Bourgeoisie Ideology & Fame

First used in the 1700’s during the French revolution, the term bourgeois has often been used to describe those of a higher economical state and power. The term was then used in “The Communist Manifesto’ by social theorists Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, in reference to this revolution. In terms of media theory, Roland Barthes proposed the term “bourgeoisie myth” in the book “Mythologies”. Barthes stated “Bourgeois ideology can… spread over everything and in so doing lose its name without risk” (Barthes 1972, p. 138). In stating this Barthes proposes that bourgeois ideology can go undetected in society, explaining why consumers are likely to believe these myths.

In terms of Kim Kardashian Hollywood, the same aspect is applied here. You play along with the fame game, and no questions are aroused as to why you attracted to this. The ultimate goal is superiority and fame, similar to real life when the public look up to celebrities. In the screenshot from where I played the game, you can see my character is currently on the “E List”, In order to work my way up into the more respected clan of celebrities, the character would have to take part in photo-shoots, appearance and other events. These events are then rewarded by followers, energy and money. The less followers, money and clothes you have the less you are rewarded. If the ultimate goal is fame and money, is Kim promoting this ideology of fame to the unsuspecting fans?

A character on the E List with 4k followers (own screenshot)

Barthes also goes on to say “bourgeois norms are experienced as the evident laws of a natural order - the further the bourgeois class propagates its representations, the more naturalised they become.” (Barthes 1972, p. 139). This perhaps explains as to why so many people are interested in the game. Time magazine (1923-) named Kim Kardashian the 2^nd most influential character of 2014, behind Elsa from Disney powerhouse “Frozen”. In turn this means that a large mass will be talking about this game on different platforms. Referring back to the quote, it is evident in this case that bourgeois ideology is propagated by Kim across platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, television and print. As these ideas of fame are represented across so many platforms this becomes the norm for fans, they expect nothing short of lavish from Kardashian. With options to share your characters fame successes across social media, Kim allows the users to also naturalise these ideologies.

A spoilt, rich kid character.

Further investigating the game however arises a question that would disregard all previous points about ideology. Is Kim parodying fame in the game? It is very clear in the narrative that it is meant to be light hearted, with characters like Simon (your manager) who has no clue about fame, and Willow Pape the rumoured game version of Paris Hilton who create laughs throughout the storyline. If Kim is parodying fame, is she aware of the fame ideology she creates and does this consequently make her more powerful? Fame is also made fun of with the bratty and stereotypical “spoilt rich kid” characters.

own screenshot

Moreover, Andrew Keen argues that social media has developed a culture of “digital narcissism” – a state in which consumers have become more self aware with the development of web 2.0. 

“With the Web 2.0 revolution, of course, anyone can now author their own celebrity, Narcissism, once the preserve of the rich and famous, has been democratized by the digital revolution… when everyone acquires the means to broadcast themselves, what is the fate of “celebrity”?” (Keen 2006). 

Keen overall argues that the development of the internet is bad for our egos, that ideologies are further naturalised as personality traits due to the interest in celebrity culture.

own screenshot

When looking at Kim Kardashian Hollywood, you can see where he is coming from. Players of the game can become their own celebrity, and like he asks on his blog where does this leave the fate of celebrity? Does this mean the power now resides in the consumers’ hands? This also brings us back to the original point of whether development across platforms helps boost fame ideologies and power for Kim. In Keen’s eyes, yes this is the case, however it also brings power onto the consumers, which is interesting as other ideology theorists state the power belongs to those of the bourgeois; that the proletariat blindly follows. It can now be thought that consumers now under the spell of digital narcissism popularise the game for their own personal gain (eg. followers or rewards within the game). To add to the previous remark, it could be seen that the game relies on this digital narcissism to attract audiences – if it is the case that anyone can become a celebrity then why not create a game that caters to this need.

own screenshot

This leads us to “conspicuous consumption”; proposed by sociologist Thorstein Veblen. “Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability to the gentleman of leisure.” (Veblen 1918, p.40) declares Veblen, simply stating that consumption of elite goods are a way of showing off status. In many ways we can relate this idea to Kim Kardashian Hollywood. Firstly the game gives you the options to share your accomplishments across social media platforms. 

The concept of buying clothes and fancy apartments in the game gaining you followers also is an example of conspicuous consumption. 

“The consumption of luxuries, in the true sense, is a consumption directed to the comfort of the consumer himself, and is, therefore, a mark of the master. Any such consumption by others can take place only on a basis of sufferance” (Veblen 1918, p. 38) 

this quote can tell us ideology of fame can influence the use of this game as we are more likely to buy into something that shows us as “elite”, and to do so users are more likely to interact with the game across different spaces.

own screenshot