Yes, it has been four years since my last MTSW episode, but I feel inspired about something I viewed last evening. I'm going generalize everything because I don't want to give the impression that I'm actually promoting this film because I am not. The film can be found on a streaming service that rhymes with goo goo. It's made by a former child actress who found it very difficult in transitioning into a mature adult. Unlike many of us, this actress had her own video camera growing up and documented quite a bit of her time going from a child star to an adult who felt that show business left her behind. A child actor who doesn't make it as adult actor is not uncommon. Many of her friends were also child stars and they all went through a rebellious streak during their teenage years. Teens acting rebellious is not uncommon. She was very confused about sex during the time. Teenagers being confused about sex is not uncommon. She also had a very frightening first sexual encounter which she seems to be leaving the incident to us to decide if the encounter was actually rape. It sure sounds like it to me and if you know the male actor in question, I do not think you will be surprised whatsoever. She had a crush on this actor in her pre-teens so when she started dating him, this started out like a dream come true. It soon turned into something much more complicated by the fact that after some time apart following this harrowing experience, she started hanging out with him again for a time. I would like to think that this behavior would be uncommon but similar stories I've heard tell me otherwise. She also lost a few friends to suicide over the years. Again, I wish this was uncommon but, again, similar stories make it not so rare. At the end of the film, there is a Suicide Prevention Hotline phone number that appears on the screen. I would normally joke around here and say 'hey, the film wasn't THAT bad!' However, I do believe she is being sincere about this subject, so I do commend her for being open about it. But at the end of the film, I was left wondering many things. The experiences she went through are not very different from the experiences we all go through except most of us haven't been in show business, so I'm left wondering if part of the film's message is 'Child stars: They're just like us!' I'm also wondering if her trip down nostalgia lane was actually worth it. It sounds like some repressed emotions came up to the surface but for people who don't have a video camera documenting their entire young lives, a therapist can probably connect the same dots and ask many of the same questions she asks throughout the film. I applaud this woman for baring her soul very all to see but, just the same I'm left wondering, at what cost?
