BURY YOUR BLONDES: THE LIFE, DEATH, AND ONGOING OBSESSION WITH MARILYN MONROE AND ANNA NICOLE SMITH
BURY YOUR BLONDES: THE LIFE, DEATH, AND ONGOING OBSESSION WITH MARILYN MONROE AND ANNA NICOLE SMITH
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Date
2024
Authors
Clemons, Gabriel Isaiah
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Publisher
Middle Tennessee State University
Abstract
This thesis explores why the media and the public were – and continue to be – so
obsessed with Marilyn Monroe and Anna Nicole Smith. Qualitative textual analysis is
utilized to analyze coverage of both women within the New York Times both during their
lives and after their deaths. The dialogue used to discuss Monroe and Smith within these
articles is examined to show the Times articles perpetuating common themes such as a
preoccupation with their personal lives, a dismissal of their professional abilities, and an
obsession with reporting every detail of their health struggles. In perpetuating these
themes, the Times helped construct and firmly establish the “tragic blonde” archetype that
is so strongly associated with Monroe and Smith.
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Keywords
Anna Nicole Smith,
Marilyn Monroe,
Women's studies