Essay Series: Keeping Up with the Neoliberal Commodification of Literally Everything
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Keeping up with the Kardashians first aired in 2007, becoming an immediate success for the E! Network. Those that tuned in had done so because they’d heard that Kim Kardashian, of leaked sex tape fame, was getting her own show. They were intrigued to see what this woman, who had previously only been known as Paris Hilton’s assistant, had to show of herself. Of course, the show wasn’t solely focused on her, it was the depiction of her whole Kardashian-Jenner blended family- collectively known as the Karjenners- that had previously tasted fame and wealth through their deceased patriarch Robert Kardashian’s defense of OJ Simpson. They were never very far from the elite of Hollywood, but it was Kim Kardashian that turned this vague association into an empire; self made, self paid. Kim became the face of what it meant to make oneself a brand, and it was this brand that she used to become the face of Hollywood itself, and the shining leader of our neoliberal conspicuous consumption economy.
During the early seasons of Keeping up with the Kardashians (KUWTK), the world was in the midst of a turning point on many fronts. For one, it was trying to recover from the 2008 financial crisis. The global population was left stranded, with little to themselves, and suddenly hungry to live vicariously through stars that were living lives that the average person could only dream of. For another, social media was taking off, with Facebook becoming the world’s biggest social media site in that very year, and Instagram becoming popular in the next year after it’s 2010 debut, along with Twitter, on which Kim was one of the early users. Unlike the previous reality stars, such as the Real Housewives, who had debuted and at the time remained available only through the medium of television, Kim had immediately recognized the power of social media, and gave the population something to gawk at, extending the reach of her reality show to social media, creating a parasocial relationship that would be the basis for her brand.
Before the Karjenners broke onto the scene, reality TV was no more than entertainment. The Real Housewives were already wealthy, and asked the viewers of nothing, happy to just air and profit off their petty fights. On the other side of the spectrum, a group of ordinary people would be left on an island to see who would survive the longest. In both cases, and with every reality show in between, the show itself was the product. Anything sold in association to the shows was merch. Keeping up with the Kardashians, conversely, was not the focal point of the Karjenner empire. The show did not exist merely for the sake of the show, rather it was in greater service to a bigger picture. In 2011, the youngest Kardashian sister, Khloe, said of Keeping Up and its spin offs, “These shows are 30-minute commercials” (Newman, 2011).
Before the show had aired, the Kardashian sisters co-owned a boutique fashion store called Dash. When given the opportunity of the show Kim, a self proclaimed businesswoman, hoped that it would bring attention to their boutique, saying in an interview with Variety, “I was thinking this might not last very long, but we’ll grow a great business and expand online. I thought it would be great press” (Setoodeh, 2015). Even back then, she had a vision of what she wanted to get out of the show. By the time the second season rolled around, Kim had an acute sense of what this was building up to be. How does one accumulate more fame and power than one already has? They capitalize on the fetishization of their wealthy, but more importantly famous, lifestyle.
She had millions of followers by then, on all her socials, and she knew that her lifestyle was coveted. So she turned her lifestyle into a brand, and that brand as a means to sell her products. And with this in mind, she left no market untapped. There was their fashion line sold not only on their store, but also online. There were cosmetics, and shoes, and hair products and books, all sold by the Kardashian machine.
But this was the tip of the iceberg, because these products aren’t what made the Karjenners what they are. It was the endorsements that companies sought, because classic advertisements no longer sold the way they used to. In an era of skepticism toward companies that advertised directly to consumers, companies became smart with how they sold anything, connecting with their consumers on a more “human” level. From how companies had created personifications of their brands on social media, to sending products to influencers in exchange for “honest reviews.” Since people no longer trusted the companies themselves to sell them on anything, they relied on influencers telling them what to buy- a review or an endorsement from someone you liked meant that the product was worth buying. It meant that the product represented the person endorsing it, and buying it equaled you feeling closer to your idol.
Kim took advantage of this parasocial relationship to sell anything and everything she could, given that it aligned with her brand. And what exactly was her brand? Well, put simply, it was the idea of her. In a neoliberal world without regulation, anything could potentially be for sale, and what better product to sell than yourself? (Beater, 2019) And the idea of her was expensive. By directly associating herself with products that were designed for the elite, she created this image- or brand schema- that also made people associate her with wealth and fame. And as we all know, money makes money.
