Textual analysis

How are representations constructed of reality T.V shows such as Keeping up with the Kardashians?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CC-XCpvV_V8
(This is an extract from an episode of Keeping up with the Kardashians - when Kim does playboy!)

Kim Kardashian is changing her lifestyle and what she is known as, through the decisions she is making to do playboy. This is a negative representation of her, as she is showing nudity, which automatically would reduce her fan base, as this isn't what they'd want to see. Furthermore, as the shows current main audience is females, they'd be ashamed and wouldn't want to refer to the show any longer, there are fewer men who watch it, therefore they wouldn't be intrigued into it. 

The clip at 15 seconds, starts of properly with Kim doing the actual shoot. It starts of with a close up shot, with her face, and the camera man saying "like that" this initially implies she is doing some sort of shoot. Slowly the camera moves and unravels what she is wearing, the clothing she is wearing is red, which represents her to be devil-like, daring and lovable. This could be implied in many forms, one of which would be a sexually, as of her body language and gesture. There is a medium shot of her, with her posing for the camera, which automatically allows the audience to see her cleavage. This would initially allow the audience to know what she is doing, without the video pursuing further. The dialogue in the background suggests she is doing a good job, and it would indicate to her to do more, as he is saying "very nice" "thats good" etc, these would lead to her being encouraged. Moreover, the music in the background is parallel to the movement, as there are sudden shots being taken.

In addition, the camera man asks her "how much nudity are you prepared for?" the music stops and suits the scene, as it is so sudden and she is shocked, as that is not what she was expecting to be asked. Automatically Kim's facial expression changes, and replies "I don't want to be exposed for any of the shots". This is shown in a long shot, which allows the audience to see her full body, and her body language, of her hand on her hips showing she is good at what she is doing and is proud. Moreover, within this her outfit changes and she is in a bra and knickers, still again it is red, which could have connotations of sexual behaviour or devil-like attitude. 

Furthermore, this clip has a major negative impact of Kim Kardashian, as she is showing so much cleavage and she actually done the shoot, despite her sex tape being shown to everyone, worldwide. The fact that she was still willing to do playboy, shows she has no shame in herself and has the confidence to do so. However, it also has a minor positive impact on the audience, as she refuses to show nudity and remains shocked, and her mother Kris stands up for her, and says she isn't willing to do so due to her past. So, this shows how Kim and her mother have taken into consideration the past, and were only willing to show a little nudity. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abShr_KG6Cs
This is when the Kardashians open their Kardashian Kaos store, in Las Vegas

This clip shows a different representation of Kim Kardashian, alongside her family, opposed to the top video. This clip includes her sisters, who own the store with her. Kim is showing herself as being a successful person, as of the clothing career she holds onto, and as of the new store being opened and the chaos which is being created by the audiences makes it easier to know her career is successful, because of her fans screaming and shouting.

The clip starts of with a point of view shot, as the audience is shown from Kim's perspective. This allows the audience to understand what Kim can see, and how she must be feeling seeing a large amount of audience. Furthermore, the camera slowly pans around, to show the audience and then goes to Kim in a medium shot, then slowly pans vertically down, and shows her from top to bottom. Moreover, the sound in the background is parallel and suits the scene, as it is all natural sound, nothing has been added on. 

Moreover, we see Kim posing for the camera and this shows she is prepared for pictures to be taken of her, the confidence is shown in her smile and movement, as she moves her hair swiftly. Then her sisters Kendall and Kylie are shown to be posing in a medium shot, which allows us to see their body language and movement, showing it is a family business and everyone is involved in the opening of the new store. All the family are shown to be posing, after Kim, which could connote she is the main reason for the success, and she is the main person involved. There is a long shot of Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and Kris, which allows us to see their full body and what they're doing. Furthermore, there is a voice, which has a lot of power telling them what to do, directing them which way to look so images of them can be taken accurately.

