KIM
KARDA-
SHIAN
WEST
Kim Kardashian West: The Life of Unpredictable Events
WRITTEN BY MELISSA DRIVER
Over the last decade, Kim Kardashian West has become a household name. Whether her face is on your TV screen, her latest antics are on your Facebook feed, or she’s gracing a magazine cover at the checkout line at the grocery store - she is everywhere. And although it is easy to scoff at the very sound of her name, it is undeniable that Kim Kardashian has surpassed being a reality TV icon- she has become one of the most successful business women in America. By monetizing her fame and capitalizing upon it on a massive scale, she has become the embodiment of the selfie era. Perpetually building her empire and fame, spectators continue to question how she not only maintains her fame and wealth, but it seems to be endlessly growing. Beginning with the notorious sex tape a decade ago, Kardashian has since stoked the fame from it by landing her own hit reality show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians, exposing almost every detail of her life.
Since then, her fame has skyrocketed to the stratosphere and she has used this fame as a propellant to create the iconic Kardashian empire. She has starred in movies, been on thousands of magazine covers, opened a nation wide clothing store, produced and appeared in several reality shows, created a multi-million dollar video game, written books, developed cosmetic lines, and become the face of hundreds of brands. As a result of her fame, she developed a golden touch – everything she put her name (or face) on became a money machine. By simply being affiliated with Kim, nearly every one of her family members has capitalized upon her fame; thus, building their own multi-million dollar careers. Whether it’s a cosmetic, sock, denim line, or a supermodel career, Kim has single-handedly provided a professional career to almost everyone in her inner circle. It may be easy to dismiss anything tied to the name “Kim Kardashian.” The name alone is typically tethered to
“I believe in love, always.” things like ‘trashy’ ‘artificial’, or ‘pointless.’ She holds a reputation of having too much plastic surgery, no talent, and checking absolutely none of the boxes when it comes to what Americans have defined as a ‘classic’ woman. As one of the biggest international celebrities, she is constantly critiqued, criticized, and talked about all over the world every single day by hundreds of thousands of people. Despite her transparent life being documented in great detail through social media, she is still swarmed and chased by paparazzi every day just dying to get a shot of her. By simply glancing at her life, it is evident that both fans and haters are obsessed with West. Perhaps it is her transparency of her imperfections that cause people to be so captivated by her. She is shameless, unapologetic, and unbothered by all of the ruthless attacks and daggers shot her way over the last decade. Whether it be by major media outlets ripping her to shreds or random
Internet commentaries dehumanizing her, she refuses to set her sights on anything but herself and success. Not only is she apathetic about what people say about her, she capitalizes upon it. She takes their attention and monopolizes it to her favor. When reflecting upon West’s wild and revolutionary success, it is simple to understand once you strain all of the shiny things around her that she wants you to be distracted by: her success is built upon the discussion and conversation revolving around her. Whether it is positive or negative, she simply doesn’t care, because she isn’t listening. She is a business woman unaffected by anything that isn’t money driven. Kardashian cashes in your time spent talking about her into cold hard cash. She takes your attention and turns it into a family dynasty in less than a decade. And as people continue to question or talk about her, she continues to profit upon your inquisitions and fascinations about ‘how she even got famous? She doesn’t even have any talent!’
RISE
TO FAME
34
CONTROLLING
THE MEDIA
I don’t want to be married anymore!
SELFIE
GAME
AS A CUL-
TURAL ICON
168
BREAKING
THE INTERNET
No copyright infringed intended. We do not own any photos, names, or content within the book. Everything belongs to respective owners. Book is intended for educational purposes only. Not intended for sale or production.
Designed by:
Qamile Dani & Melissa Driver Photo research:
Christina Voulgarelli-Christidou