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Contributing writer | Zhang Mingfang
"The world showed me its cold nature, and I had to disguise it so — I don't know — to block that coldness." Everything in the whole world has been closed to me in a sense. All I could do was fantasize about any possible 'pretend game'. ”
Marilyn Monroe was born on June 1, 1926, in the delivery room of Los Angeles General Hospital in California, where her mother, Grace Parr Baker, was a film cutter. When the other women in the hospital saw that no one had come to visit Grace, they understood that the delicate and beautiful baby with big blue eyes and reddish-brown hair was an illegitimate daughter, an abandoned child. The mother named the child Norma Jane Baker.
Grace has a family history of psychosis, is often emotionally unstable, and requires hospitalization. Unable to raise little Norma, she had to send her daughter to the home of Albert and Ida Belander. Norma spent the first seven years of her life there.
Norma was insecure and desperate for care and affection. An instinctive need for affection makes this little girl often shout "Daddy" and "Mommy" to the oncoming husband and lady when she is playing. When Mrs. Berland was bathing Norma at the age of 3, Norma suddenly called out to her "Mommy", but Mrs. Berland said to her, "I am not your mother, you should call me Aunt." "So is he my dad?" Norma pointed undeadly at Mr. Berland. "No, he's not your dad either, we're not your parents." "What about Mom? I miss my mom! Little Norma cried bitterly.
"Norma's mother—the red-haired lady who comes to visit you here every once in a while..." Mrs. Berland explained to her patiently.
Norma envisions a happy life of being pampered by her father. Once, when she was clamoring for her father, Grace took a picture of Clark Gable and said to her, "This is your father." For a long time she believed it. In the movie screening hall, she can see "Father" Clark Gable on the screen.
From September 1935 to June 1937, Norma Jane was in an orphanage. During that time, Norma was full of the bitterness of life. Because of the two words "orphan", she felt deeply inferior, believing that she was an "outcast" that no one wanted, and there would never be a happy family again, and she could not be spoiled in the arms of her parents and live like a normal child. Originally quiet, Norma has become more taciturn, withdrawn, and likes to be alone. Someone asked her, and she answered it with the expectation of Ai Ai, saying that it was not fluent, so serious that she had a stuttering problem. After Norma left the orphanage, the problem of stuttering gradually changed. But when she grew up, she still stuttered whenever she was excited.
From November 1937 to August 1938, Norma became a "baggage child", carrying from one house to another like a piece of luggage. Some families even adopted her for only three or four weeks. But after living in an orphanage, Norma tasted content with it, even though her adoptive family sometimes made her do a hard job. No matter what kind of family she was adopted into, she was never picky about eating. The family who had adopted her said, "I've never seen such a picky girl!" ”
She was grateful to her adoptive family. She is kind and polite to people. Because of her often taciturn, Norma got a nickname called "Little Mouse". Occasionally, she would play happily with her friends, but more often than not, she loved to be in a corner and think about things.
At this time, she most admired three heroes: President Lincoln, who liberated black slaves during the American Civil War, Einstein, a physicist, and Schweitzer, a missionary physician in equatorial Africa, and Schweitzer, a nobel peace prize laureate. As an adult, Norma went out of her way to find Carl Sandberg, the author of Lincoln's biography, and insisted on becoming friends. Until her death, she often took Lincoln's speeches in Gettysburg with her, and everywhere she went, she would hang a portrait of Lincoln in her residence. This may also be because she lacks a spiritual sustenance of fatherly love.
Little Norma grew up in a turbulent displacement. No one expected that this shy little girl would become the world's most famous Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe in the future.
"I'm self-aware, I know I'm just a third-rate actor, lacking talent, like I have cheap clothes in my gorgeous coat. But, O my God! I want to learn, change, and improve! I don't want anything, I don't want men, I don't want money, I don't want love, just acting! ”
In 1941, Norma Jane had become a beautiful 15-year-old girl, and her guardian asked her to marry a neighbor's boy, so shortly after her 16th birthday, she married James Doherty, a 21-year-old craftsman, and became a full-time housewife in California. With World War II looming, James joined the army and became a lieutenant in the Navy, and Norma succeeded him in the aircraft radio equipment manufacturing plant.
In 1945, a military photographer happened to be writing the hard work of the women in the rear, taking a group of photographs for Norma Jane, which became the beginning of her career as a photographic model, and a new world opened its doors to Norma Jane. She gradually discovered that she liked to make movies. Norma divorced her husband and devoted herself wholeheartedly to her new career and life. She soon received a lot of work as a model for a telegraph photographer, and eventually Fox signed her.
She is a beautiful person, and her amazement is unfolding layer by layer. The film crew insisted on changing her name, and Marilyn Monroe was born.