In conclusion, this clip has more of a positive impact of Kim Kardashian, as she is shown to be successful and doing well, as they open their new Kardashian store as a family. This clip shows her to be very family oriented, as she opens it with her family beside her, and they're all involved. Furthermore, the clothing she is wearing promotes the new store, as it is clothing from their, which would initially encourage people to buy the products, as they would want to look like Kim, as she is a role model to some people. 

Amazon books

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kim-Kardashian-Her-Own-Words-ebook/dp/B00609YF38/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385846045&sr=1-4&keywords=kim+kardashian
Kim Kardashian is an American television personality. Kardashian and her family star in an E! reality series called Keeping up with the Kardashians along with several spin-offs. She has used this stardom to help launch a variety of businesses in the fashion and beauty industry including a boutique clothing chain with her sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Khloé Kardashian Odom called D-A-S-H and a perfume line. 
In her personal life, Kardashian recently married basketball player Kris Humphries in Montecito, California on August 20, 2011. A taping of the wedding was shown of E! Her family also includes two other famous athletes: Khloé’s husband basketball player Lamar Odom and their step father Bruce Jenner, a Olympic gold medalist, who married Kris Jenner (Kardashian).
Kim Kardashian recently filed for divorce from Kris Humphries.
This well researched and edited collection of quotations and sayings provide insight into the thinking of Kim Kardashian on a variety of topics including fame, business, and family.
- This book covers Kim's opinions and her likes and dislikes, it allows people to understand her better and know what she is actually like, and judge her based on her opinions

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reality-Television-Quiz-Book-Questions/dp/1906358729/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385846217&sr=1-1&keywords=reality+tv+show
This book is designed for you if - you addicted to reality TV? Do you watch all the shows from Britain s Got Talent to The Apprentice? Can you name every contestant ever to walk through the doors of the Big Brother house? Then The Reality Television Quiz Book is definitely for you. Who can forget Jade Goody, Peter Andre and Jordan, Leona Lewis or Paul Potts? They are all inside in this book alongside the many memorable characters who have become household names by appearing live on our television screens. The 1,000 brain-teasing questions in this quiz book cover every aspect of reality TV, from the celebrities and wannabes to the strange and the bizarre, including all the heroes, villains, tears and tantrums we have come to expect from the genre in recent years. Packed with behind the scenes information about all your favourite shows, this book is guaranteed to provide hours of entertainment for the whole family and is a must have for all fans of reality television. - This is a quiz book to test you're knowledge on the reality T.V shows listed above, there are many questions on the different reality T.V shows, and it would allow audiences to get an insight of how much they actually know.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kim-Kardashian-Handbook-Everything-About/dp/1742443605/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385846355&sr=1-1&keywords=reality+tv+show+keeping+up+with+the+kardashians
This books tell you about all the Kardashian and gives you a profile of them, so you know everything about them. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Reality-TV-Getting-Favorite/dp/144214906X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385846422&sr=1-2&keywords=reality+tv+show+keeping+up+with+the+kardashians
Anyone who has watched a reality show has probably thought, "I could do that!" And you really could, as long as you know how to play the game. In this book, we will give you insider tips and tricks that could increase your odds of getting cast and help you in becoming a Reality TV star. We want you to not only succeed at getting cast on the show, but in keeping your 15 minutes of fame after the show is over too! This amazing resource book gives you essential information written by industry pros! This book will give you insider information that will increase your chances of getting cast!!! You'll learn about: -Reality TV Basics -How to pick a show! -Which show is right for you? -Different types of Reality Shows -Best ways to apply for a show -Ways to get an edge on your competion -Game show casting tips -Being a contestant -Financial Perks for Contestants -You will also get specific tips for many of your favorite shows and much more!
- This books allows you to understand and know how to create a reality T.V show, it gives tips and advice on what to do, and how to do it.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/15-Minutes-Kardashian-Marc-Shapiro-ebook/dp/B00EYIBBR0/ref=sr_1_39?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385846618&sr=1-39&keywords=kim+kardashian
- This is in a format of a comic book. It is based around Kim Kardashian's love life has been part and parcel of her rise to the throne of pop culture icon. She definitely knows how to pick men and it is the many loves of Kim Kardashian that Bluewater Comics will explore in "15 Minutes: Kim Kardashian", coming in September. This chronicle of sex tape diva turned world celebrity brand is written by New York Times Bestselling Author Marc Shapiro and illustrated by the mad talent of rising star Noval Hernawan.

