Jess Maher

I find with documentaries about Marilyn . They either attempt to victimise her or they idolise her. The problem with this documentary is that there doesn’t seem to be a desire to understand who she was which is what a genuine fan is really interested in and by not considering the hardships that she went through such as those with mental health issues , the relationship with her mother , the fact she didn’t have much of a relationship with her father. I find that this documentary takes away from her humanity to a certain extent which makes it even more impossible to understand her than it already is. I understand In reality , we will never know Marilyn but I do think we need to acknowledge her struggles and this will help us to appreciate what she achieved both personally and professionally. In a way I think that this documentary in cutting this out actually perpetuates the age old ideation that mental illness and personal difficulties are a weakness in society. The voice of Norma jeane becomes drowned out because so many other people are weighing in with their interpretation and their invented narrative of her actions. In portraying one dimension of her strengths , they have unfortunately disregarded her humanity and the sensitivity that so many of those who knew her talked about , that which actually draws fans to her in the first place. Personal struggles and fights against one’s internal demons as well as external demons are the thread that weaves together the character of the person that we actually become and that is really what we admire in others . It is What we admire in Marilyn. This documentary portrays Marilyn as a cold , cut throat businesswoman who took advantage and used others around her to get what she wanted… It’s not a version of Marilyn that I recognise. It shows just one aspect of how she achieved her goals , it portrays her ambition and gives her agency but in another way it takes her agency away from her. Weknow she was much more complex than this documentary shows. A one dimensional “reframed” portrayal of Marilyn monroe , the icon interpreted by many people who never knew her personally, those who did know her only get little slots and some of their words are twisted to fit the narrative NOT THE PERSON. There’s a huge chunk of her missing in this doc.