At the risk of offending all the friends and colleagues who’ve been involved in all the MARILYN events across various institutions in London (BFI, NPG), can someone tell me what the point of it is? Marilyn does not need your help. There was a private, and very popular, exhibition which Adrian and I went to just last year. These events, at this level, involve so much money, organisation, scholarship, resources that could have been focussed on bringing something new to light. There’s something unpleasant about the NATIONAL portrait gallery devoting all those resources and publicity to Marilyn when figures like Deborah Kerr and Jean Simmons risk oblivion. Lastly, it smacks of the very same kind of exploitation that plagued Marilyn all her life. Yes, she’ll bring the punters in. But is that enough for major national institutions to be involved? Shouldn’t they be more daring, more imaginative, more concerned with national histories, education and the public good? The NFT showing Marilyn films is understandable, she is part of national history of filmgoing; the NPG’s involvement, less so. Their combined efforts, bewildering. Nonetheless, I will of course be going.

José Arroyo