Advanced search

http://www.12newsnow.com/story/24018615/exploretalentcom-reports-kim-kardashian-stars-in-kanyes-video-bound-2

Kim Kardashian Stars in Kanye's Video, "Bound 2"

http://www.crunkfeministcollective.com/2010/12/16/keeping-it-real-black-women-reality-tv/

Reality television has been a claim to fame for many black women over the last decade—but not in a good way.  Many black women remain nameless and objectified, framed as ignorant, promiscuous golddiggers.  Other representations suggest that black women are conniving, bitter, bourgeoisie or shallow. Essentially, reality television has found a way to reiterate stereotypes to name and frame black women.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/23/kim-kardashian-threat-western-civilisation

This article talks about how Kim became a threat to the western civilization - there are a range of different viewpoints given within the article from various different people. 

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20111103/news/711039954/

There doesn't appear to be a study of how boys are affected by reality TV, but it could be because the majority of reality TV watchers are young girls and women. Reality TV attracts far more female viewers than males, and the shows are profitable for the networks because they're cheap to produce and draw large, young audiences, says Brad Adgate, the senior vice president of research at Horizon Media. Most reality shows — such as "The Bachelor," "Teen Mom," "Real Houswives" or "Keeping up with the Kardashians" — are geared to women. MTV's audience is 65 percent female, Adgate said. Data shows younger viewers tend to watch the cable reality TV shows while older viewers tend to watch the network reality TV shows, Adgate said. There are a range of different reality T.V shows, which both have negative and positive impact on it's audiences, through the actions of the actors. 

"The reality shows that demean women, or where they're obsessed with beauty, or obsessed with finding a man ... it further encourages a culture that causes women to self-objectify, and for men to see women as second-class," she said. "We've got to elevate ourselves as a society. Our culture is celebrating (Kim Kardashian) for a sex tape, and the ambition in her family to exploit reality TV and our dumbed-down culture for her financial gain ... so frankly, right now, we need some serious elevation." 

http://justmytype.ca/womens-portrayal-in-the-media-and-your-role-in-it/

Power of influence - Kim Kardashian! The media is beyond powerful. It shapes our perceptions of what is normal, what is acceptable and what should be sought after. What you see and hear influences, whether you are aware of how powerful its impact, or not. - This article covers different viewpoints and how the media has a influence on the opinions and the way people react. 

Media magazine

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/results.php?search=kardashians

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm22_reality.html

Reality television appears to have taken over our TV schedules. From the monstrous behemoth that is Big Brother the genre spawned many hybrids and sub-genres. Faced with a serious documentary on BBC4 or Wife Swap on Channel 4, most of the nation seems to choose the ‘reality’ option. Indeed, Endemol, the Dutch company behind Big Brother, is announcing record profits and moving into ever more controversial programming. In its provocative, consciousness-raising hoax The Big Donor Show 2007, Lisa, the 37-year-old victim of a brain tumour, asked the audience to help her decide which of the three contestants with degenerative kidney conditions deserved to get her healthy kidneys.

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm22_reality.html

Reality TV’s future

The allegory of Plato’s cave offers an interesting comment on reality television programming, particularly with the notion of celebrity, our obsession with confession and voyeurism, and the desire to get past the ‘puppet handlers’ and the fire to the rarefied celebrity lifestyle. The chained audience theory might be limited by the active social engagement that audiences bring to this viewing experience, as reality programmes clearly seem to serve a social function.

The future of reality TV in the UK seems assured, as new series are continually commissioned. However, in Italy, for example, the state broadcaster has stopped their broadcast; La Repubblica, the national newspaper has labelled reality television ‘a dinosaur’. La Repubblica points to poor ratings in recent series of the country’s two most popular reality TV shows, Grande Fratello (Big Brother) on Mediaset and L’Isola dei Famosi (Celebrity Island) on Rai. Grande Fratello is said to have lost a million viewers last year. The audience may yet decide...press your red buttons now!

