A reading of the poem Oración por Marilyn Monroe, by the Nicaraguan poet Ernesto Cardenal, serves to connect the fatal demise of the mythical actress with the misery and exploitation of American childhood. An icon of popular culture, images of Marilyn Monroe are reappropriated and given a new meaning based on editing as a symbol of imperialist oppression and humiliation. The prayer is not only for the goddess of cinema, but for all humanity.