However, Monroe's talent in acting is not as good as her modeling, and the second year of signing, Fox terminated her contract. She returned to the modeling industry, working as a theatre coach for her, while also studying theatre performance exceptionally hard.
She lives off temporary modeling jobs and unemployment insurance. In the spring of 1949, sitting in a bar because she had no job, she heard someone say that a sexy girl role was needed in a film directed by the Max brothers of United Arts, so she immediately approached the director and hoped that she could play the role.
The Max brothers were the stars of the burlesque film of the time, and as the screenwriter and main actor of the film, they played a key role in the film. They asked her, "Can you walk?" The character wants a young lady who can make a man emotional. ”
Unexpectedly, Marilyn Monroe immediately walked with great charm, and her charming and touching gait made the Max brothers greatly appreciate. In the end, she got the role and was paid $500.
The film has a 30-second shot that gives her the opportunity to perform a unique "Monroe gait." The plot is: The young wife played by Monroe is followed, and she rushes to say to Groucho Max, who plays a private detective in the play: "There is a man following me!" Groucho Max looked at her in fascination and said, "Is there only one?" ”
The "Monroe Gait" is the success of Marilyn Monroe after a long period of practice and exploration. In this respect, Monroe is an absolute aestheticist. In all the films she has participated in, whether the characters she plays are important or not, she tries her best to present her beautiful face and beautiful posture to the audience.
Her agent told her that her upper lip and nose tip were too close together and advised her to "corner her mouth down" when she laughed. In order to be able to smile in this almost impossible way, Monroe repeatedly practiced in front of the mirror to accurately control the facial muscles. Since then, Marilyn, with this distinctive, slightly trembling, shy smile, has been accepted and loved by thousands of viewers.
Monroe maintains a toned posture, insists on running and fitness, and makes herself look youthful and energetic. She paid special attention to her plump and firm breasts, and in order to keep them from sagging, she also wore a bra when she slept, and some people said that her breasts were as strong as sculptures.
Indeed, in Marilyn, the femininity and sensuality of women are epitomized, she is the dream of men and the dream of women.
Jimmy Starr, a reporter for the Los Angeles Herald's "Star" column, claimed that he had discovered the secret of Monroe's gait, "She cut off a quarter of an inch of the heel of a high heel so that when she walked, her body was a little writhing, and it really worked!" In fact, not only with the help of external forces, Monroe also has to specially exercise the leg muscles to achieve the best results."
Although some people have been denying Monroe's talent, she is by no means a person who gives up halfway. She studied acting and the arts diligently, and her acting skills are constantly improving. Finally, in 1952, Monroe's acting career rose to prominence.
"I want to be an artist, not a person who shoots by hue, and I don't want to sell the film as an aphrodisiac to the audience." The first few years may have been ok, but now it's different. Monroe was eager to change, improve her acting skills, and get rid of the shackles of "blonde" and "sexy goddess", but the studio still used her as a "blonde", always insisting that she star in some pornographic, absurd roles. She told reporters that "she was eager to play some other type of role, such as Julie in 'The Burial of the Dead,' Gresser in Faust, and Theresa in 'Cradle Song.'" She also wants to co-make a movie with serious actors Marlon Brando and Richard Burton"... But these demands were not heard by anyone at Fox Pictures.
"Hollywood is a place where they can pay you $1,000 for a kiss and they only pay 50 cents for your soul." Throughout her life, Monroe struggled with the world's stereotypes about her.
"I've always felt insecure, and most of all, I'm afraid to be alone. I thought to myself, what I need most in this world is love. "What I need is a man, a marriage, a family and children." "In my life, others have failed me more than I have."
As a star, she still lacks self-confidence, and insecurity often hits her heart.
Director Logan once said, "If Monroe can control her emotions and health, she can become the greatest star we have ever had." ”
Logan, who already knew marilyn's inner pain, said, "I don't think she's ever been truly happy and satisfied in her life, except when she's at work." ”
Monroe's childhood was turbulent and there was no happiness to speak of. Monroe is not shy about the tragic experiences of her childhood, even the appalling stories, and often confides in relatives, friends and even first-time contacts. For example, she once told people that she was bullied by villains when she was a child; when she was a little girl, she was raped by a policeman; she also told her later maid that she had given birth to a baby when she was a teenager and gave the child to someone else under the pressure of her guardian... However, people often find these stories full of loopholes and contradictions in terms of time and place, and some stories even differ greatly from the original descriptions.
Monroe's psychiatrist, Greenson, believes she has an "illusion of being abused." Ben Hecht, a writer who ghostwrote an autobiography for Monroe in 1954, also said: "It's hard to figure out when Monroe is making up stories and when she's telling the truth... I didn't think she was deliberately deceiving me, she was a fantasist. Some of those who have come into contact with her also believe that Monroe is building her own public image with "synthetic facts and self-intoxicating fantasies."
