The United States of A-Marilyn: Politics and Powerful Women
By Christopher Chiasera
Dear Marilyn,A few weeks ago, while eating lunch outside the library, I was approached by none other than the wonderful, one and only Emma Stover. Generous enough to join in my meal, she sat down beside me at my table. We chatted briefly about miscellaneous subjects - how unbearably hot it was outside, how her afternoon class in the library had gone, how the little brown birds skittered on tiny feet across the concrete beneath us - until I remembered, quite suddenly, the InterArts project we had just recently been assigned: a gift, especially one of personal meaning or value, was to be given from each of us to a predesignated member of the class. Since you were my assignment, I figured I would ask Emma about the sorts of things you enjoy or are interested in, in hopes of creating something that you might like to receive. She looked away for a moment, to give the question thought, and resolved it with an answer more succinct than I had anticipated: “Marilyn,” she said, “likes politics and powerful women.”
Although I didn’t say it aloud, my first thought, to paraphrase, was:
Emma, what the hell am I supposed to do with that?
Needless to say, getting from Emma’s response to a workable idea was a long and difficult process. There were countless testaments to your interests and hobbies that I felt I could make: a poem or song lyrics about female empowerment, a short story about the woman’s plight in American politics, an essay on the history of femininity and its effect on society. I know you’re passionate about civil engagement, political activism, and public policy - but what significance could I extract from these ideas, or the themes they seemed to elucidate?
Ultimately, after an abundance of thought, I settled on making you something far more straightforward and to-the-point. My foremost and most immediate association with the idea of political empowerment is the Declaration of Independence - what could possibly be more empowering than the prospect of national self-determination, than liberation of oneself from tyranny? Furthermore, easily one of the most male-dominated professions of all recorded history, from inception to present, has been that of the politician. What if, I thought to myself, instead of the Founding Fathers having been white men, they were actually all Marilyn? Thus, my magnum opus, The United States of A-Marilyn (click the image to see annotations), was born. I hope you like it!