After 14 years of non-stop filming for E! and 20 seasons of family feuds, sisterly love, and romantic entanglements, the Kardashian-Jenner clan announced that the final season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians (KUWTK) will air in 2021. It is truly the end of an era for all-access reality television.
I must confess, binge-watching KUWTK was my guilty pleasure during the four-month COVID-19 lockdown. Tuning into an episode of Scott Disick’s overblown pranks, Kim’s emotional meltdowns or Kourtney’s vacation drama was my version of unwinding.
A small dosage of tabloid news and celebrity gossip can provide a much-needed escape from 2020’s news headlines. By August, I was calling my mom “cute jeans,” in lieu of Kendall Jenner, and I may have thrown a hissy fit in front of my friends and family after Kris Jenner announced the show would be ending.
The earlier seasons showcased bratty teen duo Kylie and Kendall, and the chaotic personalities of Kim and Khloe. However, as someone who has watched KUWTK from season one onwards, the Kardashians from the early 2000s are thankfully no more.
From commercial spendthrifts to business moguls, the Kardashian-Jenner women are now using their social platforms to promote their own product lines and maintain their sponsorship deals.
In the case of Kim Kardashian-West, she used her celebrity status to lobby for criminal justice reforms at the White House. Given her unorthodox ‘claim to fame,’ Kim’s life is a testament to how media perception has a ‘forgive and forget’ clause, depending on how you choose to live in the limelight.
Life is less glamorous off-camera than it is on screen. Be it Kaitlyn Jenner’s transition, an armed robbery in Paris, backlash from Kendall’s Coke commercial or Tristan Thompson’s cheating scandal, the Kardashian-Jenners have dealt with high-profile reality checks, and yet seem to remain above it all.
The general perception of the Kardashians is of their obnoxious privilege, cultural misappropriation, body image distortion, and two-dimensional perception of the world.
The Kardashian-Jenners have taken the concept of “social media influencer” to the next level, with a combined following of nearly 750 million on Instagram alone. This makes backlash from a public faux-pas the steep price of fame.
Kim Kardashian-West has been repeatedly called out by the media for ‘Black fishing’ or incorporating Black culture into her appearance, such as wearing Fulani cornrows at Fashion Week or appearing dark-skinned in promotional campaigns. Her sisters, Khloe and Kylie, have also been accused of appearing unnaturally tan or several shades darker than their natural complexion in Instagram photos. Calls of cultural appropriation continue to hound the Kardashian-Jenners, who have long been toeing the line between fashion-forward and fashion controversy.
The Kardashians are famous for their curves and waistlines and are often the subjects of paparazzi scrutiny. It’s no surprise that Kim’s shapewear company SKIMS, Khloe’s size-inclusive brand Good American, and Kourtney’s lifestyle blog Poosh are all body-centric.
The Kardashian-Jenners have also been criticized for promoting an unnatural body image via cosmetic surgery. Apart from Kylie Jenner’s lip fillers and Kourtney’s breast implants, the rest of the clan remain mum about rumoured plastic surgeries.
The Kardashian-Jenners do have the right to privacy. However, with body dysmorphia being so prevalent in our society, by choosing not to disclose the behind-the-scenes photo editing or their surgical enhancements, they are promoting unattainable, potentially harmful beauty standards.
In 2015, the #KylieJennerLipChallenge went viral as teenagers attempted to recreate the teen star’s plump lips using shot glasses. From lip hickeys to permanent scars, the results of this botched DIY hack was due to Kylie falsely claiming her lips were all-natural, instead of lip fillers.
As public influencers, the Kardashian-Jenners have the responsibility to be mindful of what they are promoting, since the image they embody is the image many attempt to emulate.
Despite the retirement of KUWTK, the show must go on, be it through social media platforms, brand deals or possible spinoffs, in order for the family to remain mainstream. Despite the aforementioned controversies, the media, especially the likes of TMZ and Entertainment Weekly, thrives on Kardashian-Jenner drama.
By harshly critiquing their faux pas and stanning their accomplishments, the media has a love-hate relationship with the family. By starting public conversations on body image, online influence and cultural appropriation, the Kardashians have an established celebrity status that is so distinct from Hollywood.
Fans of the show are now looking towards the second generation Kardashians, frontlined by Kourtney’s son Mason Disick, to continue their parents’ legacy.
Despite how critical I am of the Kardashian-Jenners, I’m a huge fan of the show’s content. I’m perfectly happy with watching them use their private jet like an Uber ride or debate driving the Bugatti or the Rolls to work. To truly enjoy KUWTK, make sure to put aside your middle-class reality before you are pulled into the fast-paced lives of the crazy rich.
Featured graphic by Julia Robinson.
