Introduction

Kim Kardashian is easily one of the most influential women in media. With over 31 million followers on Instagram and Twitter, 24 million likes on Facebook, a 7+ year running television show and most recently one of the most popular mobile based games of the 2014, Kardashian dominates platforms with seemingly effortless success. There is an aura around the reality star, which draws in a mass audience; everything in her life is glamorized by filters and editing. This idea of Kim’s “perfect” life is also the storyline of mobile/web game “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood” where your created character follows the model lifestyle with Kim as your mentor, leading you on a path of fame, romance and wealth. As Kardashian is in the spotlight on so many platforms, she promotes this idea of a glamorous lifestyle. By placing the fans into this lifestyle they are given a glimpse into her day to day life, thereby making the audience want more; and as a result they tune into Kim on her other forms of media.

Surrounding the fame and power of the Kardashian empire is the concept of ideology. Ideology can be used to explain the dominance of the Kardashians across media space. Suggested by theorist Karl Marx  “ideology is the “false-consciousness” which prevents the proletariat from realizing the material reality of their exploitation by the bourgeoisie…ideologies are representations of the interests of the ruling class” (Czolacz 2010). This idea suggests that those who are “bourgeoisie” manipulate those below them into believing the same ideas as them through materialistic pursuit. Wayne (2014, p.174) suggested “Ideology works in the popular media by mobilising imagery and mini-narratives, stirring us at a ‘gut’ level of fear, feeling and desire.” meaning in the media we consume on a day to day basis there are ideologies presenting themselves to the masses.

I will also be discussing how participatory culture takes a role in the Kim Kardashian world. With such a large fan base, it is impossible to ignore the effect they have on the production and consumption across platforms. 

Jenkins et al defines participatory culture as “a culture with relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations, and some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices…members believe their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connection with one another” (2006, p.3).

The main type of participation Kim K fans get involved with is “affiliation”; whereby using social networking such as Facebook or Instagram they become a member of the fan community. Over the course of the next few posts, I will explore how participatory culture is shaped by ideologies of fans, and how they promote these ideologies via affiliation across space.