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Autopsy: The Last Hours of Karen Carpenter. Ch 5 31/07/14
3Sheets2TheWind
Posts: 3,028 Forum Member
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This is on now!
Anyone watching?
Anyone watching?
0
3Sheets2TheWind
Posts: 3,028 3Sheets2TheWind
Posts: 3,028 3Sheets2TheWind
Posts: 3,028
Comments
Yes, I am but having been a fan of hers, it is difficult viewing and will have to switch off soon. But ..... we'll see.
I know what you mean totally and it is a difficult watch.
I hadn't really realised that Karen had been prescribed tablets for depression in that she'd actually had a diagnosis that she was depressed.
I'd always thought that her mental health issues had always been skirted around by both family and doctors.
I've watched them all and in every single case the person has been on a cocktail of drugs before they died. So sad.
And so it seems with Karen Carpenter. Such a waste of young lives and talent.
Nothing new though if we think about Brian Jones, Elvis, plus the rest. It's getting late and can't think of all the names.
At least in Karen's case she wasn't taking the drugs to reach a high. She was taking them because of a horrific illness (which I know all too well myself after beating bulimia just five years ago) which made her truly believe that they would help her. Such a truly tragic end.
I've not seen a documentary before that said she was officially suffering from depression.
Karen had no idea or any comprehension of the damage she was doing with the stuff she was taking. I guess she thought that as the drugs themselves (emetine and synthroid) weren't illegal then taking a few more wouldn't do any damage.
It may have been over thirty years ago since Karen died, but this programme highlights what a massive loss it was. I think she had some very dark moments.
Indeed, if it was a doctor then they would have to be dodgy, & it's a wonder they didn't end up like Michael Jackson's doctor.... Or maybe she got them on the black market.
Did anyone notice that in the reconstruction the name on the pill container was Karen Burrows - was that her ex-husband's name?
I think that in the States it is easy for people to just buy any tablets that they want that are not listed as dangerous like herion and so on. Also with the Carpenter's money and the people they would have mixed with in entertainment, it would have probably been easy for them to obtain any drugs they wanted. They also said that Richard Carpenter was taking a large amount of drugs too.
I thought the remark that someone made that Karen had the best voice ever heard and the best voice that will ever be heard was stupid. How could anyone possibly know that someone with a better voice will not come along in the future. Although she had a very strong and somewhat unusual voice, I don't personally like it too much as I felt that she always sounded miserable on most of her songs, but then, that is perhaps because she was.
I think it will be a long time before anyone comes along to equal or better her voice. It was so pure, so emotive and spine tingling.
I got the impression from the documentary that the Carpenter family were trying to hide, or were somewhat ignoring the signs of Karen's anorexia and depression. I saw another documentary on the Carpenters where they said that Karen & Richard's parents and grandparents had a very strong work ethic and were in many ways perfectionists in what they did. It made me think whether this led to Karen having low self esteem, especially with Richard being held up as a musical genius and future star from a young age.
It's just such a shame that Karen (and Richard with his addiction) couldn't have got help earlier. It doesn't seem to have changed much in the celebrity world eaither as there are still a lot of skinny celebrities who could probably be classed as anorexic
In their defence (somewhat), I don't think there was half as much knowledge or awareness of eating disorders back then, as there is now and also I thought some relatives/friends said they were concerned but she'd hid it well and when people had asked her about eating, she batted off the subject and would do a lot to avoid talking about it. I suppose its a little like people with drug addictions, you can't force them in to rehab (well you kind of can but it won't really work) - they have to decide that they have the motivation to want to change.
It is very sad though. She died only a few days before I was born
Ideal weight would be 8.5-11.5 stone depending on body frame, some people look better fuller figured, others feel the look better slim. 7.5 stone would be a step in right direction. Cheryl (Cole) is 5 foot 3 and around 8 stone.
Looking forward to seeing this one.
There was some interesting content but it was another one of those sciencey documentaries that could easily have been packaged into about half the time...and probably would have been all the better for it.
Agree.
What did this documentary tell us that was really significant over and above what we already know?
How would any of us feel if a family member's autopsy was revealed in a TV programme to the world, even after 30 years?
I think the angle of this programme is a rather tacky one.
The Carpenters were brilliant but seriously screwed up / troubled characters.
Another of the biopic films of them showed an argument where Karen was pointing out to Richard his own issues with the pain killers while he was trying to advise her what to do.
I agree about the issue of her being almost forced out from behind her comfort zone behind the drums.
Seems such an obvious no no now.
Then again, hindsight makes us all wise after the event.
PS Still love to listen to their music but their story is always there as I listen.
I'm 5 foot 4 & 12 stone.