"Who the hell are the Kardashians?" That was the question I posed to my co-workers a few weeks ago. I have been hearing of Kim and her sisters Kourtney and Kloe' (what's up with all the k's?) for years but had no idea what they are famous for. Infamous would probably be a better word. I knew that a seemingly confused Bruce Jenner is their stepfather, but to me that wasn't enough for them to have their own reality show. So I asked the woman who works by me (and has a huge crush on Reggie Bush) what made them famous.
Their father was Robert Kardashian who probably is most famous for being friends with and an attorney to O.J. Simpson. Um, I remember F. Lee Bailey and Johnnie Cochran, but not Mr. Kardashian. And is that really enough to make someone's daughter a celebrity. Ah, but no! It turns out there is more to Kim Kardashian's story and her infamy.
Wikipedia describes Kim as "an American celebutante, socialite, model, actress, and television personality. She is known for her social life and her role on the E! reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians." I think the word celebutante says a whole heck of a lot here. Place her with the more well known celebutante Paris Hilton and I still wouldn't care if they were on television. Or the planet for that matter. Meh. I'm supposed to be excited about someone who carries around a Chihuahua as a fashion accessory? Sorry, but no.
And it still begs the question, just what has made Kim so famous that she gets so much press? Then the women at work told me about the "leaked" sex tape she made with R&B singer Ray J - who has his own reality show. And it probably helped her when she posed nude for Playboy magazine. Ah! Now we're getting somewhere. She's famous for being an internet sensation with a sex tape and for being curvy and naked in print. Wow. If that's all it takes to be famous, then there are a lot of people out there who can aspire to greatness.
The bigger question for me though is this: what is the matter with the public that they can take someone without any obvious talent and make them a "Star"? I don't understand the obsession with reality shows and I am completely clueless as to the appeal of celebutantes and their ilk. There are so many people deserving of that kind of attention who haven't stripped down to their birthday suits. Don't get me wrong. I'm sure the Kardashians are perfectly lovely people, I just don't care to see them on TV. Or on the covers of countless magazines each month. When they start contributing to society as a whole, then maybe I'll pay a little attention. Maybe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Update 3/27/10: Yes, I realize there is a certain irony on commenting on pseudo celebrities in a negative way on this blog. By doing so I help perpetuate the cycle of keeping their names in the public's eye. I suppose my saving grace is that I'm not making any money off of this.
