tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post600244981163602030..comments2024-03-29T12:59:00.612+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Blonde on blonde: a new biography of the many Marilyn MonroesJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-3122418056558890512012-11-30T11:13:22.870+05:302012-11-30T11:13:22.870+05:30I am actually very intrigued (and confused) by som...I am actually very intrigued (and confused) by some of the quotations in the last paragraph of the post . How does the biography writer ever "excavate layers that lie underneath her childhood". How could anyone? I liked the last para a lot for this precise reason.<br /><br />Also , you guys need to check this out http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2012/11/the-clippings-file-is-marilyn-happy.html<br /><br />though my liking is based on my belief that Lindsay Lohan(I'll probably earn some sneers here) was/is actually a very talented actor.Prashilanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-55462399641559336382012-11-25T17:15:27.540+05:302012-11-25T17:15:27.540+05:30If anything Kate Hepburn seems more of a "fem...<i>If anything Kate Hepburn seems more of a "feminist" than Marilyn.</i><br /><br />Why would that be a surprise? It would conform to any mainstream definition (and most of the non-mainstream definitions) of feminism. The possibility that MM may have been a feminist (even at a subconscious level) is explicitly set out here as a controversial idea.<br /><br />And of course Monroe didn't show feminist tendencies in her performances - that is a given, and it's beside the point in this discussion. Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-3548587461598889282012-11-25T17:14:32.891+05:302012-11-25T17:14:32.891+05:30Um, no Shrikanth, I don't think it's that ...<i>Um, no Shrikanth, I don't think it's that simple</i><br /><br />Well, you didn't quote my whole sentence there. I said "denial of the notion that men and women have inherent differences entailing slightly different roles in society".<br /><br />This denial is implicit in the feminist argument. Otherwise rhetorical questions like "why on earth do women on average earn less than men" would never have become such raging issues in the feminist debates of the 70s.<br /><br />These so-called "issues" would cease to be issues if one keeps reminding oneself of the inconvenient truth that woman have babies while men don't! A fact of biology that explains a lot of these anomalies that feminists bring up.<br /><br />At any rate, my comment was not to trigger a debate on feminism but to express the view that Marilyn did not betray any feminist tendencies at all in her performances.<br /><br />If anything Kate Hepburn seems more of a "feminist" than Marilyn. shrikanthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-24374853174103110822012-11-25T17:14:00.744+05:302012-11-25T17:14:00.744+05:30The whole basis of feminism is a denial of that no...<i>The whole basis of feminism is a denial of that notion that men and women have inherent differences</i><br /><br />No, Shrikanth, I don't think it's that simple. But I'm long past trying to argue at length with your views on any of the subjects that have come up in the past few posts! Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-60475543115450731542012-11-25T17:13:24.270+05:302012-11-25T17:13:24.270+05:30the ultimate blonde in a nation both fascinated by...<i>the ultimate blonde in a nation both fascinated by sexuality and uneasy about it, involved in both an ongoing sexual revolution and a conservative reaction against it</i><br /><br />I don't think the sexual revolution started in a big way in the 50s. The 40s/50s was a period of increasing marriage rates, higher birth rates, decrease in the age of marriage among other things. There are some studies that indicate that homemaking was more fashionable among women in the 50s than it was in the 30s.<br /><br />It was in the 60s that the sexual revolution took off. And this revolution accompanied by the rise of feminism inevitably meant a reduced fascination with "opposites" and a drastic de-glamourization of several aspects of life including showbiz.<br /><br />To me Marilyn doesn't herald the sexual revolution. But she stands out as the last symbol of the old order. The old order that accepted the distinct roles played by men and women as a way of life. An order that did not regard faith and domesticity with distaste. And an order that accepted the need for "inhibitions" and "fascination with opposites" to keep the human race ticking. shrikanthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-40658285030095477182012-11-25T17:12:51.166+05:302012-11-25T17:12:51.166+05:30Was Marilyn a feminist?
Atleast from her screen p...<i>Was Marilyn a feminist?</i><br /><br />Atleast from her screen persona, there is no hint of her being one.<br />She always struck me as an intelligent girl comfortable with her gender and comfortable with the idea that men and women play specialized roles in society (despite there being a significant overlap).<br /><br />The whole basis of feminism is a denial of that notion that men and women have inherent differences entailing different roles in society - something that doesn't come across in Marilyn's films. shrikanthnoreply@blogger.com