The Kardashians and Political Economy

Have you ever been so sick in bed that you watched an entire marathon of something that you would never otherwise watch? That was me this weekend; stuck at home with a cold and with nothing interesting to watch but Kourtney and Kim Take New York. I’ll admit that I’ve caught clips of the show before but never watched so much in one sitting. I decided that given how much crap the Kardashians get about being famous for nothing and being useless overpaid and untalented that I would figure out why people are actually watching this show. I assume that they are because the show continues to have new seasons and the Kardashian name is huge to pop culture.

What I got from watching wasn’t much. I observed people in a lavish hotel room wearing full-on fashionable outfits sprawled out on couches. Complaining. “Scott bought a piano he can’t play,” “Kourtney is obsessed with couponing,” “Kim can’t figure out if her best friend is gay,” “Chris is being insensitive about it”. All played out while laying across furniture speaking in the most unemotional uninflected voices.

It wasn’t until class on Tuesday that I had my A-HA moment as to why people actually watch this.  We discussed Marxism and the theory of a political economy.  According to the theory, we have a false consciousness that if we work hard enough, we can become rich and part of the ruling class. We never revolt against the ruling class because they are who we aspire to be and we never infringe upon them because of our hope that someday we will be in their position. It all made so much sense. People watch the Kardashians as a way of looking ahead to a lifestyle that they hope to someday have. They yearn to someday be at a point where they can wear expensive things yet have nowhere to go and nothing to do but complain about trivialities. Unconsciously, people want the carefree yet glamorous lifestyle the Kardashians lead and believe that eventually they will attain it. They might even think to themselves, “When I’m that rich, I won’t be as stupid as them, and I’ll actually deserve it.” Those who watch this show can justify it however they want claiming that they watch to laugh at how stupid it is but I think the reality is this show demonstrates the political economy at work. After all, is watching this show making you richer? Or is it padding the pockets of Kourtney and Kim?