Cinémathèque française celebrates Marilyn Monroe centenary with exhibition

For the centenary of Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962), the Cinémathèque française in Paris is hosting an exhibition dedicated to the iconic actress. Born a year before the invention of talkies, Monroe witnessed cinema's evolution from color to widescreen. In 1953, she appeared on a Paris Match cover about television's threat to cinema. After her overdose in 1964, television had become ubiquitous, but cinema survived. However, the studio system and glamour of Monroe's era did not. New actresses like Natalie Wood, Faye Dunaway, and Jane Fonda emerged in the mid-1960s. Yet Monroe's image persists posthumously. Films like Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Misfits, and Some Like It Hot are still enjoyed, but Monroe is more powerful as an image than as an actress. She was a model before becoming a star and remained an icon of her own brand. She posed for photographers including Richard Avedon, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Eve Arnold, and Bert Stern, leaving an inexhaustible portfolio. Her reign spanned magazines, posters, social media, and merchandise. The exhibition includes a room dedicated to Monroe as a subject of representation, notably Andy Warhol's Marilyn. Her silhouette, like Charlie Chaplin's, has become a symbol of cinema and an era of infinite image circulation. The article references Walter Benjamin's concept of the 'work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction.'