Marilyn Monroe

This is another assignment for Comp 101 class we had to choose a picture and write a reaction for it.






Marilyn Monroe. Ballerina series by Milton H. Greene.


This photo was taken by Milton H. Greene in 1954 in his New York studio. It was chosen by Time Life as one of the three most popular images of the 20th century. Milton Greene became famous taking photos of many celebrities including Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner and Marilyn Monroe to name a few. Greene and Marilyn became close friends during photo shoots and he eventually rescued her from a dismal contract at Twentieth Century Fox. They started a production company together called Marilyn Monroe Productions. He helped her become the icon she was and still is today. The dress she is wearing was brought over by Anne Klein and is two sizes too small so she is holding it up throughout the shoot.
I chose this photograph to write about because it is one of my favorite photos of all time. I remember when I was a little girl my father bought a copy of one of the photos in this series. I was intrigued with it the moment it came in the house. My father was so proud of it and showed it to all who came to visit. I perceived Marilyn Monroe as being the most beautiful woman in the world. Why else would my father spend so much time and energy making sure everyone noticed
her hanging there? I would stand in front of the photo for long periods and stared. The one my father owned was a little different than this one. In his copy she was in color, smiling and seemingly having a great time.
I had forgotten about the photo until I was an adult and came across it in a gallery. I was again, intrigued. In my fathers copy she had been smiling, but in this one she is not. I was again struck by her position in the photo. The way she is crouched over making herself smaller or trying to hide something. The flirty way her toes are curled. The dress she has on, is not the usual glamorous dress you see her in, it is kind of ragged and unseemly not to mention it doesn’t even fit! These positions were similar to the photo my father had, but the look on her face and the position of her hand are different, they are a little protective and unsure. I think the scared little orphan girl she was, is showing on her face for the world to see. I liked this photo better than the one my father had. This one was very candid and shows vulnerability, the other one did not. I have a copy of this photo in my house now, the way it is on this page, not the smiling photo my father had. It reminds me that no matter how confident people seem that there is a little girl on the inside that is scared and unsure about life.