I’m going to be totally honest, I kind of love the Kardashian-Jenner tribe. Controversial perhaps, but true.
I could never argue that they started from nothing, because season one of Keeping Up with the Kardashians (KUWTK) shows the ridiculously oversized mansion that houses the Kardash Klan. Yet, they weren’t the worldwide household names that they are now; that came through dedication to exposing every detail of their lives for the general public’s enjoyment. And to think, it all started with a sex tape.
It’s already been over a decade since the infamous Kim K & Ray J sex tape was released, acting as a catalyst for the Kardashian world domination. KUWTK hit the screens in 2007, shortly after the sex tape was released. Here is my first question: was this an act of bravery, or was it an active attempt to gain fame? Personally, I like to believe that it was the former. Even if the answer is the latter, slightly more questionable act of fame-hunting, I still think it’s pretty brave, and a huge risk to take in order to get what she wanted. And she certainly got it.
It cannot be denied, due to the plethora of successful reality television shows, that people love to watch other people going about their daily lives, especially when those lives are outside of the ordinary. Geordie Shore shows several perfectly groomed stereotypes living together, sleeping together, and “getting mortal”. Love Island shows unrealistically beautiful twenty-somethings living together in an isolated villa and trying to form and steal partnerships. KUWTK shows an unreasonably wealthy family doing wealthy people things. On paper, not exactly a rollercoaster of excitement. In ‘reality’, a guilty fascination in watching their every move.
Broadcasting every aspect of your life (or the aspects that producers choose to show) is not for the faint of heart. Of course, it is slightly easier if you make an active choice to do so, but still, it must be tiring living in the public eye. I personally think it’s pretty impressive that after over a decade of KUWTK, millions of people still tune in to watch. It isn’t easy to retain such a high viewership – just look at the countless canceled shows over the years. That level of reception takes hard, constant work. If you need any more convincing of the success of KUWTK, there have been nine different spin-off shows. Nine.
I’m going to move away from KUWTK now, and talk about the other part of the Kardashian-Jenner success: their entrepreneurship. Kris “Momager” Jenner is the matriarch of the family, and an undeniably phenomenal businesswoman. She has managed to market the careers of five children, setting each girl up for international success. Kourtney and Khloe have clothing lines and fitness programmes, Kendall is an international supermodel, Kylie has a makeup range, and Kim is Kim, and does everything. They may have had an advantage from the start, but still, it takes a lot of effort to get where they are. The Kardashian-Jenners run an empire, and that doesn’t all come from privileged beginnings; that takes hard work.
I also stick by their choices in life (mostly). All but one of the girls have removed themselves from abusive relationships. Furthermore, the mothers in the family are loving and passionate about their children’s wellbeing, and their decisions regarding their bodies are also admirable. The Kardashians are known for their curves – “thicc” – and their confidence in those curves. Even when (plastic) surgery has been involved, they have all been pretty open about it, and haven’t hidden the fact that they have paid for their looks.
Without rambling on about Kourtney, Khloe, Kim, Kendall and Kylie for too much longer, I can sum up by saying that I respect that the KUWTK cast have made, and stuck by, their own decisions (or the decisions of Kris, maybe). People may argue that they are ‘famous for being famous’, or that they are ‘materialistic’ and ‘stupid’, I think that they are famous for making a choice to do so, they may be materialistic, but they also do a lot for charities that goes unreported, and I certainly don’t think that building a multi-million-dollar empire is a product of stupidity.