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/RealityTV.html

The audience

The success of reality TV is partly due to the increasingly voyeuristic nature of the society in which we live, and in part due to the obsession with celebrity and everyone wanting to be one. I would also argue that we are living in a much more ‘open society’; not open in terms of freedoms (in fact we have less freedoms), but open in terms of the ‘nothing is sacred’ philosophy. Tabloids and gossip magazines give graphic details and photographs of anyone and everyone. There is very little we don’t know about Victoria and David Beckham, Sven Gorran Eriksson’s love life, Jordan and Peter Andre’s relationship, Elaine Lordan and Jesse Wallace’s pregnancies, Jodie Marsh’s wardrobe and sex life, and Charlotte Church’s clubbing antics. Magazines like Heat,Closer, OK!, Hello and so on have huge circulation figures and even bigger readerships; a trip to the newsagents sees a new gossip magazine on the shelves weekly.

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/RealityTV.html

Some theoretical perspectives

Can we apply any theoretical perspectives to the reality TV phenomenon? Firstly, given that this would be relevant to the ‘Audience’ section of Med4, Uses and Gratifications theory could certainly be applied. All four categories of Uses and Gratifications research: (Diversion, Personal Relationships, Personal Identity, Surveillance), can be applied to reality TV.
• There is no doubt that we use reality TV as a form of escapism, it certainly helps you forget about the stresses of the day when you can see people having a much worse day than you have had.
• Reality TV performs the function of companionship through identification with television characters, and there is no doubt that there is sociability
• In discussion: everyone was talking about BB5. In terms of personal identity, comparisons are a relatively natural thing to make: we either take the stance that we are better than the participants, or we want to be them.
• And finally, it is a source of information about the world, not just from a psychological perspective, but also from finding out about a particular way of life – for example, Airport, Property Ladder etc.

Reality and post-modernism

I would argue that you could apply a postmodern theoretical perspective to the reality TV phenomenon. To quote Baudrillard:

Art today has totally penetrated reality.

If we substitute the term popular culture for art this makes more sense. He meant that the border between popular culture and reality has vanished as both have collapsed into the universal simulacrum. There are four stages to this:

• It is the reflection of a basic reality.
• It masks and perverts a basic reality.
• It marks the absence of a basic reality.
• It bears no relation to any reality whatever – it is its own pure simulacrum in which the distinctions between ‘real life’ and its media representations have become blurred.

Reality becomes redundant and we have a hyper-reality, in which images breed with each other without reference to reality or meaning. Though a little abstract, it is possible to apply this to reality TV in the sense that we watch the shows because we believe we are watching real people; which in fact in a postmodern sense is nonsense. They are not real anymore; they are not even in a real situation anymore. In real terms, once you see the mediation process involved, you are aware that it is not a real situation. As soon as Jason came out of the Big Brother house he was interviewed by Closer magazine, in which he argued that we were not seeing the real Jason in the house, but an edited and manipulated version. So, was anyone real in the house?

Reality and hegemony

And, finally, I would argue that the most easily applicable theory is from a Marxist perspective: it is the concept of hegemony. The whole notion of hegemony is that we are ruled by ideas: if we believe that the world is actually a reasonable place to live, and a good education and a good job will provide everything we could ever need, then the system remains intact. As mentioned earlier, the notion of hard work has been replaced by something much more instant – being a contestant on reality TV show. In Marxist terms this could be perceived of as a masterstroke on the part of the ruling class: they don’t even have to convince the masses to work hard anymore, just convince a whole generation of young people that the key to fame and fortune is to appear as a contestant on a reality TV show. It is even more of an incentive than the Football Pools or the National Lottery. What more could we ask for? Reality TV seems to have it all.

http://www.englishandmedia.co.uk/mm/subscribers/downloads/archive_mm/mmagpast/mm22_reality.html

The hegemonic view

Theories of hegemony are based around the idea that dominant classes persuade subordinate or lower ones to accept and adopt their values. In programmes like Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor, a panel of so-called experts decide who has talent and who has not. These judges decide who will be plucked from their drab life (the drabber and harder the better), to enter over the threshold into celebrity. In case you hadn’t noticed, the ‘winners’ fade quickly into obscurity and do not get a fabulous life. The winner of The X Factor in 2004, Steve Brookstein, is not an international music artist and you probably barely remember him: he was reduced to working the ‘P&O’ Portsmouth to Bilbao ferry in June 2007 as a cabaret act, together with fellow reality television ‘celebrities’ as Chico Slimani and Journey South.

