Carrie Fisher could have played her (life) cards better

As "Princess Leia"

I saw the original "Star Wars" movie in Brainerd MN. Having grown up reading lots of sci-fi comic books, story did not seem novel. Struck me as rather a generic sci-fi story. 

Sci-fi did not always have the highest reputation in Hollywood. Many of the 1950s offerings came across as campy. Let's say not high-budget. A movie of the genre did break through to be taken seriously sometimes. If the cards were played right, it did not even have to be high-budget. "The Blob" was a vehicle to launch Steve McQueen to stardom. 

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" gave us a serious message about the specter of nuclear weapons. Its re-make years later changed the theme to climate change. 

But at this moment I'm thinking of "Star Wars." Hollywood had decided to put big money into the basic outer space adventure sci-fi thing. So the production was elaborate and the promotion huge. The story still does not captivate me. As a comic book I would have considered it typical. 

I loved the comic book "Space Family Robinson" when I was a kid. This story "sort of" morphed into "Lost in Space." A connection, yes, but not totally direct. "Lost in Space" resulted in the campy TV series with the "Dr. Smith" character who was not in the comic book. 

"Star Wars" had the trio of primary heroes - something about the number three, eh? The dashing, charismatic Harrison Ford played one. Mark Hamill played the Force-sensitive Luke. Then let's consider the darling "princess." There was more to her image than we realized. She was unreservedly presented as the cute ingenue. 

You must consider that in front of a camera, a female presented this way must look thin. Let's emphasize: she must look more thin than would be needed to make the same impression away from the camera. Neil Cavuto of Fox News is known to say "the camera adds 20 pounds." So movie producers are most aware of how such things work, how an "attractive" woman must tend to her body, if the idea is to entrance audiences. Part of that is to make men salivate, in effect. 

 

The "O" word

It is sad because it is such an obvious case of "objectifying" women. Shall we admit this to ourselves? We demand the epitome of cuteness, for our entertainment benefit. It is true that our societal values have been slowly changing, so as to accept a heavier weight as being just fine. At the time of the birth of "Star Wars," no enlightenment on that front yet. 

Judy Garland as a young girl was known to be "tortured" this way. But there must have been countless such actresses. A writer for the Minneapolis newspaper recalled a few years ago meeting the actress Frances McDormand. I'll never forget reading that: the paper columnist was struck, actually shocked, by how small or minimal McDormand was. This is away from the movie screen. 

The screen adds weight, a cruel reality of the entertainment business, along with the reality that entertainment consumers have historically wanted to see ultra-cute girls and women, at least in certain roles. And the Star Wars female hero had to fit the desired look. 

Are these actresses tempted to take certain drugs in order to get to the desired look? Drugs in lieu of food, to maybe make them forget about food? Fisher ended up on a roller coaster of drugs, readily acknowledged by those close to her. She also went through unreasonable shifts in weight, to accommodate the movie business. 

 

What consequences

I will assert here that her drastic weight loss for her final movie appearance literally killed her. You might say it was the final nail in the coffin. So sad. 

Maybe it would have been a blessing for Carrie to choose a normal life away from entertainment. Real estate or something like that. Be yourself, consume food in a sensible and prudent way, maybe just some light social drinking. Maybe not even the latter. Sad how we used to call such people "teetotalers." Why a term for this? Why have any stigma for someone who simply chooses not to do booze or drugs? 

Heavy social drinking was quite accepted in the 1970s, strange decade. Youth turned to drugs partly as a gesture of rebellion. I can look back now and say it was terrible. I personally never liked marijuana. To this day I can feel rather an outcast among my age peers for saying that. 

I did a little research on Carrie Fisher at the time of her death. We had discovered how absolutely different she looked toward the end of her life, as if she had become a totally different person. I could be quite impolitic here and say she looked like an "old lady." I would deserve any slings or arrows I get for that, but I'm trying to be candid about how men tend to see things. 

I'm not going to review Fisher's sordid drug history here because it was out in the open. Info is readily available. 

Maybe it's the induced weight loss that concerned me more. Even for her first movie, at a time in her life when she was surely naturally slender, Carrie was required to lose ten pounds. Have you ever tried to lose ten pounds? Not so routine. If you look at "stills" of her from the first movie, she looks just anemic. But men saw this and saw "attractive." Hollywood producers know all about this. I'm sure Cavuto does too. 

When Carrie returned to her "Leia" role in the twilight of her life, Hollywood was unyielding in its demands of her: lose 35 pounds. Think of that! It's not good for your heart. Certainly it compounded the drug-related aspects of her body's decline. An aging person has a hard time withstanding this. 

I read reports that even though she lost the weight, Hollywood did some CGI things with her body. My opinion is that Carrie should have just turned down the role. My other opinion is that she should have retreated from drugs, long ago in her life. And in a galaxy far, far away. 

Carrie Fisher RIP.

 

Reminder in song

I have written a song based on my thoughts shared here. I have a neat melody for this. Perhaps the song isn't "upbeat" enough for commercial music standards. Well that's OK, I seek to make a serious point about how this talented woman's life went wayward. I invite you to read my lyrics. Her dad was a singer, remember? May the force be with you.

 

"Ode to Carrie Fisher"

by Brian Williams

I read comic books when I was just a little child

I preferred them to the books I got in school

As I turned the pages I was surely mesmerized

The science fiction was the height of cool

There's a story that was long ago and far away

On the movie screen it took us into space

Where we love to watch the heroes come and save the day

And see the princess with her pretty face

CHORUS:

You are still in our minds, Carrie

Were you close to our hearts? Very

With a dress of shimm-ring white

You were quite the splendid sight

Before the whole galaxy

You were born into a family with celebrity

How so few of us are able to relate

So your mother was an actress with such gravity

Your father was a singer who was great

And you dealt with how they chose to go their sep-rate ways

With the public pointing fingers at your dad

So you blossomed with a talent that would captivate

And rule the movie screen with such command

(repeat chorus)

Is it true that being famous is a cross to bear

Not the paradise we sometimes might assume

So the people who are living in its constant glare

Might just as soon be living on the moon

We have learned about the Golden Age of Hollywood

Back when Judy Garland had to keep her weight

And the angst it must have caused was barely understood

Enough to make a child almost break

(repeat chorus)

Did you really have to go and use such awful drugs

Was it something you discovered in your youth

Were they needed to maintain your body thin enough

If so your fans should know the awful truth

In the end I had to wonder what became of you

You were not the person I had come to know

You were looking like a senior with the years accrued

And not the face that launched a thousand boats

(repeat chorus)

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com