THE DUBIOUS CENTER OF ATTENTION
By Nicole Bleidistel
Sun opinion editor
Over 100,000 Americans have collectively decided that they’ll no longer be keeping up with America’s most popular family, the Kardashians. Led by Cindy Snider, the “No More Kardashian” petition has gathered followers after daughter Kim’s alleged fake wedding, which caused outrage among and beyond it’s 10.5 million viewers. “These shows are mostly staged and place an emphasis on vanity, greed, promiscuity, vulgarity and over-the-top conspicuous consumption,” Snider said.
Reality TV’s royal family has faced criticism since they stepped into the spotlight, but none of their scandals nor shenanigans seem to have harmed their success. Kim’s leaked sex tape with rapper Ray J in 2007 catapulted her career in pop culture instead of hindering it. She suddenly appeared on TV, in magazines, and ads across the country.
A mere six months after the sex tape scandal, E! aired the first season of “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” which immediately became the highest-rated show among women ages 18-34. The show and its consequential spin-offs display a highly dysfunctional, image obsessed, over dramatic and unrealistic household as reality; and the viewers love it.
The problem with the Kardashians is that they indirectly teach young girls that beauty is valued over brains, partying all night is a norm, boyfriends smashing windows and fighting are okay, and most importantly, that having a sex tape is a positive thing, because that’s what started the family’s fame in the first place. But what we forget is that there’s another edge to said actions; there would be no Kardashian empire without its devoted fans.
In short, we can’t blame the Kardashians for their shotgun weddings, sex tapes and 72-day marriages when we’re the ones watching. The American public’s obsession with the Kardashian family, whether good or bad, is what’s paying their bills and continuing the vicious cycle.
What the show teaches young girls is, inherently, what we ourselves value. If we smashed the family for the materialism and undeserved fame they represent from the beginning, “Keeping up with the Kardashians” would have been shut down and their brand nipped at the bud. Instead, we love them, adore them, and watch them every week, and it’s highly unlikely that 100,000 signatures will make a dent in their success.
