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Book Review: "Marilyn: Her Life In Her Own Words", George Barris



 
 
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Old June 15th 04, 01:26 AM
Paul
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Default Book Review: "Marilyn: Her Life In Her Own Words", George Barris

An astounding book on an astounding subject
June 12, 2004

Born Norma Jeane Mortensen on 1 June 1926 c.e. and died 4 August 1962
under conditions still not well known, the woman called Marilyn Monroe
was the most famous individual in the world at the time of her death.
She still well may be.

Any attempt to describe her career during her life, and the subsequent
notoriety and attention to her image after her death, quickly becomes
like describing the latest oil tanker, a study of superlatives. What
is clear is that she was stunningly beautiful, quite intelligent, and
rather troubled. However, much of the population of the United States
is "rather troubled" and the vast majority do not commit suicide.
Neither, believes Barris, did she, and nor do I.

This isn't a book on Marilyn Monroe's tragic death: it's a photo-essay
centering on the last months of Monroe's life, a time when she was
certainly in a state of change, but one in which she optimistically
looked to the future. I suspect that is really Barris' motivation in
publishing this collection, to establish that the memory of this
woman, who he obviously had a great affinity with and affection for,
should not be stigmatized as a suicide.

Although her life was taken from her at far too early an age, an age
at which her best years were clearly ahead and which invites
speculation on what she would have done in the decades to
come-indeed,she might still be working, as Lauren Bacall still is and
Tony Randall did up until December 2003-I think MM should be thought
of as a success rather than a tragic victim.

These pictures are magnificent,a study in photographing people in
general and women particularly, and technically astounding. The color
images, almost certainly shot on the Kodachrome of the vintage, and
thirty-some years old when the book was prepared for litho, have a
lovely vintage tonality. A great model, a great photographer, great
cameras and films, and some beautiful scenery in Southern California
all add up to photos that would be worthwhile even if Marilyn had
never been famous and were still alive baking cookies in Ohio.

Shortly, it will have been 42 years since Marilyn Monroe lost her life
in her small house on Fifth Helena Drive. Nevertheless,she is still
the most famous of all movie stars, and she will be remembered and
recognized on film probably as long as our species exists. This book
evokes her triumph and her loss-and ours-as well as a book can, and
few readers will not be reduced to tears at some point while studying
it. Ultimately, though, we all must visit the place where she so early
went to, and few of us will have had her impact on the world. Thank
you, Marilyn, and George Barris too, for letting us see this beautiful
creature as, for so short a time, she was.
 




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