From the creator of the viral Kardashian Kolloquium comes a New Media manifesto for the TikTok age - blending theory, cultural analysis and history to explain the meteoric rise of the Kardashians and what their fame reveals about how media functions today.
Since 2007, Kim Kardashian and her extended family have mesmerised - and scandalised - the American public. We've been immersed in their social lives, controversies and reality TV exploits, while witnessing the staggering ascent of their multibillion-dollar fashion, beauty and media empire. But the central question remains: why are the Kardashians so famous? And what does their enduring relevance tell us about the media systems that shaped - and were shaped by - them?
In Dekonstructing the Kardashians, MJ Corey, creator of the viral social platform Kardashian Kolloquium, delivers more than just the definitive cultural chronicle of the First Family of reality TV. She offers a probing exploration of how media has evolved in the internet age -and how it's reshaping our identities, our attention, and our understanding of reality itself. Part media theory, part cultural critique and part historical deep-dive, Dekonstructing the Kardashians weaves together fifty years of Western media history.
Corey shows that the Kardashians aren't just celebrities - they're a mirror of our media moment, offering a key to understanding fame, identity and reality in the digital age.