- Joyce Carol Oates, who wrote “Blonde,” tweeted her support for the Netflix movie.
- Both fans and critics have panned the film, citing their belief that it exploits Monroe’s name and image.
- Furthermore, Oates argues that the film exposes “sexual predation in Hollywood.”
- The writer of “Blonde” has spoken out in support of Andrew Dominik’s screenplay for Netflix’s adaptation of her novel, calling it a “feminist” take on the story.
The film premiered on the streaming service last week; it’s based on Joyce Carol Oates’ fictionalized account of Marilyn Monroe’s life. Both fans and critics have different opinions on the film, with some saying it is respectful of the late star’s legacy and others saying it is an exploitative use of his name and image.
Oates defended Dominik and his adaptation on Twitter after the film was released.
“Obviously, not everyone will agree with me, but I thought it was a brilliant piece of cinematic art. Surprisingly, in the wake of the #MeToo movement, the public’s reaction to Hollywood’s frank discussion of sexual predators has been to label the event as exploitation “writer of the work “I have no doubt that Andrew Dominik told Norma Jeane’s story in all honesty.”
Later, she responded to a screenwriter who suggested that Dominik was the target of sexism because he is a man and, therefore, his film was being attacked.
Oates tweeted, “I haven’t seen these attacks but it is unfortunate because Andrew Dominik’s screenplay (which I’d seen years ago) had struck me as remarkably ‘feminist’ in intention…here was a male perspective nearly identical with the primary aims of #MeToo: telling women’s stories long censored.”
Additional tweets from Oates explain that the sexual exploitation of Monroe depicted in the film is based on fact “Well known to biographers” and that viewers who may find the explicit scenes “difficult” should not watch the film.
According to the author, “Blonde” (the film) “turns out to be something of a Rorschach test: some see the exposure of sexual mistreatment of Marilyn Monroe as ‘exploitation,’ and others see it as a revelation of how a gifted young woman was treated in Hollywood and elsewhere, pre#MeToo.”
Numerous well-known people have spoken out against the film. It was reported on Friday that Emily Ratajkowski would be “pissed off” after watching the film because it “fetishizes female pain.”
“As a culture, we fetishize women’s suffering. Consider our fixation on the deaths of Amy Winehouse and Britney Spears and Princess Diana “so the model claimed. “But it’s a shift I’m seeking. And I was considering this: you know what’s difficult to fetishize? Anger. Fickiness with anger is a tough sell. Consequently, I would like to make a suggestion. I believe we could all benefit from expressing a bit more anger.”
Courtney Stodden, another reality star, said last week on Page Six that she would not be watching the movie.
As someone who “knows what it feels like to be sexually exploited and then have people turn you into a joke when you are not a joke,” they made this statement. In my opinion, it’s rude to immediately jump into that topic.