Self evaluation

WWW: 

• Went onto Amazon, found quotes from books
• Found out information on feminism and wrote about it in detail
• Wrote about different members from the family, and stories which link in with my question, what the sisters have done and how they've accomplished where they are today.

EBI:

• Get more information from Google Scholar
• Find positive and negative factors of Keeping up with the Kardashians
• Compare Keeping up with the Kardashians with other similar shows 
• Go onto media magazine and find quotes which link in with the C.I
• Find information on the institution E4 and do textual analysis on specific clips

Google scholar

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Reality-Audiences-Popular-Factual-Television/dp/041526152X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383575403&sr=1-1&keywords=reality+tv

- Reality T.V is the development of a television genre. Reality TV is a catch-all category that includes a wide range of entertainment programmes about real people. Sometimes called popular factual television, reality T.V is located in border territories between information and entertainment, documentaries and drama. Originally used as a category for law and order popular factual programmes containing ‘on scene’ footage of cops on the job. Reality T.V  has become the success story of television in the 1999’s and 2000s.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19392397.2013.810838#.UoHuffnIb1p
Kim Kardashian is an omnipresent figure in today's entertainment media. The daughter of O.J. Simpson's defence attorney Robert Kardashian, she first entered the public eye in 2007, gaining notoriety with a home-made sex tape. Soon after came a reality-television partnership with the E! network that spawned five distinct programmes, and from there Kardashian took on an ever-expanding range of promotional and licensing opportunities, building a successful brand. Throughout, media coverage has placed constant attention on her curvaceous body, locating it as a site where both her ‘realness’ and artificiality lie. This attention to her body, much of it promulgated by Kardashian herself, works to consistently flatten the many interplays between race, class and sexuality in her image in order to best position her as both an accessible and unique commodity in the marketplace of personality. This paper addresses how the portrayal of Kardashian's body is at once complex and contradictory, concurrently reinforcing heteronormative structures of reproductive, privatised sexuality and historic racial dichotomies positioning white bodies as restrained and non-white bodies as overtly sexual, while exploiting the interstices of these taxonomies for profit.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/jun/22/zoo-kim-kardashian-cover-wrong

Why Zoo's Kim Kardashian cover is wrong. 

The abundance of images sexualising and objectifying women does untold psychological damage to young people  

It is not just the "glamour" of the photograph of Kim Kardashian on the cover of Zoo magazine's 26 May edition that draws the reader in: the expensive lacy red and black lingerie (colours woven into the rest of the cover), the artfully pseudo-natural hair and the heavy makeup. She presents herself in a sexually provocative way: breasts thrust forward, head pointing submissively downwards, thumbs resting inside her underwear, and legs stretched apart as she kneels on what is intended to look like bed sheets. The dominant image on the page is accompanied by three other pictures of semi-naked women, so that the entire cover consists of tantalising glimpses.

The cover sends out strong sexual messages, and even the mock prudishness of a subtitle covering the naked breasts of one of the women only enhance the thrill. The football headline – much smaller, of course, than the main sexual item – locks in the sense that this is a magazine for men, and that the women are therefore there only to serve the men.

But it is the prominent title of the leading article that is the most degrading of all. Kardashian, it announces – twice – is their "hot 101 winner", the "hottest woman in the world". By ranking, rating and judging women on their appearance, this magazine objectifies and degrades women. Not only are women presented as only being of interest sexually, but their value is reduced to a number.

