CAPTION: The Kardashian Christmas Card, as tweeted by Roger Ebert...
Then I saw my sister watching an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, a show so plotless and artificial that I feel that I shouldn't italasize it. It's more an ad for Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney's tabloid careers than an actual show. Reality television revolves around crazy people, has beens, and cultural trash. The Kardashians, excluding crazy old Scott, are sane, relevant, and classy. So why do I care about them? I understand why I'm addicted to Snookie (she's unapologetically herself, which is what we all wish we were), but why the fuck am I watching the Kardashian sisters argue about opening a new boutique no one will shop in, when lately, I find even Mad Men boring?
It's because the Kardashians, Kendra, and the Jersey Shore cast have replaced television sitcoms. Yes, critics and hipsters adore Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, but when was the last time Julie Bowen graced the cover of Rolling Stone or US Weekly? Do you even know who Bowen is? I don't. I just had to wikipedia Modern Family to find a cast member to use as an example.
On E! and MTV, they come across as happy, simple, and rich, without an ounce of privcledgeness in their voice. Of course, the Kardashians are privileged, but name the last time you saw Kim say something snotty. In a world where people struggle with debt, foreclosure, and war, the Kardashians are living the dream, without any knowledge of it. To them, it's called normal life. They make the dream seem plausible. I would never want a reality show or to be a Kardashian, but it's nice to watch a show, unlike Lost or anything on CNN, where the world isn't falling apart. It's nice to spend thirty minutes in a world where the biggest problem is whether or not the tabloids know Kim started dating Miles.
The sitcom is dead.
Welcome to the age of reality. (Which is ironic, because there's not an ounce of reality on those shows and today's reality can see scary!)
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