I’m not sure what the Kardashians all do, but I keep seeing them on magazine covers at the grocery check out lines.
I assume they are mostly famous for being famous (and for having a reality show, likely) and have no discernible talent other than being TV personalities.
However, at least Kim Kardashian is very pretty (or was before a lot of plastic surgery), so I can see why the tabloids focus on her.
What I don’t see is why the magazines keep having covers of the “lesser”/less beautiful sisters (who they married and where they went, etc). What is it about them that attracts readers/viewers? (There have to be people interested in them, otherwise the magazines would not keep putting them on their covers)
Now, I’m not saying that beauty is the only important thing in life, or the sole determinant of value of a woman, but with these TV personalities, if they have nothing else to offer, it seems the only thing left is attractiveness.
So, are the other Kardashian sisters also considered pretty, or do they have some other talents or characteristics that draw people to them?
On The Soup, Joel McHale used to say that Kim Kardashian was famous for having a big ass and a sex tape. The rest of the family just rode in on her, um, coattails. As far as why anybody cares what they do or who they marry, it’s beyond me.
They want to spread the mundanity around, to whip up some false drama with the lesser characters, in order to enable this awful show to go on, and on, and on, and on.
Think of it as a food network show. The chef makes, say, a leg of lamb. It takes 10 minutes, maybe, to show the purchase, preparation, and cooking method. The chef isn’t just going to sit there the rest of the hour watching the clock on the oven, he will be preparing as many side dishes as time permits, to fill up the rest of the show.
I have no idea what the viewership numbers are but they must be pretty solid for as long as the show has been on and all the spin-offs about the sisters. So the obvious answer is just that people are interested in watching the sisters (and the other sisters/brothers to some extent) so the tabloids report on them.
Why do people care? I guess they find them entertaining when they watch them. So that’s their value: they provide entertainment in their televised words/actions that people like watching. I decided a good while ago not to worry about how “horrible” pop culture can be and just accept that if a bajillion people are watching a show, it’s because they find it entertaining and fun even if I don’t. If someone laughs at a funny line or gets invested in a plot drama, does it matter if it’s a sit-com, evening soap or supposed ‘reality’ show?
Why must we suffer ANY Kardashians? Seriously, how little of a life must one have to live it vicariously through people who are famous for being famous?
Don’t forget that these folks are making themselves accessible and putting themselves out there. They find cameras and go to them. They have agents and PR people who let the media know what’s up with them. And if you’re just a lowly blogger who can’t get access to “real” stars, but totally can figure out what the excess Kardashians are doing, maybe you’ll write about them. And then if a bunch of bloggers are writing about these folks, all of a sudden the more important news outlets think they are noteworthy. And thus they become noteworthy.
Same goes for any of the D-list celebs. Their jobs are to be noticed, and it’s getting increasingly easier.
Is it any worse than watching completely fictional people? We have a thread cataloging the fictitious sexual exploits of the Big Bang Theory characters. If someone is amused and entertained while watching TV and the people on the screen make them laugh or hold their interest, why is it worse that it’s a semi-scripted* reality show than a completely scripted sit-com? Why is one just entertainment and the other “living vicariously”? Is reading an article about one of the girls in People really different and worse than writing posts about sit-com characters?
For what it’s worth, I don’t find neither the Kardashains nor BBT very entertaining. I admit that both are very popular though so they must be serving the entertainment needs of a whole lot of people.
*It’s known that they do all sorts of clever editing, multiple takes of scenes if they had a bad angle, etc and the people are obviously aware that they’re on camera. Whether or not there’s a paper script for them to read off of, it’s more “pretend TV reality” than “real reality”.
I agree that both scripted and reality TV can be entertaining to people. My main question was regarding these specific reality TV stars. If anyone here is watching their show or following them via magazines and blogs, what makes them interesting to watch: are they funny, drama queens, have interesting lives, etc?
Because, and this is only from magazine covers and the titles of those cover stories, it all seems so boring. None of those covers makes me think “This is a person I want to know more about”. At least Paris Hilton had some modicum of interesting stuff happening to her. These girls: nothing.
They showed up on the scene long before Honey Boo Boo. Were Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey famous for anything before their show? I’ve never seen any of the Kardashians’ shows. I did enjoy watching Kathy Griffin’s show, because I am interested in what she does as far as comedy goes.
My interest in Kim Kardashian extends as far as wishing I could learn how to apply eyeliner as effectively as she does. I stink at it. I do wish she’d resisted a few procedures. She was a strikingly beautiful girl.
One of the sisters (Khloe, I think) was an emcee of sorts on the last season of x-factor. I wondered if that was to bring her fans to the show, and if so why she had fans before that. From the reality shows, I guess.
There was a Yahoo headline yesterday (I believe) about the even younger sisters. I guess there are worse family businesses to be in than the money for nothing business.
From what I gather (flipping channels, The Soup, bored wife) there’s a degree of entertaining chatter if you’re into female-dynamics and a degree of low level, fairly tame drama. The one sister has a long term boyfriend who is kind of a dick so he does dick stuff, then the people at home say “Golly, what a dick” then he somewhat redeems himself, etc. It’s safe television that doesn’t require a lot out of you. Maybe think of it as a watered-down version of one of the “rich people acting poorly” themed dramas.
I suppose that largely answers the question of celebrity rags as well – they’re safe, aren’t going to actually scandalize you and don’t require you to shift out of first gear when you’re reading it on the couch. Some people are heavily invested in celebrities, I assume most of them just want an easy way to pass the time.
I have not watched the show, minus some snippets. But I’m pretty up on my pop culture, and am known to indulge in the occassional OK Magazine article.
My 2 cents: Kim, the famous one, seems the most vacuous, and generally without merit. Not funny. Not smart. Not vivacious.
Courtney is the small one. Her life partner, Scott Disick, is quite likely the most awful human being (just in terms of self-absorption and lack of awareness) on the planet. Watching her deal with him is some what entertaining. But mostly I just feel sorry for her. In terms of mass appeal, I think it makes people feel good knowing that even the rich, pretty girl has a shit-heel life partner who wouldn’t know a vaccum cleaner from a hole in the ground.
Chloe is the big one; married to Lamar Odom. She is actually pretty funny and smart. She and Courtney had a successful business and clothing line well before Kim fucked RayJay, and became a sex-tape-lebrity. Perhaps being the least pretty of the three has forced her to have some perspective and humilty. Her fertility struggles have also gone a long way to humanizing her. I’d get a beer with her if I had the chance.
The mom, Chris, is really the one driving the crazy train. Total attenion whore.
No, no. I guess I might have vaguely been aware of that, but I’m not the right age, nor am I a fan of pop music so they didn’t really cross my consciousness until they signed up to have their whole life happen on TV.