Bio-adaptation or necro-adaptation? Three versions of <i>Blonde</i>

Abstract Andrew Dominik’s Blonde (2022) is one of many fictional biopics of Marilyn Monroe and an adaptation of both Joyce Carol Oates’s 2000 novel and Joyce Chopra’s 2001 miniseries of the same name. Dominik’s version is unique in that it is not focused on Monroe’s life but rather makes her death the defining moment in her story; this film is not a bio-adaptation but a necro-adaptation. This analysis applies Michele Aaron’s concept of necroromanticism and Laura Mulvey’s articulation of the death-drive narrative structure to demonstrate that death drives Dominik’s narrative about Monroe, betraying his effort to strip her of her voice and agency. In contrast, Oates’s novel and Chopra’s miniseries focus on Monroe’s vitality, constituting bio-adaptations.