In September of 2020, the Kardashian clan shocked the world with the announcement that they would soon be bidding farewell to their reality TV show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Airing on the E! network since October 2007, the show’s twentieth season in 2021 will be its last. For those of us who’ve indulged in the mindless entertainment offered by the Kardashians over the past thirteen years, alternately enjoying and resenting its absurd excesses, you could say it’s the end of an era. After all, we literally watched Kendall Jenner grow up from a gawky twelve-year-old into one of the highest paid models in the world.
Whatever our feelings about the merits of the show itself, there’s no denying that the Kardashians and Jenners are among the biggest pop culture icons of the day, wielding tremendous influence at a cultural, commercial, and even a political level.
Given that the catchphrase “keeping up with the Joneses” (which the show’s title plays on) originated in a 1913 cartoon series when Americans’ average yearly income was just over $1,000, it’s difficult to imagine that the creators of the idiom foresaw a world in which “the Joneses” would be quite so difficult to keep up with. So should we really even try?
Who Are the Kardashians?
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, here’s an overview: the Kardashian-Jenners are the “first family” of reality television. Their story begins back in 1978 when Rob Kardashian (a lawyer who gained notoriety when he provided early legal representation to O.J. Simpson) married Kris Jenner. Together they had four children – Kourtney, Kim, Khloé, and Rob – before divorcing in 1991. One month later, Kris Jenner married her second spouse, a retired Olympic medalist then known as Bruce Jenner. The couple had two daughters: Kendall and Kylie. The Jenners separated in 2013, and in 2015, Bruce came out publicly as a transgender woman, taking the name of Caitlyn.
The second-born, Kim Kardashian, first garnered attention as friend and stylist of Paris Hilton, but rose to fame of her own after an explicit 2002 tape was released (and went viral) in 2007. The family parlayed the scandal into media success later that year when the Keeping Up with the Kardashians reality show debuted on E!, leading to the subsequent creation of various spinoff series as well.
The family was widely criticized for using the unseemly tape as a publicity stunt to promote their upcoming series. Nevertheless, Kim proved to be exceptionally savvy as she carefully curated her online and social media presence and released a number of products and brands tied to her name across cosmetics, fashion, fragrances and mobile apps, catapulting the entire family to immense celebrity and affluence.
“Keeping Up” is a Misguided Notion
It’s difficult to create a concise history of the Kardashians for the simple reason that their lives are marked by family drama and intrigue – the perfect fodder for urban legend and gossip columns – as well as obscene wealth.
Today, Kim has an estimated net worth of $900 million, with youngest sister Kylie worth only slightly less. Khloé is said to be worth $40 million, Kourtney, $35 million, and Kendall $22 million – not too bad for a 25-year-old. Matriarch Kris Jenner takes a 10% cut of her children’s earnings as their “momager,” and is reportedly worth over $37 million.
With their collective spending power in the billions of dollars, the very notion of “keeping up” with the Kardashian/Jenner family is rendered utterly out of reach for most people on the planet. And beyond the question or whether or not we can comes the question of whether or not there is anything to be gained by doing so.
The world is rife with opportunities to measure our own worth against those around us, and social media and reality TV only serve to amplify our sense of what others have that we don’t. It becomes hard to avoid categorizing people – and ourselves – as being somehow above or below someone else in the hierarchy of success, however we define that.
The problem is that social comparisons never help, and they certainly never make us feel better about our reality and accomplishments; on the contrary, they drain us of the mental strength and focus we’ll need to be our best.
There is some evidence to suggest that women have a greater tendency to engage in comparisons than men (particularly body comparisons), and a 2012 study found that women’s comparisons are overwhelmingly self-critical. And yet, the audience that tunes in every week to watch Keeping Up with the Kardashians mainly consists of women between the ages of 18 and 49. This kind of comparison-drawing – the kind which serves as the very premise for the show – fuels negative emotions like envy and even depression.
Instead of ranking people as better or worse than you, you’re better off thinking about what you can learn from them. Emphasizing the good that can come from emulating their positive qualities and accomplishments is infinitely more productive than beating yourself up over feelings of inadequacy based on someone else’s highlight reel – or, in this case, probably scripted and heavily produced “reality” show representation.
Social comparisons never make us feel better about our reality and accomplishments; on the contrary, they drain us of the mental strength and focus we’ll need to be our best.
What’s Worth Keeping from the Kardashians’ Show
You can learn from everyone you encounter. Subtract from KUWTK the narcissistic extravagances, materialism and willful misunderstandings, and there is still plenty to talk about that deserves a conversation.
The Kardashians stand out as a noteworthy example of inclusivity and anti-racism. In this sense, the Kardashians represent an American conscious whose evolution is long overdue when it comes to race, and their fame and visibility help contribute to the normalization of inter-racial relationships.
Kim has also taken on the role of activist, advocating for prison reform and the commutation of harsh jail sentences for first-time non-violent offenders. Her support of the bipartisan First Step Act and funding for the 90 Days to Freedom campaign were instrumental to their success, and she’s also donated large sums to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and other causes globally.
With an audience of over 192 million followers on Instagram and almost 68 million on Twitter, her highly publicized philanthropy may be self-serving, but it can help charitable works to gain greater momentum and encourage others to offer support as well.
Beyond the circular irony of being famous simply for being famous, the Kardashians and the Jenners are a fascinating case study in celebrity and the blurred line between public and private that’s increasingly common in the social media era. Rather than striving to keep up with them through season 20, it’s enough to glean the good and love to hate the rest.
To read more about the social & personal impact of reality TV, check out our editorial for The Find.
