In this age of media and technology, we see different things highlighted every day. Be it shows or celebrities, they all try to stay in the headlines and in the public eye so that they are remembered. One such show has always been heavily discussed and has been influencing its viewers since it has been on air.
Keeping up with the Kardashians is one such show that is taking ranks in the digital media ever since. It has been the mostly watched show not only in the U.S but in the Eastern side (India, Pakistan) as well. Considering it is not a family show, why has it gained so much popularity over the years? Keeping up with the Kardashians is an American reality show that aired in 2007 and has completed 26 seasons. It focuses on the lives of the high-profile celebrity members of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, giving an insight to the audience about their family (drama).
The dominance of the female gender is very clear in the Keeping Up with the Kardashian series, especially this specific episode. From the very beginning of the series the females in the family have always had more say, more power, and more popularity. Even though the audience is somewhat aware that the stuff shown in the so called reality show, is far from reality, but subconsciously they may find their selves trying to imitate the things shown in the show. It may include binge drinking, invasion of privacy, controversies. Continuous exposure to such shows can affect the mind of the viewer in a negative way. Nowadays it has become so hard for the innocent to win their lives, but in reality TV shows, if one loses, he gets an opportunity, at the same time, winning results to win the opportunity. The impact is that reality TV shows help society by helping the economy, teaching different lessons, and showing the world the lives of hidden talent of people. Addiction is also a thing to be considered involving with reality TV shows. Yet these addiction reality shows are more problematic than helpful. Once addicted, people lose the ability to make rational decisions.
If we talk about the Kardashian- Jenner girls, they are often considered the epitome of beauty. The Kardashian girls have stereotyped the standards of beauty with their not so perfect, perfect beauty. People presume them as the epitome of beauty and often idolize them too, but needless to say it is just an illusion because no one is born perfect. People who follow them fail to realize that what appears on screen is not real. While it is true that a woman’s body is her own, it does not negate the fact that the image being depicted through such shows is still very much in the shackles of the stereotypical idea of beauty, femininity, and popular fashion culture. By reinforcing such ideals they not only perpetuate them further, but also set standards of beauty that are impossible to meet. This has an adverse effect on their audience who are pushed deeper into the heart of their already ongoing crisis. Undergoing millions of plastic surgeries to look perfect is definitely standardizing the standards of beauty and giving people the wrong the idea. When body images are promoted by influencers (like the Kardashian-Jenner family) on social media platforms which have an exponentially larger reach than a tv show, these ideas become all the more problematic. It is so especially when those trying to emulate them are unaware of the due process behind it, or do not have the proper means to achieve them. Such people then end up using unhealthy ways like starvation, laxatives, unsafe beauty procedures, and so on which can be harmful to their lives.
Do the Kardashians deserve the attention they are receiving? . Even though people consider them self-made billionaires and huge entrepreneurs, they are in the spotlight . The popularity of Kardashians is unbeatable. Whether you love them or hate them, you can’t deny the Kardashian family has managed to make a multi-million-dollar business out of nothing. Well, not entirely nothing. Many people feel the Kardashians don’t deserve their fame but there is something undeniable, the family has really managed to capture their target audience without a hitch. They rose to fame with their reality show KUWTK, where to be honest, nothing is real. According the Theconversation.com, ‘When we take these seemingly intimate peeks inside the lives of the Kardashian-Jenners, we not only start to believe that what we’re seeing is real — we also begin to think that they are just like us.’
Whether its Kim with her bold photo shoots or Kendall with her pepsi ad, the Kardashians-Jenners have always been in the spotlight because of their stunts. KUWTK is deemed as the most controversial show with a viewership of 1.3 million+. We can simply say that the audience enjoys drama, and such controversial shows are appealing for the public eye.
Even though Keeping up with the Kardashians is a show that has no intellectual value to offer to its audience, it is a complete binge watch. It is a delight for some mindless binging for people to escape their realities. However, it is the responsibility of the viewers to not be influenced by it and not imitate what is shown throughout the series.
Where we believe that the entertainment industry is a whirlpool, we also agree on the fact that in order to always remain in the public eye, celebrities succumb to various ways due to which they make the headlines. Not only the Kardashians, but many other A-lister celebrities including Lady Gaga and Britney Spears have staged such events. There’s no denying that celebs participate in publicity stunts to promote their current project or at times, just for attention.
It is the duty of a viewer to distinguish between what is real and what is not so that they do not get influenced by the things shown on media.
