From what I can remember, in my generation, reality TV started with the “Real World Series” in the summer of 1992; Seven young strangers living in one house from different background, race, and culture. It was something different from the average TV. shows that were scripted and directed. Real world showed how everyday average people lived and didn’t give much privacy to the cast members. That’s what made it interesting, to see these people deal with issues that we, the viewers, could relate to. As M.T.V.’s longest running series, it was the perfect mix of reality TV. that brought a lot of controversy over the years. In the past years we’ve seen gays, homophobics, racism, abuse, stereotypes, sexism, classim, and pretty much every trait out there. This opened the door to the “reality TV. BOOM!”
As television stations started to realize that the audience enjoys watching realism, creators started to designate reality TV. to certain categories as they started to target specific viewers. We have the “Ultimate Fighter” for guys, “Nanny 911” for mothers, “American Idol” for talents, “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” for gays, and the list can just go on and on. But the demographic of reality TV show viewers are 20’s and 30’s year olds.
I have to say, my guilty pleasures ARE reality TV. shows. Especially on the Bravo and E channel. I watched one episode of the “Kardashians” and I was hooked. I didn’t even know who these people were at first. The only one that actually had a hint of stardom was Kim Kardashian who was spotted with Paris Hilton and dated Ray J, the singer. But other than that I thought she was just a socialite. Come to find out Robert Kardashian, the father of the clan, was a high profile lawyer who is best known for defending O.J. Simpson, his good friend.
Well, the main stars of the show are Kourtney, Kim, and Khole, sisters who have a close relationship to one another. The show also consists of the step-father Bruce Jenner, and gold medal Olympian, mother Kris, who is the daughters’ manager, younger brother Rob, and their younger 2 half sisters. The show focuses on their family lives and careers.
Kourntey is the eldest and recently a new mother. She has a live-in boyfriend, Scott, but their relationship is tumultuous. Already they are not your normal white picket fence family since they had a child before wedlock and when she first found out she was pregnant, she contemplated abortion. A very controversial topic but it was reality. At first she did not have her family’s blessings but at the end they were all ecstatic. Kourtney is represented as an independent successful woman who is juggling motherhood, career, and her personal life.
Khole is the youngest and the one that gets harassed the most since she looks the least like her family. She is often called a tranny because of her tall and bigger (than her sisters) figure. They even had a tranny lookalike contest that she judged. Khole is very self conscious about her looks even though she is depicted as the “BITCH” out of her sisters. She says what’s on her mind and is very protective of her loved ones. Recently married to Lakers player Lamar Odom, her celebrity status went up a notch.
Kim the middle and most popular sibling are portrayed as a sex pot. Her voluptuous body with exotic features makes her captivating to both men and women. Her stardom came with a sex tape that was seen all over the internet. Being popular by just being a reality TV star she launched her career as she started building her empire. Her life seems glamorous traveling and jumping from photo shoot to photo shoot.
It’s interesting to see the Kardashians on TV. because they are not your average family. In a sense it’s good to see such a loving blended family because we don’t really see that out there. We, as America tend to stereotype people and put a label on them. In every show characters have a role that they have to play, same goes with reality TV. Once an audience decides to put a title on a person, it seems like they play it out more, maybe because the producers only display what the viewers want to see. Kardashians are a good looking family and the media feeds on that. The more juice they have on these celebrities their popularity just keeps getting higher and higher.
