Into It with Sam Sanders
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Kim Kardashian and her familys Hulu reality show,The Kardashians, isback with a new season this week.
When, if ever, will the Kardashian-Jenner machine stop working?
Can it even stop working?
Her magazine covers dont break the internet anymore.
And before the Kardashianstook their reality show from E!
to Hulu, theratings were dropping.
A post shared by @kardashian_kolloquium
Sam has been wondering for some time now ifKim Kardashian is in decline.
(Shes even written about Kim and KanyeforThe New Yorker.)
What is a cultural fractal point?
All of these entrenched iconic conglomerates are telling us stories of America.
They really are consequences of the American system in terms of media and its economic system.
So the Kardashians are the same to me.
Thats what Im really doing when I do this project.
And yet, Ill find myself being more mad aboutherbeing rich thansomeone likeJeff Bezos.
Theres something about it.I think that that hits on a really real thing about the Kardashians power.
Weve watched this family perform this illusion of the American dream.
People still love to remind her, You wereParis Hiltons maid.
And Brandys assistant.Yes, exactly.
And of course, the bottom is still an incredibly elite LA.
But we watch them social-climb to this point, now where theyre having private island birthday parties.
Humans are drawn to watching depictions of transformations.
Same with their faces, same with everything.
Stop, stop.Is that crazy?
Thats wild.Its very powerful.
They have a billion followers and then billions more of actual dollars.Theyve got the capital.
As far as the influencer economy goes, theyve got social capital.
Skims isa billion-dollar business.Also, lets be real:Its just sexy girdles.
I love how my mama used to wear girdles, okay?Totally.
And these are all really basic formulas they work with.
Even the family-sitcom formula they feel like Americas family.
These are all constructs being filtered through media, but they sell that to us.
Her influence will be felt for generations.
And that was building towards a shilling of shapewear body focused products.
Its aboutskin care, aging prevention, her face.
And I wasnt expecting this move towards venture capital.
The venture capital surprised me.
But then once I thought about it, I was like, You know what?
She makes good business choices.
How should we examine all of that as we look to her next phase?
And then thats it.
And thats a really powerful way to control the narrative.
It didnt change anything aboutthe movement that he cultivated.
Its funny not funny, important to hear you talk about Trump and Kardashian together.
In many ways, they work the same model of celebrity and media manipulation.
Kim has shown more grit than Trump just by being a woman doing all this.
And she can be a chameleon in ways that he never was good at.
Hes always just been Trump.
She has been different versions of herself at every phase of her career.True.
If you look atTrumps history of cameos, hes always beenthe Trump ofHome Aloneandall those pre-Apprentice-era cameos.
I keep seeing this moment of Kim Kardashian as a big shift for her.
AfterthatInterviewcover, where she was in theAmericana aesthetic,people were saying that shes going to run for president.
She hasnt actually dominated yet, but were seeing the groundwork of it.
