By: Brianna Davila-Viera
Blonde, released on Netflix on Sept. 28, is a movie depicting Marilyn Monroe’s life struggles, which had many questioning if these were true things that happened to the infamous movie star.
The movie started with Monroe as a child living with her mother, not knowing where her father may be. The introduction felt like it was going to be a soft-loving story about mother and daughter, yet it turned dark when Monroe’s mother became extremely abusive towards her. At one point, she almost drowned Monroe in a bathtub. This is where we are shown that Monroe’s mother was unwell.
The movie depicted Monroe’s life struggles with love, fame, and parental absences. It showed the audience Monroe’s life in a different light than a documentary. It showed what drugs and abuse could do to someone’s mental health.
“It was crazy but I think it was a good way to show the inside view of her life,” said Isabella Dumornay, biology major at Hillsborough Community College. “You never really know what someone is going through.”
Dumornay watched the movie and realized that many people are able to hide their pain and suffering to keep themselves in the public eye or to show how everything is okay because they have such a glamorous life. She spoke about how women back then weren’t heard by the public and everyone would just think they were the problem.
The way that men in the industry viewed Monroe as a sex toy and not as a talented woman who needed help for her drug use or mental health issues reflects those sentiments.
The movie seemed to show more of her love life and how she looked for the affection she wanted from her parents than her mental health. The scene where she was being beaten by her husband, Joe DiMaggio, is something that broke many people’s hearts because she looked so happy to be with a man who loved her. She was so blinded by that love that she couldn’t see how the relationship was unhealthy and controlling.
“The scene when she did that blow up her dress and her husband beat her up, but everyone else loved it, showed that she continued to do it to please the public and she always kept up with herself never letting herself look undressed,” said Dumornay. “It only showed that she was pleading for attention and love from men because her father wasn’t present in her life.”
The thought of Monroe calling her husbands “daddy” was her way of getting that affection from them, and viewing them as the love she wanted from her father. This is saddening, especially since she had so much hope in meeting her father because of the letters he was allegedly sending her.
The movie can be quite triggering to some viewers as many can relate to it, whether that is for her drug abuse, her absent parents, her abusive husband, her miscarriages, or her mental health.
“It goes to show how women are affected later in life when they suffer from parental absence since Marilyn Monroe did spend some time in an orphanage which most likely led to a decline in her mental health which led to her drug use,” said Denise Roshto, a manager at Office Depot.
Roshto mentions that many girls on social media today are begging for attention whether it be negative or positive because of something they are missing in their life. Monroe constantly tried to appear happy or please the public no matter how upset she was behind closed doors. Monroe was labeled as a plus-sized woman, which could’ve ruined her self-esteem as well.
“I think the movie was a bit choppy during some parts but it overall was a good movie to watch,” said Dumornay. “I loved that the actress looked so similar to Marilyn. It definitely felt that Marilyn was acting in her own movie,” said Dumornay.
While the movie only received a 32% audience score on rotten tomatoes, it is something many should watch if they have ever found Marilyn Monroe to be interesting.
