Editing Marilyn Monroe (section)

== Legacy ==
{{Main|Marilyn Monroe in popular culture}}
[[File:Monroe in Niagara (1953 publicity photo).jpg|thumb|Monroe in a publicity photo for [[Niagara (1953 film)|''Niagara'']] in 1953. One of the most iconic photos of Monroe, it was the basis for [[Andy Warhol]]'s 1962 silkscreen painting, ''[[Marilyn Diptych]]''.]]
According to ''The Guide to United States Popular Culture'', "as an icon of American popular culture, Monroe's few rivals in popularity include [[Elvis Presley]] and [[Mickey Mouse]]... no other star has ever inspired such a wide range of emotions—from lust to pity, from envy to remorse."{{sfn|Chapman|2001|pp=542–543}} Art historian [[Gail Levin (art historian)|Gail Levin]] stated that Monroe may have been "the most photographed person of the 20th century",<ref name=levin>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/marilyn-monroe-filmmaker-interview-gail-levin/63/|title=Filmmaker interview – Gail Levin|date=July 19, 2006|publisher=[[Public Broadcasting Service]]|access-date=July 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160810035145/http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/marilyn-monroe-filmmaker-interview-gail-levin/63/|archive-date=August 10, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> and The American Film Institute has named her [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars|the sixth greatest female screen legend]] in [[Cinema of the United States|American film history]]. The [[Smithsonian Institution]] has included her on their list of "100 Most Significant Americans of All Time",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/meet-100-most-significant-americans-all-time-180953341/|title=Meet the 100 Most Significant Americans of All Time|last=Frail|first=T.A.|date=November 17, 2014|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]]|access-date=September 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190321144943/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonianmag/meet-100-most-significant-americans-all-time-180953341/|archive-date=March 21, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> and both ''Variety'' and [[VH1]] have placed her in the top ten in their rankings of the greatest popular culture icons of the twentieth century.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4344910.stm|title=Beatles Named 'Icons of Century'|date=October 16, 2005|publisher=BBC|access-date=September 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306201152/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4344910.stm|archive-date=March 6, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release|title=The 200 Greatest Pop Culture Icons Complete Ranked List|publisher=[[VH1]]|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-200-greatest-pop-culture-icons-complete-ranked-list-70807437.html|access-date=September 10, 2015|via=[[PR Newswire]]|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511154709/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-200-greatest-pop-culture-icons-complete-ranked-list-70807437.html}}</ref>

Hundreds of books have been written about Monroe. She has been the subject of numerous films, plays, operas, and songs, and has influenced artists and entertainers such as [[Andy Warhol]] and [[Madonna]].{{sfnm|1a1=Churchwell|1y=2004|1pp=12–15|2a1=Hamscha|2y=2013|2pp=119–129}}<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/16/michel-schneider-top-10-marilyn-monroe-books|title=Michel Schneider's Top 10 Books About Marilyn Monroe|last=Schneider|first=Michel|date=November 16, 2011|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928145942/http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/nov/16/michel-schneider-top-10-marilyn-monroe-books|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> She also remains a valuable brand:<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,991257,00.html|title=The Blond Marilyn Monroe|date=June 14, 1999|magazine=Time|access-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106091538/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C991257%2C00.html|archive-date=January 6, 2016|url-status=live|last1=Rudnick|first1=Paul}}</ref> her image and name have been licensed for hundreds of products, and she has been featured in advertising for brands such as [[Max Factor]], [[Chanel]], [[Mercedes-Benz]], and [[Absolut Vodka]].{{sfn|Churchwell|2004|pp=33, 40}}<ref name="www.theguardian.com max-factor-cant-claim-marilyn-monroe2">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/09/max-factor-cant-claim-marilyn-monroe|title=Max Factor Can't Claim Credit for Marilyn Monroe|last=Churchwell|first=Sarah|date=January 9, 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150825013827/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/09/max-factor-cant-claim-marilyn-monroe|archive-date=August 25, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

Monroe's enduring popularity is tied to her conflicted public image.{{sfnm|1a1=Fuller|1a2=Lloyd|1y=1983|1p=309|2a1=Marcus|2y=2004|2pp=17–19, 309|3a1=Churchwell|3y=2004|3pp=21–42}} On the one hand, she remains a sex symbol, beauty icon and one of the most famous stars of [[classical Hollywood cinema]].{{sfn|Churchwell|2004|p=8}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/remembering-marilyn-monroe-43964747/|title=Remembering Marilyn Monroe|last=Stromberg|first=Joseph|date=August 5, 2011|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=September 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928090337/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/remembering-marilyn-monroe-43964747/|archive-date=September 28, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/marilyn-icon|title=Marilyn: The Icon|last=Wild|first=Mary|date=May 29, 2015|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=September 10, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906134813/http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/features/marilyn-icon|archive-date=September 6, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> On the other, she is also remembered for her troubled private life, unstable childhood, struggle for professional respect, as well as her death and the conspiracy theories that surrounded it.{{sfnm|1a1=Fuller|1a2=Lloyd|1y=1983|1p=309|2a1=Steinem|2a2=Barris|2y=1987|2pp=13–15|3a1=Churchwell|3y=2004|3p=8}} She has been written about by scholars and journalists who are interested in gender and feminism;<ref name="Guardianfem">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/features/featurepages/0,,498050,00.html|title=Happy Birthday, Marilyn|date=May 29, 2001|work=The Guardian|access-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611194816/http://www.theguardian.com/film/features/featurepages/0,,498050,00.html|archive-date=June 11, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> these writers include [[Gloria Steinem]], [[Jacqueline Rose]],{{sfn|Rose|2014|pp=100–137}} Molly Haskell,{{sfn|Haskell|1991|pp=254–265}} Sarah Churchwell,<ref name="www.theguardian.com max-factor-cant-claim-marilyn-monroe2"/> and Lois Banner.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jul/21/marilyn-monroe-feminist-psychoanalysis-lois-banner|title=Marilyn Monroe: Proto-feminist?|last=Banner|first=Lois|date=July 21, 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=November 7, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151121051705/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/jul/21/marilyn-monroe-feminist-psychoanalysis-lois-banner|archive-date=November 21, 2015|url-status=live|ref=none}}</ref> Some, such as Steinem, have viewed her as a victim of the studio system.<ref name="Guardianfem" />{{sfnm|1a1=Steinem|1a2=Barris|1y=1987|1pp=15–23|2a1=Churchwell|2y=2004|2pp=27–28}} Others, such as Haskell,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/22/reviews/981122.22haskelt.html|title=Engineering an Icon|last=Haskell|first=Molly|date=November 22, 1998|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307052723/https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/11/22/reviews/981122.22haskelt.html|archive-date=March 7, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Rose,{{sfn|Rose|2014|pp=100–137}} and Churchwell,<ref name="www.theguardian.com max-factor-cant-claim-marilyn-monroe2"/> have instead stressed Monroe's proactive role in her career and in the creation of her public persona.

