With the October issue of Vanity Fair featuring a detective approach to the final years of Marilyn Monroe, I found myself wiki-ing her.
I hadn't realized that Playboy hadn't begun its print until the fifties, with Monroe as the debut model! When broken down, it only seems appropriate.
One: for the fact that she was established a sex symbol early in her career.
Two: a year before, a model with striking resemblance to Monroe posed for risque photos which instigated a media-hype that Monroe was the subject. Monroe's solution to the debacle was to simply admit that she was in fact the featured model- and that she had done it to pay her rent. She felt that the portrayal of herself as a struggling actress would be to her advantage. It was. Here's a nod to the first issue of men's magazine, Playboy, which features Monroe on the cover.
Monroe had established a sense of acceptance and respect for her role as a sex symbol. Essentially her decisions developed a career around this designed persona. Smart business, no?
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Over the years, Playboy has featured short stories by Ian Flemming, Vladmir Nakobov (I just finished Lolita! Am I a failure of a lit major for only now having read it?) and Margaret Atwood.
I'm tempted to gather my thoughts on Lolita- but I'm a bit overwhelmed at this time. As with Death in Venice, I am deep in a jungle of analytical thought that is most likely best left untangled at this time.
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