeare theater plays. Williams was known earlier for her films “Dawson Creek”, “Shutter Island” and “Brokeback Mountain”.
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