Monroe's lovers are innumerable. In addition to her marriage to three husbands, she has a large list of lovers. Monroe also gained ascending capital from some lovers, acquiring knowledge and skills, in the sense that it was an "exchange". In the film industry at that time, this kind of "exchange" was also extremely common. But in the eyes of the top people in the film company, this is also one reason why it is difficult for her to change the path of the scene.
But for most of her lovers, Monroe gave her true feelings, and she was more hurtful in exchange for it – she had at least 4 miscarriages and 7 abortions, which eventually led to her infertility.
Due to her long-term dependence on stimulants and sedatives, Monroe's health was very bad later in life. She was addicted to alcohol and narcotics, which seriously affected her mental state and work status, caused huge financial losses to the company, and led to the deterioration of her relationship with the company. It's a terrible vicious circle. Eventually, for a number of reasons, she was fired by Fox.
Fox's propagandists went to great lengths to slander and discredit Monroe, and they wanted to destroy her. Such propaganda campaigns proved to be very successful in hindsight. They portray Monroe as "half-crazy," often "sitting naked in front of a dressing mirror for hours." They said Monroe's famous nude swimming shot was taken when Monroe suddenly took off her three-point swimsuit, "Monroe was in a psychedelic state after taking medication and did not know where she was." They ignore the fact that Monroe has worked with illness many times and even fainted, implying that Monroe is pretending to be sick.
Despite how bad everything seemed, Monroe and the people around her didn't expect that Death was getting closer and closer to her. On August 15, 1962, Monroe was found dead in her bedroom at Bredenwood's apartment in Los Angeles, at the age of 36, on an overdose of sleeping pills. Her death is full of doubts, and there are still many mysteries that remain unsolved.
Many believe her death was related to the Kennedy family. Monroe had a scandal with the Kennedy brothers before her death, and in her diary, Monroe recorded a lot of confidential information. However, the mercurial Kennedy did not take the relationship seriously, which provoked Monroe's anger and tried to confront it. However, the naïve Monroe underestimated the cruelty of her opponent this time.
George Chuuk, who successfully directed "Lady" and won the Academy Award for Best Director, had a very unpleasant cooperation with Monroe for various reasons before his death. But as time passed, he felt guiltier and more. He told a friend in 1979: "I didn't notice at the time that she was going through so many emotional twists and turns, nor did I know that the Kennedy brothers were persecuting her. If I had known at the time, I would have helped her. It was money and power that killed her, Marilyn touched too much power and too much money, and she was too naïve to live so thinly. ”
"Here lies Marilyn Monroe. 36，24，36”
These are Monroe's three circumferences, and they evoke memories or imaginations of the "sexy goddess" time and time again, perhaps, her best epitaph. To this day, the various legends about Marilyn still linger, and death did not end her myth, but only a new beginning.
Marilyn Monroe had just over two thousand dollars on her account when she died, barely enough to pay for her funeral. In addition to spending a large sum of money on her own luxurious life, this generous and kind woman also used the blood and sweat money she earned to help displaced elderly people and lonely children. Her birth and upbringing made her full of sympathy for these poor people, which is a very valuable quality in Monroe.
Maybe she's vain, indulgent, self-inflated, and lost in nature, but there's always another side to life. She has left a youthful, sexy, lively and beautiful screen image for movie fans around the world, which has made countless people fall for it. At the same time, as a typical example of a poor girl with a miserable life who has become a big Hollywood star through hard work, she has created another "Hollywood legend" to continue to be full of fantasies for those who also dream of stardom.
Her whole life has been misunderstood, and she has personally created the "sexy" coat that she most wants to abandon. As a representative of the "sexy goddess" of the times, a woman who was deeply involved in the American high society Vanity Fair and eventually destroyed by it, she also left people with an inexhaustible topic of human nature.
Unlike many of her contemporaries, such as Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly, she did not become a nostalgic and unattainable image of a lady in her memory, she was so real. So much so that she is like the people who live in our time, the people around us, making us feel kind and needing our understanding.
She is aggressive in her career and has been pursuing to become a serious actor all her life; her bold pursuit of love, although often in exchange for deception and negativity, but still sincerely pay again and again; she has no scruples about worldly concepts, and her avant-garde posture leads the fashion trend and shows the charm of women to the whole world.
She is a woman of her own nature, an ordinary woman who needs to be loved and loved, an elf with both the qualities of the devil and the angel.
Monroe has been surrounded by countless men all her life, but she can't tell which ones to love with her heart; she loves acting, but she can't control her emotions and health. Monroe is not perfect, she has flaws, but who can blame her? Her world was dazzling from a distance, but full of scars up close. There won't be another Marilyn Monroe who makes you so infatuated and so distressed.