Comparative Analysis

Fame and fortune can be challenging for any adult. But for a child, they can be deadly. Since its inception, Hollywood has made superstars of a number of children. As early as 1921, seven-year-old Jackie Coogan exploded into global fame in Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid. And by the Great Depression, child phenom Shirley Temple was not only one of the biggest stars in the world, she single-handedly saved her studio, Twentieth Century-Fox. A century later, child performers are an indelible part of the entertainment landscape, but that hasn’t come without a steep price—one usually paid by the child. Today, fans have become sadly accustomed to occasional headlines about a former child star dying, usually from drugs and alcohol. And recently, the curtain has also been pulled back on the abuse, particularly sexual, suffered by these, often vulnerable, kids. Still, some child performers have managed to make the transition into adulthood, even if the road was bumpy. For this comparative analysis, examine two child performers from the fields of acting or music: one who successfully transitioned from child stardom into an adult career, and one who did not.* In your analysis, consider which factors helped determined these performers’ successes and failures. For instance, what were the challenges each performer faced? And what made the difference between one performer enduring and the other not?

*This doesn’t necessarily mean they died. It could be that they were unable to transition into an adult career.

Requirements:

• A minimum of four outside sources (included in a works cited)
• MLA Style (including parenthetical citation)
  
• Approx. 500 words

Due: Fri 9.27 (via Canvas)