The Karen Carpenter Story

Author events, July 10-16

For the AJC

Eugene Author Dinners with Tom Junod, “Eat like a Man: The Only Cookbook a Man Will Ever Need.” 6:30 p.m. July 11. Dinner, reading, signing. $115 per person includes complimentary copy of book; reservations required. Restaurant Eugene, 2277 Peachtree Road N.E., Atlanta. 404-355-0321, www.acappellabooks.com/ev_junod_eugene.asp.

Atlanta journalist Junod, who won the James Beard Award in 2011 for his essay "My Mom Couldn't Cook," will read from Esquire magazine's cookbook. Readers may be familiar with Junod’s 2003 essay about Sept. 11, "The Falling Man," later made into a documentary film.

Randy L. Schmidt, "Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter," Ballroom Book Bash. 7 p.m. July 11. Reading, discussion, signing, music. $5 (can be applied to purchase of the book). Highland Inn Ballroom, 644 N. Highland Ave., Atlanta. www.acappellabooks.com/ev_schmidt.asp.

The story behind the velvety voice of superstar Karen Carpenter, whose life wasn’t as easy as she made it sound. Come hear covers of the Carpenters’ greatest hits by local musicians, including Becky Shaw and former Coolies guitarist Rob Gal.

Wendy Venet, "Sam Richards' Civil War Diary: A Chronicle of the Atlanta Home Front." 7 p.m. July 12. Lecture. Free. Carter Presidential Library & Museum Theater, 441 Freedom Parkway, Atlanta. 404-865-7100, www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov.

Georgia State University history professor Venet (“A Strong-Minded Woman”) will discuss Richards’ account of the Union bombardment of Atlanta, the evacuation of the city, the looting of his bookstore, and the influx of Yankee forces.

Amanda Foreman, “A World on Fire: Britain’s Crucial Role in the American Civil War.” 8 p.m. July 13. Lecture, signing. Free. Members $5, nonmembers $10. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4150, www.atlantahistorycenter.com.

Foreman (“Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire”) explores the role played by Britain and its citizens in the Civil War.

Ricky Riccardi, “What a Wonderful World: The Magic of Louis Armstrong’s Later Years.” 8 p.m. July 14. Lecture, signing. Free. Members $5, nonmembers $10. Atlanta History Center, 130 W. Paces Ferry Road N.W., Atlanta. 404-814-4150, www.atlantahistorycenter.com.

Jazz scholar Riccardi takes an in-depth look at one of the genre’s most influential figures.

Reviews : Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story : Cinelogue

, Sounds like a gossipy documentary meant to gather as many wagging tongues as possible to go into the particulars of the dead singer’s life, all while avoiding the true depths of despair that led to her untimely demise from anorexia nervosa. Haynes incorporates elements of behind-the-scenes documentary into his experimental 43-minute film, his parodic usage of talking heads and clinical voiceovers adding to the intellectual exercise of his formal daring.

He even frames the film as if it’s a master’s thesis, a female narrator flatly explaining the movie’s message: “As we investigate the story of Karen Carpenter’s life and death we are presented with an extremely graphic picture of the internal experience of contemporary femininity. We will see how Karen’s visibility as a popular singer only intensified certain difficulties many women experience in relation to their bodies.” It sounds cold and calculated and speaks to the intellectualism inherent in Haynes’ filmmaking.

But the director also treats Karen Carpenter as a person, despite the obvious symbolism in his decision to reenact her life not with actors but Barbie dolls in an immaculately created mini-world. The split between his wry framing and his sympathetic view of Carpenter allows for a more rounded reading of the situation: Haynes’ intellectual remove gives him the freedom to extrapolate from Carpenter prototypical advances in a number of his core themes, while his ability to get in close and feel for a woman pulled apart at the seams keeps the film from becoming a condescending, sneering piece of avant-garde deconstruction.

In his minute recreation of the Carpenters’ family home in Downey, California, Haynes can exert total control over his recurring presentation of suburbia as a soul-rotting, reactionary prison (see also: Safe in its depiction of debilitating illnesses brought on by social, not disease, vectors.