“Blond” author Joyce Carol Oates, who wrote the autobiographical novel on which the Netflix movie is based, has influenced the rhetoric surrounding Andrew Dominic’s controversial portrait of Marilyn Monroe. On Friday, Oates answered some burning questions from fans via Twitter, including backlash the film has received that he is tapping into Monroe’s shock.
Dubbed a fictional retelling of the movie star’s life and early death, Blonde recounts many tragedies during the life of Monroe (Anna de Armas), including the abuse she suffered from her mother and the sexual assaults she endured in Hollywood. In addition to outraging fans on social media, the film was also criticized by several film critics, including Manohla Dargis of The New York Times, who Books in its review: “Given all the indignities and atrocities Marilyn Monroe has suffered in her 36 years, it is comforting that she did not have to suffer the obscenities of ‘blonde’, the latest incendiary entertainment to exploit.”
When asked about her review of the film, Oates – who was not involved in producing the movie yet it was based on her book – tweeted: “I think it was/is a great work of cinematic art obviously not for everyone. Surprisingly, in the post #MeToo era, The blatant exposure to sexual predation in Hollywood has been interpreted as ‘exploitation.’ Andrew Dominic certainly intended to tell the Norma Jeane story honestly.”
In another tweet, Oates continued, saying the film was “not for the faint of heart.”
She added, “The director is stubborn and unshakable.” “The last 20 minutes or so are too strong to be shown. And above all, the great cinematography and the great performance by Ana de Armas.”
Regarding Monroe’s sexual exploitation, Oates writes that including her experience in the book and film is a way to expose those who have harmed her, as Monroe would not have been able to speak publicly in her life.
“For young star Norma Jane Baker, there was no chance she would ‘tell’/’report’ her rape. No one would believe or care about a starlet; she was dropped from the studio and blacklisted. So, ‘Blonde’ exposes rape, 50 or 60 years later,” Oates wrote. “The ruthless exploitation of Marilyn Monroe by, among others, John F. Kennedy is well known to both M.M. and Kennedy’s biographers; but the on-screen treatment is difficult for some viewers to see, so I suggest not seeing it.”
Oates also compared the film to the Rorschach test, in which different people see different images that appear in ink blots. “Some see Marilyn Monroe’s sexual abuse as ‘exploitation’ and others see it as revealing how a talented young woman was treated in Hollywood and elsewhere, before #MeToo,” she wrote.
“Blonde” is now streaming on Netflix.
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