At this point, if someone were to ask what exactly Kim Kardashian was famous for, you would have to say that she was famous for being famous. Friends and family of mine who had never once watched the KUWTK show, were always aware of Kim and her antics. Kim was constantly one upping herself to remain relevant because that, really, was the best weapon that Kim had- she was famous, and was going to make herself more famous by building upon her existing fame. A pornstar revealing their butt was nothing new- but Kim Kardashian showcasing her posterior for the world to see made headlines. Kim Kardashian broke the internet. Her Paper magazine issue became a worldwide phenomenon; an SNL skit, a pinata line, an Ellen Christmas card (Hershkovits, 2014). The product that was selling here was Kim herself- Kim was the brand, the marketing, the product- and everyone wanted a slice of it. People couldn’t get enough of her outrageous stunts, her showcasing every part of herself that other people might have kept hidden. You got to see the supposedly real footage of her life, and you wanted in on it.
All of this came to a peak when, in 2015, Kim released an app called Kim Kardasian: Hollywood, which allowed for users to play as Kim’s assistant who attempts to break into the Hollywood scene. Throughout the game, Kim presents the player with options, without actually allowing no as an answer (Gerber, 2014). Following Kim along to socialize, create connections and further your own career, the game allows you to live what you assume Kim’s life is like- all glamour, glitz, high profile celebrities and events.
So what does all of this build up to? Well, I think Kim’s life is the perfect example of turning one’s entire life into a commodity, a successful one at that. It is the model that all have attempted to follow ever since. You are no longer just a person, and your business is no longer separate from you- you are your business, and your business is you (Beater, 2019). Your personal story and motives have to tie into what you’re selling in order to sell better. This is the pinnacle of neoliberalism, the absolute peak of it- daily life as a commodity.
We have arrived at the late stage of capitalism in which a decent majority of people no longer have steady incomes. With a lack of unions, and jobs that aren’t willing to pay enough for one to get by, many have turned to freelancing. The problem with freelancing is that one has to be able to sell oneself. When there are a myriad of options available, all of which are equally qualified, the customers are more likely to choose the sellers that are selling them something besides just the product itself (Beater, 2019). Everyone has to sell a dream, a life that the average person covets. This is the genius behind the Karjenner brand, the thing that Kim figured out and did better than anyone else is doing.
Even when Kim is not selling something, she is still endorsing it by being a consumer. A consumer, in a neoliberal world, is held above both the worker and the citizen, and the model depends on consumers continuing to make the choice to buy (Castro, 2015). The Kardashians perpetuate this model, the best examples of consumerism on display that one can find. There is a constant flow of new products being pushed to us, the consumer, through the Kardashian brand, whether it be a new watch on their wrists everyday, or Kylie’s seemingly endless selection of Birkins. More is always better, and they want you to know that they have more, and so should you.
Brands have capitalized on this by using the Karjenner brand as a stamp of legitimacy, because if a Kerjenner is posting a picture of it on their Instagram, then the brand must be worth checking out. The most famous example of this is FYRE Fest, who used celebrities, and most especially the GOOD Music family (Kanye’s record label) and everyone associated with it, including the Karjenners (many of whom are dating artists from GOOD) to convince consumers that it was worth buying tickets to a newly found music festival with absolutely no proof of location. This strategy was so successful, that FYRE managed to sell 8000 tickets off of this influencer marketing alone. The highest paid person for this campaign was Kendall Jenner, racking up $250k for her one post (Fyre, 2019). Except, it wasn’t quite revealed that Jenner had been paid at the onset. Initially, she and her model friends had been instructed to make it out as if they were doing this of their own volition- endorsing it by proxy. There had to be the illusion of “realness” to sell something that did not yet even exist. This contradiction was stark and came to haunt the Jenner brand later, but the idea at the time was to convince people that they would have the exclusive opportunity to be around these celebrities in a casual setting.
