
A phrase I’d like to retire forever: “guilty pleasure.”
I’ve watched every single episode of all 11 seasons of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, many up to 20 times (see e.g., “Kris The Cheerleader” [Season 2, Ep. 4], “Free Khloe” [Season 3, Ep. 1], “Blame it on The Alcohol” [Season 4, Ep. 10]). I have zero guilt about this. And I’m guilty all the time. Guilty about how I treat my loved ones. Guilty about the number of chemical substances I need in my body at all times to feel normal. Guilty about draining the earth’s resources while providing nothing positive in return. And guilty about, in the words of Rihanna, a few other things I cannot mention.
But I’ve never been guilty about my fascination with the Kardashians. Because in a world where most things are hopeless and depressing, they make me laugh (remember when Kris briefly became a mime??) and touch my heart (the toast at Khloe’s engagement dinner kills moi). And in a culture where most things feel stale and uninspired, they never, ever, bore me. (Okay, fine, sometimes I’m bored when Kim is speaking.)
clarification: there is literally nothing ironic about my passion for the kardashian industrial komplex
— santa anna wind (@___adorn) August 24, 2017
Another phrase I’d like to retire: “famous for being famous.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK FAME IS, B*TCH?
I don’t think fame has ever been about talent, and I’m not alone. Roughly 10 years ago, a Stanford University study set out to explain the persistence of stardom — even where talent is nowhere to be found. Their conclusion: fame is simply about driving conversational fodder. Marilyn Monroe did it, Princess Diana did it, and nobody does it better than the Kardashians.
In the past few years, the mainstream media has shifted slightly from dismissing the Kardashians as mindless trash to hailing them as feminist entrepreneur girl bosses. But as much as I love a matriarchy — and there is no place men are more cast aside than in the Kardashian Industrial Komplex — by far the most interesting thing about the Kardashians is their ability to keep us on our toes.
the role of men in the kardashian industrial komplex, visualized pic.twitter.com/foSZe6V7MY
— santa anna wind (@___adorn) December 9, 2017
Top Comments
Commenting to let you know that I didn't even bother reading past the stupid headline of this story. Click bait it might be, but I'm not engaging with you (and don't really respect what passes as "journalism" on this site). Consider this reader feedback - and run the site into the ground if you will.
Kardashian *says* she's studying for the bar exam: doesn't mean she's actually studying for it, doesn't mean she's actually going to sit it, and definitely doesn't mean she's going to pass it. What is more likely? That's she's really interested in actually becoming a criminal lawyer, or that saying that she is is boosting her brand amongst her followers and advertisers? I'm happy for history to demonstrate which of us is right.