Women are sexualised and objectified and, on the evidence of the pictures on this cover, they are happy to be so. And therein lies the danger of the blurred boundary between fantasy and reality. Girls and women cannot and should not be expected to emulate these images in order to be valued. We are already seeing the social consequences of these prevalent and pervasive expectations: levels of lack of body confidence have soared in recent years, as have eating disorders and sexual crimes against women.

Kardashian is financially astute, and will, we can imagine, have been paid well for her photo shoot. But images like this, especially repeated, ubiquitous images, create a damaging downward spiral. We have so grown used to these poses, reproduced as they are on covers even of many a "women's magazine", and mimicked on endless Facebook profiles, many of them by very young girls, that we expect them and accept them unquestioningly. All of this is doing untold psychological damage; we need to take stock of what we are inflicting on our young people.

- This front cover, sexualises Kim Kardashian, she is wearing expensive lingerie, which shows the status she holds. The colours are very rich and elegant, it announces – twice – is their "hot 101 winner" she is referred as being the "hottest woman in the world". Literally by ranking, rating and judging women on their appearance, this magazine objectifies and degrades women's standings. Women are portrayed as being of interest sexually, but the value they hold is reduced to a number, they have no standing and aren't dominant. This is all down to the fact, that they hold no control in society and they're always controlled by dominant men. 

http://beta.upc.edu.pe/matematica/portafolios/nmynt/Transmedia%20Storytelling%20Corporate%20Synergy%20and%20Audience%20Expression.pdf

One of the best examples of a problematic use of transmedia storytelling is the reality television franchise Keeping Up With the Kardashians, which is rapidly turning an entire cable channel's programming into highly aggressive branding and corporate synergy in a way that exploits fan practices, eschews creative storytelling, and instead focuses on media saturation and product placement supported by loosely scripted stock plotlines. 

That reality franchise bears further scrutiny, not least because it is also a key instance of a channel profiting from participatory fan culture. It does so in part by manipulating narrative and thematic elements. These include the reality show practice of turning real people into stereotypical types, what I have elsewhere analyzed as "character narratives," where cast members are portrayed as story "types" starring in elaborate story lines shaped by the rhythms of fictional TV genres, such as sitcoms, soap operas, or dramas (Edwards, 2004). 

Reality television reverses classic narrative. Instead of trying to make characters seem real, it makes real people into characters, using predictable and repetitive narrative frames. The E! Kardashian franchise involves a planned multi-platform text in the sense that each additional text contributes to the whole but can stand alone, and each takes the story of this family's life into a specific media environment in order to further the story and communicate with fans. In a striking piece of transmedia storytelling as corporate synergy, the E! network often uses their nightly entertainment news program, E! News Live, to interview Kardashian castmembers and to recirculate entertainment news about the show, which functions as quite aggressive marketing for the program (with news host Ryan Seacrest, media mogul and prolific reality TV developer, notably serving as one of the program's executive producers). The reality show has generated successful spin-offs (Khloé and Lamar and Kourtney and Kim Take New York, a continuation of Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami). 

http://www.hrsm.sc.edu/sevt/PDFs/2012%20SEVT%20PDFs/Academic%20Abstracts/Oral/05_Brison.pdf

Kim, Kourtney, Khloe Kardashian became the faces of QuickTrim weight loss system, and since then filing of the false advertising lawsuit, the Kardashians don't appear to be concerned about the efficacy of the product, but yet they claim that since they are not the retailers or manufacturers of the QuickTrim products, and merely spokespeople for the rpoducts, they should be removed from the lawsuit. Based upon the allegations in the complain, the Kardashians are more than mere spokespeople for the product "They personify the product" in order words. This shows how they want to own what they do, and as it shows that they want to be removed, it shows they aren't all about the fame. 

http://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=I1zXvFbjXYYC&oi=fnd&pg=PA135&dq=keeping+up+with+the+kardashians&ots=8pw3j0BA1X&sig=lm4LsEk4tQ6i3dh99nYwh5fX5PI#v=onepage&q=keeping%20up%20with%20the%20kardashians&f=false - book about the Kardashians - Family values The voice of the Kardashians 

