BIOPICS

OLIVIA COURTNEY, staff writer

The two years following the pandemic debuted some highly anticipated movies like “Don’t Worry Darling”, “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and “Dune” in theaters. There has also been a boom in the genre of biographical films, or biopics for short. Biopics detail events in a person’s, most often a celebrity, musician or politicians, life. The releases of these biopics have been quite controversial– and for good reason. Netflix’s 2022 biopic, “Blonde”, has gotten plenty of criticism on social media since its release in September, mainly for its inaccurate representation of Marilyn Monroe and the uncouth details of the movie. The film is based on Joyce Carol Oates novel, “Blonde”, which is a fictional narrative of Monroe’s rise to fame. Although the novel contains a blatant disclaimer of the fictionalization, the film does not. To the question of whether or not “Blonde” honors Monroe’s life, the answer is no. The film’s focus on the trauma Monroe endured throughout her childhood and career completely neglects her reported intelligence and wit, and renders her as merely a victim in every circumstance she faces. The narrative of abuse and sexual exploitation in Hollywood unconditionally contradicts the content of the film. It criticizes the sexual objectification of Monroe in Hollywood while simultaneously hyper-sexualizing not only the character of Marilyn, but also the actress who portrays her, Ana De Armas. While commentary on the exploitation and abuse in the film industry is very important, especially in a time before women had a platform to speak out, “Blonde” just completely misses the mark. Another case of excessive victimization of the biopic’s subject “Elvis”, the 2022 film which highlights Elvis Presley’s exploitation of his career by his manager, Colonel Parker. Contention arose from the depiction of Presley’s friendship with Black musicians in the Memphis music scene. Presley’s bond with some Black artists were accurately portrayed in the film, like Little Richard, who in an interview with the Rolling Stone claimed Presley boosted rock ‘n’ roll and blues music by introducing the genres to a white audience. However, other Black artists condemned Presley for taking the Memphis-style blues and rock ‘n’ roll without credit to its Black creators. Ray Charles, a pioneer of American soul music in the 1950s, stated in a 1999 interview that “all Elvis was doing was copying” Black music and dance. While the fictionalization of biopics is mentioned, or at the least insinuated, the audience does not always catch onto the distinction between fantasy and reality. That is where the danger of releasing fictional narratives about icons like Monroe or Presley stems. “I believe biopics should include both the good and the bad of the person’s life; however, what I’ve noticed is that the bad of a person’s life is often the part of their story that’s glorified… being fair in your portrayal is a key part of telling the story of a life,” Milo Khan, co-president of the Johns Creek High School film society says. This is not to say all biopics are harmful. For the most part, the purpose of the films is to honor a person’s life, and this can be done without creating a completely innocent narrative around them.