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Planned Parenthood Slams Netflix's 'Blonde' for Contributing to 'Anti-Abortion Propaganda'
https://variety.com/2022/film/news/planned-parenthood-blonde-marilyn-monroe-anti-abortion-1235390385/After making its Netflix debut on Sept. 28, Andrew Dominick’s “Blonde” has received an intense wave of criticism among viewers for several reasons, largely centering on its depiction and fictionalization of Marilyn Monroe’s life, which has been described as “exploitative.” Now Planned Parenthood has released a statement against the film, alleging it contributes to “anti-abortion propaganda.”
In the film, based on Joyce Carol Oates’ novel of the same title, Monroe (played by Ana de Armas) is seen being forced to go through two illegal abortions, both of which leave a lasting scar on the Hollywood star. One scene in particular shows Monroe talking to a photoreal CGI version of her unborn fetus, which sympathetically questions her about its own fate asking, “You won’t hurt me this time, will you?”
With the film industry taking a deeper look at its depictions of abortion in light of the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade on June 24, Planned Parenthood’s national director of arts and entertainment engagement Caren Spruch chimed in on the conversation, calling its portrayal potentially harmful.
“As film and TV shapes many people’s understanding of sexual and reproductive health, it’s critical these depictions accurately portray women’s real decisions and experiences. While abortion is safe, essential health care, anti-abortion zealots have long contributed to abortion stigma by using medically inaccurate descriptions of fetuses and pregnancy,” Spruch said in a statement shared with Variety. “Andrew Dominik’s new film, ‘Blonde,’ bolsters their message with a CGI-talking fetus, depicted to look like a fully-formed baby.”
“Planned Parenthood respects artistic license and freedom, however, false images only serve to reinforce misinformation and perpetuate stigma around sexual and reproductive health care. Every pregnancy outcome — especially abortion — should be portrayed sensitively, authentically, and accurately in the media,” Spruch added. “We still have much work to do ensure that everyone who has an abortion can see themselves onscreen. It is a shame that the creators of ‘Blonde’ chose to contribute to anti-abortion propaganda and stigmatize people’s health care decisions instead.”
The Hollywood Reporter first reported Planned Parenthood’s statement.
*the end*
7 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
Director Andrew Dominik’s experimental Marilyn Monroe biopic gets downright weird and borderline offensive in its discussion of abortion
Netflix’s Blonde from director Andrew Dominik transforms Ana de Armas into Marilyn Monroe (visually, at least) with a stunning level of detail that’ll make you wonder whether any post-production VFX was involved. Outside of its optic uncanniness, there’s nothing about de Armas’ performance itself as Marilyn that raises that question. But it’s somewhat hard not to consider after Blonde introduces one of its strangest characters: a judgmental CGI fetus who sometimes talks to Marilyn Monroe from within her uterus to shame her for having had an abortion in the past.
...
About an hour into Blonde, after Marilyn’s mother has been committed to a mental hospital and the platinum blonde actress has broken up with Chaplin and Robinson (a relationship also created for the film), Monroe is devastated to learn that she’s become pregnant not long before she’s meant to begin shooting Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. In a panic, she calls Mr. Z, who makes quick work of arranging an abortion for her the next day. As Marilyn’s tearfully relaying her story to her rapist, Blonde fixes its focus on the telephone cord in her hand and cuts to its first shot of the CGI fetus inside of her with its umbilical cord displayed prominently, almost as if to imply that it’s tapped in to the conversation taking place outside.
It’s clear that Blonde thinks the juxtaposition of umbilical and telephone cords is quite clever, especially when the fetus begins to speak (seemingly through the cord) later in the movie. But in the context of the scene where the fetus (which is supposed to be relatively early in its development) first appears, the weird attempt at profundity ends up making it seem like Blonde’s creative team might not have known how undeveloped fetuses actually are that early on in a pregnancy.
...
Rumors about Monroe having had abortions have been swirling around for decades, but it was no secret that she experienced multiple miscarriages during her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller (portrayed in the film by Adrien Brody). There were plenty of dramatic and scandalous highlights throughout Monroe and Miller’s relationship that Blonde could have turned into a burning focal point representing the impact it had on her. But the movie strangely chooses to zoom in on one of Monroe’s miscarriages, blame her for it, and conflate it with abortion — a baffling combination of decisions that winds up making Blonde play like a piece of anti-abortion propaganda.
Just moments before Monroe trips and falls — causing her to miscarry — Blonde finds her tending to a flower bush in a garden and being shocked when her gestating fetus speaks to her, imploring her “not do what you did the last time.” In one of the movie’s few moments of accidental comedy, Monroe points out to the fetus that it couldn’t possibly be the same fetus from before, to which the fetus replies “that was me; it’s always me,” which is hilarious because that’s absolutely not how pregnancy works.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/30/23374889/blonde-movie-netflix-fetus-scene
Netflix’s Blonde from director Andrew Dominik transforms Ana de Armas into Marilyn Monroe (visually, at least) with a stunning level of detail that’ll make you wonder whether any post-production VFX was involved. Outside of its optic uncanniness, there’s nothing about de Armas’ performance itself as Marilyn that raises that question. But it’s somewhat hard not to consider after Blonde introduces one of its strangest characters: a judgmental CGI fetus who sometimes talks to Marilyn Monroe from within her uterus to shame her for having had an abortion in the past.
...
About an hour into Blonde, after Marilyn’s mother has been committed to a mental hospital and the platinum blonde actress has broken up with Chaplin and Robinson (a relationship also created for the film), Monroe is devastated to learn that she’s become pregnant not long before she’s meant to begin shooting Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. In a panic, she calls Mr. Z, who makes quick work of arranging an abortion for her the next day. As Marilyn’s tearfully relaying her story to her rapist, Blonde fixes its focus on the telephone cord in her hand and cuts to its first shot of the CGI fetus inside of her with its umbilical cord displayed prominently, almost as if to imply that it’s tapped in to the conversation taking place outside.
It’s clear that Blonde thinks the juxtaposition of umbilical and telephone cords is quite clever, especially when the fetus begins to speak (seemingly through the cord) later in the movie. But in the context of the scene where the fetus (which is supposed to be relatively early in its development) first appears, the weird attempt at profundity ends up making it seem like Blonde’s creative team might not have known how undeveloped fetuses actually are that early on in a pregnancy.
...
Rumors about Monroe having had abortions have been swirling around for decades, but it was no secret that she experienced multiple miscarriages during her marriage to playwright Arthur Miller (portrayed in the film by Adrien Brody). There were plenty of dramatic and scandalous highlights throughout Monroe and Miller’s relationship that Blonde could have turned into a burning focal point representing the impact it had on her. But the movie strangely chooses to zoom in on one of Monroe’s miscarriages, blame her for it, and conflate it with abortion — a baffling combination of decisions that winds up making Blonde play like a piece of anti-abortion propaganda.
Just moments before Monroe trips and falls — causing her to miscarry — Blonde finds her tending to a flower bush in a garden and being shocked when her gestating fetus speaks to her, imploring her “not do what you did the last time.” In one of the movie’s few moments of accidental comedy, Monroe points out to the fetus that it couldn’t possibly be the same fetus from before, to which the fetus replies “that was me; it’s always me,” which is hilarious because that’s absolutely not how pregnancy works.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/30/23374889/blonde-movie-netflix-fetus-scene
Cheesus, the more I read about this movie...
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