For decades, Marilyn Monroe’s white dress, red lips and platinum-blonde hair billowing over subway grates have represented the epitome of Hollywood glamour. The iconic scene from the film “The Seven Year Itch” (1955) is perhaps one of the most famous moments in film history. Very few women of the 20th century achieved the iconic status that Monroe achieved, while at the same time being brutally judged for their appearance.
This was clearly visible on that September night in 1954, when the famous subway grate scene was filmed in New York City. Hundreds of photographers and spectators watched as Monroe repeatedly posed atop a ventilation shaft, her dress billowing up as she tried not to show too much, all the while looking as if she was having the time of her life. Ironically, the entire scene later had to be re-shot in a studio due to excessive background noise in the recording.
Now, 100 years after her birth and more than 60 years after her death, the world has a new image of Marilyn Monroe. She is now seen not only as a 1950s sex symbol, but also considered an early image of female self-determination in a film industry dominated by men – a woman who was contradictory, vulnerable, intelligent, and often ahead of her time.
From Norma Jean to Marilyn Monroe
Norma Jean Mortenson was born on June 1, 1926 in Los Angeles. His childhood was filled with foster homes, orphanages, and instability. Early on she learned that women in Hollywood were judged primarily on their looks.
After starting her career as a model, she was discovered by film studios. Norma Jean changed her name to “Marilyn Monroe”, a name that deliberately sounded like it belonged to a fictional character.
Hollywood cast her in the role of the seductive blonde: sensual, playful, seemingly innocent. Films such as “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” (1953), “The Seven Year Itch” and “Some Like It Hot” (1959) brought him global stardom.
literature, politics, art
Behind the public image was a woman who wanted to be taken seriously as an actress and a person. While studios restricted her to stereotypical roles, Monroe worked intensively on her acting training and read literature, taking a keen interest in politics, art, and psychoanalysis.
In 1955, photographer Eve Arnold captured a moment that revealed this other side of Monroe: the star sitting on a playground, absorbed in James Joyce’s “Ulysses.” In Arnold’s photo book “The Retrospect”, she recalled that Monroe always kept the novel in her car and read excerpts out loud because she liked the sound of the language, even though she, like many others, found the book challenging.
Even today people say that Monroe posed with the book only for the camera. Yet he repeatedly refuted this claim and said that people often prefer to turn him into a character rather than taking an interest in who he really is.
Defying the entertainment industry
Today, many feminists view Monroe as a woman who challenged the mechanisms of the entertainment industry long before others. She understood exactly how her body and body language defined her marketing; Also, he used it strategically to advance his career. Monroe was not only a victim of a sexist system, but she also tried to use the restrictions of this system to her advantage.
An important step came in late 1954, when she founded her own production company, a highly unusual move for an actress at the time. Monroe wanted more control over her roles, better contracts, and more serious material. He negotiated higher salaries, publicly defied producers and rejected roles he did not like. In an era when studios almost completely controlled their stars, this was a remarkable act of confidence.
Monroe nevertheless remained caught in the contradictions of her era. The public celebrated her femininity and sensual appeal, yet those same qualities were later used against her. The media often describe them as unstable, difficult, or unprofessional – words today often directed at strong and outspoken women who defy expectations.
His private life became a public spectacle. Her marriages to baseball star Joe DiMaggio and playwright Arthur Miller were consistently criticized in the media, as were her psychological distress and drug dependence.
When Monroe died in 1962 at the age of 36, the myth began to form. Although his death was officially ruled a possible suicide due to overdose of sedative medication, conspiracy theories persist today. The most enduring claim is that she was silenced because of her ties to the Kennedy family, although there is no evidence to support this.
#MeToo and a new perspective on Monroe
In recent years, perceptions about Monroe have changed once again. The #MeToo debate and broader discussion about abuses of power in Hollywood helped reframe her story. Many people now recognize the extent to which they suffered under a studio system that simultaneously idealized and controlled women.
The 2022 biopic “Blonde” starring Ana de Armas also adopted this perspective. The film portrayed Monroe as a vulnerable, traumatized woman. While some critics saw it as a blatant response to Hollywood’s treatment of women, others argued that it once again made Monroe feel tormented and victimized.
Monroe learned the value of female visibility at an early age. She was desired but rarely respected. Famous but barely preserved. Intelligent and educated, yet remained a timeless sex symbol.
But perhaps this is actually her greatest feminist legacy: Even in the 1950s, Monroe revealed how complicated female self-determination could be in a world that both praised and controlled women. The fact that his image remains globally recognizable a century after his birth shows how profoundly he shaped modern pop culture.
This article was translated from German.