Keeping Up With the Kardashians



So, remember a little while ago when I talked about how when I had a day off or some free time I was going to have to get off the couch and get active? Do you also remember how I declared my love for the Kardashian Family? Well...the other day, my best laid plans fell through and I found myself watching a marathon of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians". I've seen every episode and personally, am a huge fan. I also realized how divided most of the country seems to be about this famous family. One side hates them, almost passionately, saying the represent all the things that are wrong with Americans today, and the other side has a devoted band of followers, ready to scoop up and enjoy every product that they put out. 

I decided  to play a little Devil's Advocate and give my take on America's fascination with the Kardashian Family. At first I thought this might not be a good idea to blog about...a little lame. What do people care about my opinion on the damn Kardashians? But then again, one of my goals this year was to write, and I don't want to lose momentum on this blog. I made a promise to myself and right now, my head is thinking about the Kardashians. So here goes nothing.

With all the hate that seems to come their way, the Kardashian Family can't help but be completely relevant in our society. Their television show "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" is entering what I believe to be it's sixth season, and the numbers remain solid and strong. The Show has spawned a number of spin offs all with high degrees of success and from a business standpoint, they've pretty much singlehandedly rescued the E! Network. Without it, E! would not be what it is today. They have Ryan Seacrest (Executive Producer) and the Kardashians to thank. I was in the airport recently looking for a magazine at one of the many kiosks and noticed that at that particular kiosk, the Kardashian Family was on the cover of 8, count them
EIGHT different magazines. Love them or hate them, they are doing something right.

Look, honestly. I get what people are saying about them to an extent. There is a definite materialistic streak in each member of the family outside of perhaps Bruce Jenner, and some of the things they say can be construed as vapid or shallow or snobby, but if you look at the way they talk and act in interviews and such, it's not like these people don't realize that they have these qualities. They are human just like you and I. They have faults. I mean you can't blame people for the situations life gave. These kids were born and raised in Beverly Hills, their father was a very influential, successful and controversial lawyer, Robert Kardashian and for those of you who don't remember, he was one of OJ Simpson's Defense Attorneys. They've had access to a world and life that not many people do, but when that is your everyday, of course you get a little bit of a sense of entitlement. It's no different than any teenager in America. Everybody wants what they don't have, and that doesn't exclude people who have everything. It's human nature, it's engraved into as us consumers. Want want want. Have have have. And over the course of the years that the show has been on, these young girls have transformed into a pretty powerful, strong and cohesive unit. They've turned
the fact that people are intrigued by their family and cashed in on it, and if everybody is on board with that in their family, you can't fault them for that. You only have yourself to blame because their name comes out of your mouth in conversations, or for the fact that even you, the one who says they HATE the Kardashians tunes in every now and again. You want to know more.

The appeal of Kim, Kourtney and Khloe comes from this. If i've learned one thing from watching television for so many years, it's this. When people turn on their TV, they want fantasy. They want an escape. The same is true in films. Harry Potter and Twilight aren't successful because they are hard hitting realistic dramas. It's because there is an air of the supernatural, of fantasy. You can escape in the story. The same is true for shows like Dallas or Melrose Place. These people had money, success, power, beauty. We watched because we wanted to be them, because we wanted to have what they have, and that is the reason we watch the Kardashians. Everyone wants fame. Everyone wants to be noticed, and these girls have both those capabilities. People will pay them just to SHOW up to places, and awesome places at that. They can go to Vegas and live it up, probably not even on their own dime, and the people who watch that, are jealous. Who WOULDN'T want to be able to do that? And if you personally say no, I feel like you're saying it to appear above basic social desire. We all want to feel famous and special. The Self Help section at Barnes and Noble isn't because everybody finds love within themselves. It's because we always look outwards first. It's maybe not right or perfect but it exists.

On another note, while the Kardashian Sisters may BE role models to young girls, I don't believe it is their responsibility or duty to do so. They are on television, and they sell their brand, but as we should know by now, nobody on television is perfect, nor in the world for that matter. We pick these girls apart, saying they are bad role models, when maybe instead, parents themselves should accept responsibility for raising their children and BE their children's OWN role models. Stop pushing the responsibility off on others. Your kids get more about life and how to behave from YOU than they EVER will from Kim Kardashian, and while they may think she is pretty and want to emulate her, it's not HER responsibility to make sure that they get
into college, have successful careers and relationships and are happy. That's for you. Furthermore, people make frickin' mistakes. Just look at Mike Phelps. He is an amazing athlete. Gold Medals, Dedication, Passion for a Sport, and Gazelle like Intensity. Then a picture of him taking a bong rip hits the net and suddenly people want to strip him of every accomplishment and call him a liar. Look, it was a damn picture. Does it make him any LESS of an inspiration, of a fucking olympic monster? NO. Does it dimish his accomplishments. NO. He goes to sleep every night with a million damn medals on his chest. He is still an accomplished man and amazing athlete. Let's save that kind of judgement for people who do SERIOUS things like committ murder or something.

That being said, let's take a look at these girls success' shall we?

In 2010, The Kardashian Family brought in $65 million. That's fuckin EPIC! I mean you don't KNOW money like they know money. To put that in perspective, according to the Hollywood Reporter that's more than Sandra Bullock, Angelina Jolie and Tom Cruise COMBINED. Come on, even if you HATE on them, you have GOT to give credit where credit is DUE.

Let's Break it Down:

The Stuff they Got Going On:

Keeping Up With the Kardashians
Khloe and Kourtney take Miami
Khloe and Lamar
Kim and Kourtney take New York
They have two Fragrances, one exclusively from Kim and then one from Khloe and Lamar.
They have DASH boutiques in Calabasas, Miami and New York.
They have clothing line from SEARS.
A BEST SELLING BOOK.
A Weight Loss Supplement.
An Exercise Tape.
Kim Kardashian commands upwards of $100,000 for a personal appearance.

There is NOTHING that this family doesn't have their hands in.

This family has a lot going on, but on a personal level, they're LIKEABLE. They are a REAL family. They are the new Nuclear Family. They have a history and they make no excuses for it. It is what it is with them. The death of their father is something that is regularly discussed and openly mourned, and it's in those small moments, the family dinners, the way they spend all of their time together that really makes them grow on you.

They may not be a perfect family, but no family is. They have the same problems as you and I do, they are just brave enough to have every moment of them filmed, and I think that if we looked at ourselves honestly and had our own reality TV show with 24 hours a day of our life filmed, it wouldn't be the moments in which we were normal and did nothing that would make great TV and get ratings. It would be the times we acted out and got a little crazy, the moments when maybe we weren't our best, and at the end of the day, I think the Kardashians can go to sleep with a clean conscience and I think their father would be proud of them. They've made a lot in life simply by being who they are. They are a beautiful family and it's only growing, and I can't possibly imagine my late nights without an episode or two of Keeping Up with the Kardashians.