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1987222

The Kardashian family undeniably exploits three emerging commercial components: reality television, social media, and brand endorsement. Fans do not have to wait to watch Kourtney & Kim Take New York on Sunday night to find out what is going on with their favorite Kardashian; all of the Kardashians constantly update their Facebook pages and Twitter accounts. Kim Kardashian has over six million fans on Facebook, and over nine million followers on Twitter.A Facebook post reading ―Hi-Lights and hair cut! I‘m good to go! garnered 6,534 likes and 991 comments. It comes as no surprise that Kim Kardashian can command up to $25,000 to mention a product or brand in a tweet. In fact all of the Kardashians have ―Twitter clauses‖ in their contracts, requiring them to discuss the product or brand on their respective Twitter pages. Like the Kardashians, advertisers are also attempting to connect with consumers through social media, reality television, and other non-traditional forms of advertising. 

Americans receive more than 3,000 commercial images every day. A person‘s subconscious can record approximately 150 images, and only about thirty will reach the person‘s conscious mind, and advertisers are willing to go to extremes to find ways to cut through the clutter. For many years advertisers have relied on celebrity endorsements to reach their audience‘s conscious mind. Celebrity endorsements are a type of brand communication in which a celebrity aligns herself with a product or brand and ―certifies the brand‘s claim and position by extending his/her personality, popularity, stature in the society or expertise in the field to the brand. Generally, the success of the endorsement depends on the strength of the match between the celebrity and the brand. The strength of the match depends on four factors: 

•  trustworthiness or credibility of the celebrity
•  likeability of the celebrity
•  similarity between the celebrity and the target audience
•  expertise of the celebrity in the subject matter of the product

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Mg6CUJP23E4C&dq=kardashians&hl=en&sa=X&ei=hCKKUuD2Maaw7Abqp4DgDw&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAA

Kardashian Konfidential: New! Inside Kim's Wedding with Never-Seen Pix, Plus a New Chapter!

This book highlights many different factors, such as: 

- What it’s really like to have a Momager

- The beauty tip that we think is an absolute MUST!

- The Peaks and Pits of our lives...so far

- What we think about men, and the absolute most important man in our lives

- Our private language: Bible!

- How to do what you love—the way we do!

- What you don't know about Kim's wedding

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=DCB95g6kpqsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

This book covers all the aspects of how it all began, and all the troubles Kim has faced. 

Notes and quotes

http://revisionworld.co.uk/a2-level-level-revision/sociology/mass-media-0/media-representations-age-social-class-ethnicity-gender-sexuality-and-disability 

• mass media representations of gender
• theoretical perspectives on media representations of gender
• mass media representations of sexuality, disability, social class and age
• mass media representations of ethnic minorities

Media representations of gender

KEY POINT - Almy et al. (1984) argue that media representations of gender are important because they enter the collective social conscience and reinforce culturally dominant (hegemonic) ideas about gender which represent males as dominant and females as subordinate. Sociologists argue that media representations not only stereotype masculinity and femininity into fairly limited forms of behaviour, but also provide gender role models that males and females are encouraged to aspire to.

However, Gauntlett (2008) points out that sociological analysis of media representations needs to be cautious, because of the sheer diversity of media in Britain.

