Blonde Review

Blonde is a movie that was made about the life of Marilyn Monroe. The film was inspired by the book Blonde by the author Joyce Carol Oates. The movie slandered her name and dramatized the wrong things that went on in her life. The director was also very sexist and sexualized the movie excessively.

When the movie Blonde was first released, not many people were too amazed, or surprised because there had been many movies and series made about her before.

People thought it shouldn't have been rated NC-17 because it should've been rated R.

Cece Mills, a college student at UIUC, and Nicholas Callero, a senior at Novak, said, ‘’This movie was majorly dramatized. It disrespected and slandered Marilyn Monroe’s name.”

We believe what's frustrating about the film is that it is highly fictionalized. People also say they didn't like the movie because a lot of its scenes that were in there never happened and they had false accusations based on hearsay and false accusations made by the public.

There were also some controversial comments about the actress Ana De Armas. She is known for her role as “Marta Cabrera”, the maid of the house, in Knives Out and some of her other known popular movies, but never got much screen time.

She received a lot of backlash because of her role. People ridiculed her accent and harassed her for playing such a crude role. Mills said, “Her accent didn't ruin her acting, but they should have found someone that looked and sounded somewhat similar to Marilyn Monroe.” She also said, “If she had done the research, she would've known that she shouldn't have played Marilyn Monroe in that manner.”

Callaero disagreed. He said, “I don't think Ana De Armas should be receiving backlash for the film. She is an actress and is just playing a role that is, quite frankly, the role of a lifetime. It's not her fault and, if anything, she was just exploited alongside Marilyn’s image.”

In an interview, these quotes were said by Andrew Dominik, the director, about the women that played in this movie, especially Ana De Armas. This is why the movie has become a considerable controversy.

Dominik said, “They're well-dressed whores”. He also said, “I'm not interested in reality. I'm interested in the images.”

A lot of people had a lot to say about the director himself, Andrew Dominik

“The things he said were misogynistic and sexist,” said Callaero.

Many think it's right to call out the director, others think that it isn’t his fault.

Callaero said, “We should be calling out the writers as well and making sure that the director had actual input on the film he was making.”

Mills said, “Directors have become ‘bored and money hungry. That's why they keep remaking these movies about these famous people and tarnishing their names.

We thought that Blonde was polluted and violence against women. It validated the male patriarchy (according to Oxford Languages & Google patriarchy is defined as a system of beliefs, and values embedded in political, and social economic systems that structure gender inequality between men and women). The producers and directors were men and they over-sexualized Marilyn Monroe solely for the “Male Gaze".

There’s also unfairness in how such an intelligent person was destroyed by Hollywood, suffering not only for being a woman but by being seen as only a “sex symbol” and used for pleasure and success surrounded by misogyny.