Culture Corner

Movie: “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story” dir. Todd Haynes (1987)

In his directorial debut, Todd Haynes created a controversial biopic taking aim at the music industry and a culture that incentivizes repression and deprivation. Its unique nature lies in the fact that it is performed entirely by “Barbie” figures, as it follows Karen Carpenter, one half of the sibling musical duo The Carpenters, with her brother Richard, detailing private moments throughout their rise to stardom until she died in 1983 from complications with anorexia nervosa. Banned from circulation for the unauthorized use of the duo's music, the film uses the image of dolls to criticize the pressures put upon women to adhere to certain appearances, with Carpenter acting as the highly public example. The presentation of the Carpenter family dynamic postulates a high-control environment, but does not claim to know every detail, instead intersplicing the story with health information on anorexia and interviews about the Carpenter’s place within the cultural milieu of the late 20th century. Throughout its cutting social critique, the film remains sympathetic to Carpenter and her struggle to find help, asking us to remember her for the wonderful talent she brought into the world and mourning the circumstances that killed her.

Book: “In a Lonely Place” by Dorothy B. Hughes (1947)

Set against post-war Los Angeles, “In a Lonely Place” is a noir novel that refuses its audience the instinct to indulge in fantasy. Frequent visits to the beach and meandering days and nights of driving are underscored by the fact that there’s a killer on the loose. Air Force veteran Dix Steele narrates as an outside observer to the investigation, exposing his own inner world of entitlement and unmoored, yet unmotivated, ambitions. Examining misogyny, car culture and the city surrounding Golden Age cinema studios, the novel is a gripping story that leaves you on edge and suspicious at every turn, wishing you’d get just a bit more perspective on a tale that alludes to clarity.

TV Show: “Kevin Can F**k Himself” created by Valerie Armstrong (2021)

This genre-breaking series chronicles the married life of the couple Allison and Kevin McRoberts. Shifting camera setups with perspective, we watch the saturated lens of a typical multi-camera sitcom when Kevin is present, playing the goofy main character surrounded by his long-suffering wife and friends. But when Kevin leaves the room, the show becomes a single-camera setup more familiar to dramas and we see that Allison really is suffering under the weight of a stifling marriage to an unkind and uncaring husband, mourning opportunities she has cast aside for domestic security. As she further disentangles herself from her husband’s happy sitcom world, other characters begin to destabilize from their stock roles, questioning the behaviors made acceptable under the guise of “comedic” programming.

Album: “The Kick Inside” by Kate Bush (1978)

In 1978, 19-year-old Kate Bush made history as the first female artist to achieve a UK number one hit with a self-penned song. That song, “Wuthering Heights,” was the first single from her debut album, “The Kick Inside,” where the world was exposed to Bush’s unique musical talent through 13 singular tracks. Present on every song is Bush’s expansive range and atypical singing, giving the album an ethereal character as she sings lyrics of expressive and esoteric origin. Personal favorites include the aforementioned single, written after watching the end of a BBC adaptation of Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel, and “L’Amour Looks Something Like You,” a highly romantic (in every sense) description of a relationship brief in nature. Best suited for an initial listen in one sitting, the swelling sounds of “The Kick Inside” create a transportative music experience.

Written by: Hannah Osborn — arts@theaggie.org