After watching this documentary I now have
an even deeper understanding of anorexia nervosa. I think the narration used in this documentary is fabulous as it emphasizes the
seriousness of this condition that ultimately killed Karen Carpenter. Throughout the past couple years of my life, I have see several friends, acquaintances, and celebrities diagnosed with this horrible disease but have never had the condition
described so clearly as through the subtitles and narration that I saw in this film. It is very important that this disease is brought to light in such a visual and biographical way that makes people realize
the lengths people will go to in order to be thin. The amount of celebrities that have eating disorders today make it seem like a cultural trend. Luckily this documentary demonstrates the seriousness of this issue through Karen Carpenter's tragic story.
This documentary begins using a hand held camera as Karen’s mother searches through the house yelling Karen’s name. These shaky, point of view, camera movements made me feel as if I was the one searching for Karen. I love how Todd Haynes also decided to use dolls to explain the story of Karen’s deterioration. Both Karen and her brother Richard’s lives were artificially presented to the public, which is why the use of fake people to represent them is very fitting. Karen and Richard pretend to be perfect people with no issues when this was not the case. Throughout the video, I thought it was great that the cameras were positioned in a way that allowed the dolls to be moved around realistically. I often forgot that I was watching dolls as I was so intrigued by the story.
When Karen and Richard are in a business meeting, I found it interesting how the camera goes back and forth between them sitting on the couch, and between the man they are making a record deal with. The combination of
quick cuts, creepy music, and the man's giant hand makes the viewer understand the horror that is to come. When the music intensifies as a woman is shown screaming and falling, this really symbolizes the rest of Karen’s life. In addition, when Richard announces that Jack is taking them out for a celebration dinner, the
music builds, the
tension rises and the camera
quickly zooms into Karen’s face. The camera then switches to a
frozen shot of a
huge meal and then switches to a shot of
ex-lax. I really thought this line up of shots was a good representation of Karen’s thought process.
I was particularly fascinated by the scene where Karen is trying to walk through her apartment as flashes of the most crucial quotes and images of the documentary are featured including the big plate of food, when she
collapses on stage, when her brother is yelling at her, when her parents don’t want her to move away, when her mom yells "Karen", the ex-lax, and
the toilet. Another one of my favorite parts of this film is at the end when Karen is on the phone with her doctor explaining how she is maintaining a good weight and then proceeds to drink
Ipecac Syrup and the camera is thrown back with her head movements as she drinks this substance used to
induce vomiting. The way the camera moves in this scene is not only innovative, but is also descriptive of her personal experience.
In terms of
Karen’s music, it is interesting how all her songs in this documentary take on such a sad tone; whenever I used to hear her songs on the radio I always thought they were happy. When her music plays while the scale drops and various kinds of salads are show as meals with a side of ex-lax I felt as though
her life was really plummeting. Between the
narration, the use of dolls and
tiny props, the use of real people, and the use of Karen’s music, Todd Haynes created
a unique documentary. Ultimately, Karen Carpenter’s deterioration is successfully shown through the manipulation of a doll that is made increasingly thin.
Karen denies her condition in an interview:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCCGI8wLdZU
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