Traditional media representations of femininity

• Women are generally represented in a narrow range of social roles by various types of media, whilst men are shown performing a full range of social and occupational roles. Tunstall (2000) argues that media representations emphasise women’s domestic, sexual, consumer and marital activities to the exclusion of all else. The media generally ignore the fact that a majority of British women go out to work. Men, on the other hand, are seldom presented nude or defined by their marital or family status.
• Working women are often portrayed as unfulfilled, unattractive, possibly unstable and unable to sustain relationships. It is often implied that working mothers, rather than working fathers, are guilty of the emotional neglect of their children.
• Tuchman et al. (1978) used the term symbolic annihilation to describe the way in which women’s achievements are often not reported, or are condemned or trivialised by the mass media. Often their achievements are presented as less important than their looks and sex appeal. Newbold’s research (2002) into television sport presentation shows that what little coverage of women’s sport there is tends to sexualise, trivialise and devalue women’s sporting accomplishments.
• Research into women’s magazines suggests that they strongly encourage women to conform to ideological patriarchal ideals that confirm their subordinate position compared with men. Ferguson (1983) conducted a content analysis of women’s magazines from between 1949 and 1974, and 1979 and 1980. She notes that such magazines are organised around a cult of femininity, which promotes a traditional ideal where excellence is achieved through caring for others, the family, marriage and appearance. However, Ferguson’s ideas were challenged by Winship (1987), who argued that women’s magazines generally play a supportive and positive role in the lives of women. Winship argues that such magazines present women with a broader range of options than ever before and that they tackle problems that have been largely ignored by the male-dominated media, such as domestic violence and child abuse.
• Wolf (1990) suggests that the images of women used by the media present women as sex objects to be consumed by what Mulvey calls the male gaze. According to Kilbourne (1995), this media representation presents women as mannequins: tall and thin, often US size zero, with very long legs, perfect teeth and hair, and skin without a blemish in sight. Wolf notes that the media encourage women to view their bodies as a project in constant need of improvement.
• Content analysis of teenage magazines in Britain indicates that almost 70% of the content and images focus on beauty and fashion, compared with only 12% focused on education or careers. Many encourage the idea that slimness=happiness and consequently Orbach (1991) suggests that such media imagery creates the potential for eating disorders.

The media as empowering women

KEY POINT
Sociologists have noted the increasing number of positive female roles emerging, especially in television drama and films. It is argued that these reflect the social and cultural changes that females have experienced in the last 25 years, especially the feminisation of the economy, which has meant that women are now more likely to have aspirational attitudes, a positive attitude towards education, careers and an independent income. Westwood claims that we are now seeing more transgressive (i.e. going beyond gendered expectations) female roles on British television as a result.

Gill (2008) argues that the depiction of women in advertising has changed from women as passive objects of the male gaze, to active, independent and sexually powerful agents. Gauntlett (2008) argues that magazines aimed at young women emphasise that women must do their own thing and be themselves, whilst female pop stars, like Lady Gaga, sing about financial and emotional independence. This set of media messages from a range of sources suggest that women can be tough and independent whilst being ‘sexy’.

http://uk.eonline.com/shows/kardashians

- Videos of kims babyshower location choice

Kim and Kourtney look for a place to have Kim's baby shower--but will the setting be up to snuff? Hear their thoughts on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/kuwtk-khloe-loses-control-keeping-2714201

Keeping Up With The Kardashians: Khloe loses control in hectic season finale

There's never a dull moment in the Kardashian household, especially where the men are concerned

http://www.amazon.com/Kardashian-Konfidential-Kim/dp/1427211264

- Confessions of life as a Kardashian sister—stuffed with family stories, advice, beauty tips and exclusive gorgeous full color photos, personal snapshots and the inside scoop on their life growing up into the gorgeous Dash Dolls

The stars of not one but two #1 reality television shows, and frequent cover girls on all the weekly celebrity magazines, Kourtney, Kim & Khloé Kardashian live large and glamorous lives. But not everything is on the screen—how they really live, get along (and feud) as sisters is the subject of the Kardashians’ very first book. Kardashian Konfidential is their sisterhood autobiography, full of fun facts about their childhoods (guess who was the ugly duckling?), their beauty and style secrets, the wisdom they learned from their beloved father, and the street smarts they got from their mother that sustain them in life and in business.

Kardashian Konfidential is bursting at the seams with photos, memorabilia, diary entries, datebook pages, and old Valentines the girls sent to each other, as well as many other artifacts put together just for their book. As glamorous, fun and fashionable as the girls themselves, this is the perfect buy-one-for-me-buy-three-for-friends fan’s book.

Tutorial targets 4/11/13

- Complete media magazine articles - use quotes and theory 
- Use media magazine website 
- Amazon books - especially on reality TV shows
- Textual analysis on specific clips
- Feminism/feminist theories - look at the Guardian