The paper puts forward a thesis that Marylin Monroe, regarded as a culture icon of the 20th century, has a lot in common with a shaman, because she experiences alternative states of consciousness under the influence of psychoanalytical sessions. There is an association between what is happening in the mind of a shaman who is in a trance and the soul of an actress – regarded as the idol of collective imagination – who is regularly psychoanalyzed. In her poems, letters and intimate notes, whose style is very psycho-biographic, Marylin Monroe gives an account of her auto-analysis, talks about a growing feeling of being different from others and writes down the moments of shamanic elation. By writing she expresses all things which fail to be expressed in other way, and her own notes are the post-notes of the trance states of the shaman. Nevertheless, she does not realize the fact that psychoanalysis is having a destructive effect on her life, and that it pushes her towards death, and finally kills her.
Barbie, the doll-symbol, the pop culture icon and significant prop on the artistic, political, social and business scenes, has been arousing emotions in subsequent generations for several decades. It is worth noting, however, that today Barbie is no longer just a passive instrument illustrating desired ideas, but has become a factor creating reality independent of her creators. In the present discussion, the author focuses on the interpretation of the phenomenon of Barbie perceived as an object and a thing in the sense of the Italian philosopher Remo Bodei. The article attempts to trace the transformation of the image of the Barbie doll from its creation to modern times, when its popularity peaked thanks to the excellent marketing strategy accompanying the distribution of Greta Gerwing’s 2023 film Barbie.
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