[[File:James Gill's "Marylin Tryptich".jpg|thumb|Left panel from [[pop art]]ist [[James Gill (artist)|James Gill]]'s painting ''Marilyn Triptych'' (1962)|left]]
Owing to the contrast between her stardom and troubled private life, Monroe is closely linked to broader discussions about modern phenomena such as mass media, fame, and consumer culture.{{sfn|Hamscha|2013|pp=119–129}} According to academic Susanne Hamscha, Monroe has continued relevance to ongoing discussions about modern society, and she is "never completely situated in one time or place" but has become "a surface on which narratives of American culture can be (re)constructed".{{sfn|Hamscha|2013|pp=119–129}} Similarly, Banner has called Monroe the "eternal shapeshifter" who is re-created by "each generation, even each individual... to their own specifications".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2012-aug-05-la-oe-0805-banner-marilyn-monroe-icon-biography-20120805-story.html|title=Marilyn Monroe, the Eternal Shape Shifter|last=Banner|first=Lois|date=August 5, 2012|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|access-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517063539/https://www.latimes.com/opinion/la-xpm-2012-aug-05-la-oe-0805-banner-marilyn-monroe-icon-biography-20120805-story.html|archive-date=May 17, 2019|url-status=live|ref=none}}</ref>

Monroe remains a [[cultural icon]], but critics are divided on her legacy as an actress. [[David Thomson (film critic)|David Thomson]] called her body of work "insubstantial"<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/105847/the-inscrutable-life-and-death-marilyn-monroe|title=The Inscrutable Life and Death of Marilyn Monroe|last=Thomson|first=David|author-link=David Thomson (film critic)|date=August 6, 2012|magazine=New Republic|access-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151210190429/https://newrepublic.com/article/105847/the-inscrutable-life-and-death-marilyn-monroe|archive-date=December 10, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Pauline Kael]] wrote that she "used her lack of an actress's skills to amuse the public. She had the wit or crassness or desperation to turn cheesecake into acting—and vice versa; she did what others had the 'good taste' not to do".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/04/reviews/mailer-marilyn.html|title=Marilyn: A Rip-Off With Genius|last=Kael|first=Pauline|author-link=Pauline Kael|date=July 22, 1973|work=The New York Times|access-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325182658/https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/04/reviews/mailer-marilyn.html|archive-date=March 25, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> In contrast, [[Peter Bradshaw]] wrote that Monroe was a talented comedian who "understood how comedy achieved its effects",<ref name="bradshaw">{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/09/cannes-marilyn-monroe|title=Cannes and the Magic of Marilyn Monroe|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Bradshaw|date=May 9, 2012|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923131249/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/may/09/cannes-marilyn-monroe|archive-date=September 23, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Roger Ebert]] wrote that "Monroe's eccentricities and neuroses on sets became notorious, but studios put up with her long after any other actress would have been blackballed because what they got back on the screen was magical".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-some-like-it-hot-1959|title=Some Like It Hot|last=Ebert|first=Roger|date=January 9, 2000|publisher=Roger Ebert.com|access-date=July 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160725091543/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-some-like-it-hot-1959|archive-date=July 25, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Jonathan Rosenbaum]] stated that "she subtly subverted the sexist content of her material" and that "the difficulty some people have discerning Monroe's intelligence as an actress seems rooted in the ideology of a repressive era, when super feminine women weren't supposed to be smart".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/marilyn-monroes-brains/Content?oid=920660|title=Marilyn Monroe's Brains|last=Rosenbaum|first=Jonathan|author-link=Jonathan Rosenbaum|date=December 1, 2005|work=Chicago Reader|access-date=August 30, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905085251/http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/marilyn-monroes-brains/Content?oid=920660|archive-date=September 5, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2024, the [[Los Angeles City Council]] approved [[12305 Fifth Helena Drive|Monroe's house]] being designated as a Historic Cultural Monument.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/marilyn-monroe-house-landmark-demolition-1236050076/|title=Marilyn Monroe's Brentwood House Declared a Landmark, Saving It From Demolition|first=Pat|last=Saperstein|date=June 26, 2024}}</ref>