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Fame in the music industry tends to fuck people up, big time. Especially when it happens to a young person whose own family members have a vested interest in his or her success. Britney Spears, of course, is just the latest example. (See also: Jackson, Michael). For much of her life, every aspect of the singer's existence was carefully controlled by other people, including her parents. (And we all know how that's turning out!) But before Britney, there was Karen Carpenter, the singer who was so tightly controlled by her parents that they didn't let her move out of their home, even though she was in her mid-twenties. (Carpenter's self-destruction manifested itself in an extreme eating disorder that eventually killed her.) Above, a clip from director Todd Haynes' Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, a biopic played out with Barbie dolls that was pulled from distribution in 1990 due to song licensing issues.
Fame in the music industry tends to fuck people up, big time. Especially when it happens to a young person whose own family members have a vested interest in his or her success. Britney Spears, of course, is just the latest example. (See also: Jackson, Michael). For much of her life, every aspect of the singer's existence was carefully controlled by other people, including her parents. (And we all know how that's turning out!) But before Britney, there was Karen Carpenter, the singer who was so tightly controlled by her parents that they didn't let her move out of their home, even though she was in her mid-twenties. (Carpenter's self-destruction manifested itself in an extreme eating disorder that eventually killed her.) Above, a clip from director Todd Haynes' Related: Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story [Wikipedia]
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