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POP CULTURE<br />
Big Booties and Cash Cows<br />
The Undeniable Influence of Kim Kardashian...<br />
By Kurt Gilbert<br />
As a full-time fan of Kanye West, I’ve had to put up with my fair share of<br />
Kim Kardashian-related news over the past couple of years. Admittedly,<br />
before Kimye was a ‘thing’, I paid very little attention to the camera-hungry<br />
stylings that placed Kim on the A-List of celebrity culture. I had the same<br />
fundemental problem with her that so many other people do; I couldn’t<br />
reconcile the fact that she’s made silly amounts of money by airing her<br />
dead-end, first world ‘problems’ on TV, while far more important issues<br />
are crammed into a four minute slot on late-night news. That’s the case in<br />
America, at least.<br />
What’s important to note at this point is that I’ll never ride a bandwagon<br />
purely because everyone else is on it, and neither should you. I’ve learnt to<br />
question everything in order to create an informed and justifiable opinion<br />
on whatever I may be talking about, and Kim Kardashian is no exception.<br />
For that very reason, I decided to take a deeper look into the life and times<br />
“Granted, her field is pretty much defined by being in the right place,<br />
wearing the right clothes, and laughing at the right jokes, at the right<br />
time, but that doesn’t detract from the simple fact that she owns it.”<br />
of young Kimmy, and what I concluded from that<br />
brief foray and indeed, how I feel now, may come as<br />
a shock to anyone who knows me and/or has read<br />
anything I’ve written over the past couple of years.<br />
It’s like this – I think Kim Kardashian absolutely<br />
deserves her place on our TV screens, Instagram<br />
feeds, Facebook newsfeeds and magazine covers, and<br />
here’s why:<br />
She’s not as stupid as you think.<br />
Mrs. Kardashian-West is, in fact, one of the most savvy,<br />
ingenious individuals in her ‘field’ right now. Granted,<br />
her field is pretty much defined by being in the right<br />
place, wearing the right clothes, and laughing at the<br />
right jokes, but that doesn’t detract from the simple<br />
fact that she owns it. If for one minute you think that<br />
anyone can do what she’s done as long as they have<br />
a little bit of luck and rich enough parents, let me be<br />
the first person to tell you that you’re more dumb<br />
than you think she is. There are plenty of super-rich<br />
people who would love to be in Kim’s shoes, so why<br />
aren’t more trust fund heiresses and insurance money<br />
girls marrying the biggest musicians in the world, or<br />
getting special endorsements from fashion labels like<br />
Dolce&Gabanna and Yves Saint Laurent?<br />
I’ll tell you why – they’re either not willing to work for<br />
it or they’re not thinking big enough. Kim Kardashian<br />
does both, and has for a long time. She understands<br />
her target demographic, sets high goals and pushes<br />
them out until you can’t open an internet browser<br />
without seeing her name or photo somewhere. Sure,<br />
a lot of what she does isn’t exactly the pinnacle of<br />
artistic evolution, but that’s a matter of taste more<br />
than anything else.<br />
The bottom line is that Kim K has converted a<br />
derogatory reality show start-up into an independent<br />
A-list career. She runs in her own lane and for that<br />
alone, demands respect.<br />
57 MARCH 2015 | POTPOURRI