Jean Peters

Marilyn Monroe’s legacy in popular culture and film varies greatly depending on whom one asks. For some, her photo shoots and the unforgettably attractive looks advertised through them meant she was, and for some, still is, the epitome of sex appeal. For others, her roles in films like Some Like It Hot or The Seven Year Itch painted her image as a great leading lady in romantic comedies and, in the case of the former, somewhat of a ditsy dame.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, the major international powers and their smaller, less imposing friends aligned themselves along two extremely divisive ideological lines: the Western pro-capitalists and the Eastern Bloc, the latter driven by a bastardized version of communism. The present column shan’t delve into lessons of political or economic history of the mid-twentieth century, save to mention the above detail and tie it into film noir.