People trusted in the Karjenner + GOOD brand so much that they parted with their money to go fly to the middle of nowhere. The diehard followers of these influencers would buy anything that these celebrities would sell them, with one of them selling nearly everything they owned to attend. Another attendee was quoted as saying, “I was buying into a dream” (Fyre, 2019). The dream of being as close to a life of wealth and celebrity as possible. It was what Kim, what the Karjenners, had been selling them all along. It was the closest that any of them would have potentially got to a life that neoliberalism promises them. A free market should equal available wealth for all- that’s the dream anyway. Of course, the reality is much closer to what the attendees actually experienced than the dream they were sold- the reality of the organizers swindling thousands out of their money, without delivering on any of their promises, the reality of hundreds of workers left stranded without pay after putting in months of effort into building the festival stages (Fyre, 2019). Similarly, it is the same exploitation of the working class that the Karjenners profit off. The numerous companies that they sell products off of their own personal branding, such as Kylie Lip, and the Jenners’ and Kim’s Clothing line, all using cheap labor from Bangladesh that they did not end up paying after the COVID crisis started (#PayUp trended for a few days worldwide subsequently)(Thompson, 2020).
Throughout this whole process, Kim also made sure that people knew that she alone was behind all her success. The idea of success through hard work is an old one in America, and Kim wanted everyone to know that she personified this concept. Her mother, who is her manager, has a similar brand. There is even a meme that states, “The devil works hard, but Kris Jenner works harder” (Smith, 2019). The hardworking Karjenners, a beacon of hope for everyone who wants to be lavishly wealthy doing absolutely (seemingly) nothing. This paradox is important, because it convinces people that they have a chance of achieving the same level of success that celebrities do, that Kim does. However, the illusion of their lives being fun and accessible needs to remain.
Kim’s brand is empowerment through capital, and she has come to embody this idea. The face of successful female entrepreneurs has been Kim Kardashian for the past decade, her product being herself, her body, her family, her life. All of it is for sale in today’s economy, and she knows we’re all hungry to buy.
The moral qualms we should consider in all this is apparent, but there is a sense that we won’t get it until it’s much too late. We all fancy ourselves the cream of the crop, but there is a reason that the lowest common denominator sells. Escaping the circle of neoliberalism is a challenge only as great as first realizing that we are stuck in it. The first step to revolution is awareness. And Kim’s siren call is nothing if not an alarm bell.
Works Cited
Beater, E. (2019, September 24). Self-branding: How the modern world forces us to market ourselves 24/7. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://www.newstatesman.com/science-tech/social-media/2019/09/self-branding-how-modern-world-forces-us-market-ourselves-247
Castro, Julio Cesar Lemes de, The Consumer as Agent in Neoliberalism (December 2015). Matrizes, São Paulo (SP), V. 9, N. 2, p. 273–288, Dec 2015, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2859781
Fyre. Directed by Chris Smith, Netflix, 2019.
Garber, M. (2014, July 30). Let’s Talk About Capitalism (Kapitalism?) With Kim Kardashian. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2014/07/lessons-in-capitalism-from-kim-kardashian/375252/
Hershkovits, D. (2014, December 17). How Kim Kardashian broke the internet with her butt. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/dec/17/kim-kardashian-butt-break-the-internet-paper-magazine
Newman, J. (2011, February 16). How the Kardashians Made $65 million Last Year. Retrieved August 18, 2020, from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-kardashians-made-65-million-100349
Setoodeh, R. (2015, April 25). Kim Kardashian West On Her Empire and Bruce Jenner’s Transition. Retrieved August 19, 2020, from https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/kim-kardashian-west-bruce-jenner-transgender-empire-brand-1201479125/
Smith, Mariah. (2019, March 29). Kris Jenner is Frequently Compared to the Devil, and She Seems to Like It. Retrieved August 19, 2020 from https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/mbzzv8/kris-jenner-is-frequently-compared-to-the-devil-and-the-kardashian-matriarch-seems-to-like-it
Thompson, Sophie. (2020, June 23). Kylie Jenner is accused of refusing to pay workers who make her clothing lines. Retrieved August 19, 2020 from https://www.popbuzz.com/celeb/kylie-jenner-cardi-b-fashion-nova-factory-workers-pay-up/
