The second a moment is created ... till its firmly embedded in history

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) - 

"Monroe's rendition of the song "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" and her pink dress are considered iconic, and the performance has inspired homages by Madonna, Geri Halliwell, Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, Anna Nicole Smith, Christina Aguilera, and James Franco"

This truly is an iconic piece of movie. The colours and styling are something that has been created and reinterpreted in many ways offering a range of outputs. Marilyn herself is a historic icon whose life has been emulated and copied to no extent. Campaigns, comedians, music videos and also animation have all created variations of this iconic moment.   

Madonna: (1984)

Madonna is an icon in her own right. She is a musical veteran and I find it really interesting that she has chosen to interpret ‘gentlemen prefer blondes’ for her ‘material girl’ music video. I think that the main reason is the relevance, the song relates to the original of ‘diamonds are a girl’s best friend’.  Madonna has copied the video down to a T. it almost the same, the styling, choreography.

Considering this for my work:   I think that it’s interesting that she has decided to copy Marilyn completely. In my photography work I would like to do this when needed. I think that in some cases, the important factors are too important to change, but if possible I would like to put my own twist on an image if I can to show my own personality. I feel like the video for ‘Material Girl’ is trying so hard to be the same as the scene from ‘Gentlemen prefer blondes’ that you really loose Madonna’s personality and just see her as Marilyn.

Anna Nicole Smith: 

Anna Nicole Smith openly admitted to trying to emulate her life around Marilyn’s, so it comes to no surprise that she also recreated iconic images of her idol. Unlike Madonna’s take, this was for a campaign and there is a change as the title has now seen the addition of ‘fur-free’ among the ‘gentleman prefer blondes’ original title. It takes photographic form and really is a striking image. The image doesn't portray the dance number of the original or have the song to go with it, yet we still know the iconic moment due to the styling, and the set up. You wouldn't even need the title to understand just what they were referring to.  The question is though can a replica of an iconic image then become iconic in its own right?

Miss Piggy:

Even the Muppet's got involved and offered there take on this. Really just shows how a moment in time can really effect a range of areas in the creative world and can be reproduced in many way. Really makes an impact. 

Overview:

When looking at this and researching images around this scene from the film, it’s really a basic copy, no one really puts there twist on it. The hair, the clothes and the setting are always the same in every version of this. Is that then the important factor in this example? Not the person but the styling?