American Monroe: The Making of a Body Politic

by S. Paige Baty

Book Overview

Marilyn Monroe is alive and well in the American imagination. She is the stuff of memory, living as icon, mysterious suicide, transgressive goddess--a character that tells the story of America itself. American Monroe explores the ways we remember Marilyn--from playing cards, books, and fan clubs, to female impersonators, political conspiracies, and high art, her ubiquitous presence informs our cultural common ground.

Finding in Marilyn...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520088069
• ISBN13: 9780520088061
• Release Date: August 1995
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 197 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Novel Approach to Monroe

S. Paige Baty's American Monroe is one of the most riveting academic books on popular culture I have ever read. The author does an excellent job of explaining how the star has functioned as an icon of popular memory over the past three and a half decades, exploring her image from cultural, historical, and political angles.She explains that the "real" story began once Monroe died, in so much as her corpse provided the ground for recent history (Hollywood, Presidential politics, feminism) to be written. If you're looking for an ordinary biography of Marilyn, or a typical rendering of her place in history, don't look here. But if you'd like to gain a critical or philosophical perspective on the star, buy this book! Now!Of particular interest is Baty's take on mass media, virtual communities bound by the internet, and a re-thinking of the way American citizens cast our vote in the democratic process.