Thursday, October 08, 2009

Superstar


This is my favourite Sonic Youth song.



From YouTube:

Todd Haynes [Far from heaven, Safe] burst upon the scene two years after his graduation with his now-infamous 43-minute "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story" (1987). Seizing upon the inspired gimmick of using Barbie and Ken dolls to sympathetically recount the story of the pop star's death from anorexia, he spent months making miniature dishes, chairs, costumes, Kleenex and Ex-Lax boxes, and Carpenters' records to create the film's intricate, doll-size mise-en-scene. The result was both audacious and accomplished as the dolls seemingly ceased to be dolls leaving the audience weeping for the tragic singer.

Unfortunately, Richard Carpenter's enmity for the film led to the serving of a "cease and desist" order in 1989, and despite the director's offer "to only show the film in clinics and schools, with all money going to the Karen Carpenter memorial fund for anorexia research," "Superstar" remains buried, one of the few films in modern America that cannot be seen by the general public.

9 comments:

DILLIGAF said...

she isn't really dead you know...she's just very shy and stands sideways so nobody can see her...;-)

Candy Minx said...

Hey 4Dins, there was an old joke that used to kick around...

If Mama Cass had shared her sandwich with Karen Carpenter, they'd both still be alive.

piscadoro king fisher said...

lol @ that joke.

candy i'm a big fan of both sonic youth and todd haynes. did you like "i'm not there?"

Beej said...

Oh Candy! What a joke! har har..Unfortunately, It's probably true.

piscadoro king fisher said...

"it's funny cause it's true" -- homer simpson

Beej said...

Hi Mike! Gawd, I sound like homer now. Not good! heehee

Candy Minx said...

No, Beej, it's okay to sound like Homer Simpson sometimes...we all have our Homerisms! (thats why the show is so massively popular)

Mike, glad that joke still has some relevance all these years later.

I recommend people watch the Karen Carpenter movie on YouTube if they can...it's a rare opportunity.

I LOVE "I'm Not There", in fact, we own it on dvd. I just watched it again a couple weeks ago. I'm a massive fan of it and think itis brilliant. I also love "Velvet Underground" and watched it again recently. I'm mad for Todd Haynes movies.

piscadoro king fisher said...

yeah i have watched it a few times with and without commentary.

"velvet goldmine" you mean right? the unauthorized bowie movie. love that one.

brassawe said...

You, too, have a talent for finding things that I myself would have never stumbled upon but that are truly affecting. That "Superstar" cover is amazing, and I was really getting into it when it shut down.

And how do you explain the hit on your blog from Islamabad?

generated by sloganizer.net