Dekonstructing the Kardashians : a new media manifesto / MJ Corey.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From the creator of the highly popular Kardashian Kolloquium comes a new media manifesto for the TikTok age, blending theory and cultural analysis to explain the meteoric rise of the Kardashians and explore what their fame can teach us about the way media functions today

"By far the best book I've ever read on celebrity in the twenty-first century."--Leigh Stein, author of Self Care

"Dekonstructing the Kardashians is Ways of Seeing for the Instagram Age. "-- Maris Kreizman, author of Slaughterhouse 90210

Since 2007, Kim Kardashian and the extended Kardashian family have been mesmerizing--and scandalizing--America. Whether we've liked it or not, we've been inundated with stories of their social lives, scandals, and reality show shenanigans and have witnessed the subsequent ascent of their multibillion-dollar fashion, beauty, and media empire. But the question remains: Why are the Kardashians so famous in the first place? And what does this tell us about the new media that have delivered them to us?

In Dekonstructing the Kardashians, MJ Corey, creator of the viral social media presence Kardashian Kolloquium, brings us not only the definitive chronicle of the family that's captivated a nation, but, perhaps more important, the story of how media has transformed in the internet age and how it continues to transform us as individuals and as a culture at large. Part media theory, part cultural analysis, Dekonstructing the Kardashians interweaves history from the past fifty years of Western media--from the Old Hollywood studio system, to the advent of the twenty-four-hour news cycle, to tabloid culture and beyond--with analysis of the cultural influence Kim Kardashian wields over us all and the influences that have shaped her in kind. In so doing, Corey offers proof that the Kardashians are, in fact, the First Family of our image-saturated and deeply divided nation, while also demonstrating how they hold the keys to understanding the disjointed, self-referential reality of our current era.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Corey, founder of the social media account Kardashian Kolloquium, debuts with an avid, painstaking postmodern evaluation of the Kardashian-Jenner family. Delving into the reality TV matriarchy's "two-decade-long construction of an American media empire," the author unpacks the family's ongoing spectacle, from memorable Keeping Up with the Kardashians episodes to breaking-the-internet cover shoots, along the way drawing on theorists like Walter Benjamin and Michel Foucault. She begins with a detailed exploration of the fluid figure of Kim Kardashian, who has seamlessly evolved, in multiple stages, from a socialite with a sex tape to a criminal justice reform advocate squaring off against her fellow reality TV star, President Donald Trump. Corey shows how Kim's media domination is, in part, related to how she "aligns herself with countless cultural myths," including those of Marilyn Monroe, the Kennedys, and the Spice Girls. In addition to this accomplished close read, Corey tacks on shorter, disjointed passages that whizz through a dizzying array of topics, from the family's emulation of mid-20th-century sitcoms like The Brady Bunch to the "unusual word sequences" of catchphrases like Kris Jenner's "You're doing amazing, sweetie." While the information overload can at times mimic the inescapability of the family itself, this avalanche of analysis is nevertheless a critical tour de force. Kardashian obsessives will be thrilled. (May)

Booklist Review

This wildly in-depth cultural study of the Kardashian family invites Kardashian fans and skeptics alike to explore the ways Kris, Kim, Kourtney, Khloe, Kendall, Kylie, and their significant others have inextricably woven themselves into American culture. The stage was set for the family fortune long before Kris married her first husband, Robert Kardashian Sr., defense attorney for O. J. Simpson. The mythology of the Kardashians owes its roots to Marilyn Monroe, the Kennedys, Princess Jasmine, and the Spice Girls. As their reality show grew in popularity, the family amassed power, and the strength they possess as a group rather than just individuals is a big part of both Corey's analysis and the family's domination. Corey proceeds chronologically through culture and the events of the show. Her carefully researched, extremely detailed reporting--down to the history of the Disney company--is much needed in our current media landscape, which is often devoid of background information. Context and specificity will delight the biggest KUWTK fans and provide the uninitiated with an ultimate guide to one of America's most famous families.

Kirkus Book Review

A media-driven appreciation of one of pop culture's most-watched families. Corey, a psychotherapist, was spontaneously introduced to a Season 6 episode of the TV reality seriesKeeping Up With the Kardashians in 2018, and in that viewing's wake, admitted to feeling an "uncanny sensation" that drew her in as a casual fan, then, almost hypnotically, into an obsession that has endured for nearly a decade. The author skillfully condenses her years of observation and evaluation as a Kardashian analyst into this obvious labor of love, one that has garnered her a successful personal Substack, a recap magazine column, and a legion of Kardashian-crazed TikTok and Instagram followers. Paired with a personal fascination with the Kardashian family's collective talent for narrative mastery, a postmodern sense of reality, and catchy episodic arcs, Corey cleverly and effectively fuses celebrity scrutiny and deft analysis with the famous family's personalities and creates a whirlwind of themes, abstract ideas, and some very solid truths about their roles in modern society and their impact on feminism. Interwoven into the analysis are more easily digested details, including Kim Kardashian's iconic Halloween costumes and her video games, the family's sartorial and corporeal trends, their entrepreneurial ventures, eccentric behaviors, and rise to influential fame, along with a parade of narrative divergences featuring Kanye West, O.J. Simpson, and Paris Hilton. The first of the book's two sections incorporates referential material in addressing how and why public attention spans and tastes have evolved over the past several decades and uses the Kardashians as a prime example of a responsible change agent. The second section features a biographical chronology that proceeds through major milestones in the Kardashians' lives as collective influencers. In examining the show's catalog of highly produced episodes--"edited to achieve a near-perfect narrative structure"--Corey digs deeper into the meaning and the message of the "pixel-perfect" family's popularity, intelligently assessing how their tabloid-worthy, sensational fireworks keep the fires of celebrity culture and viewers' addiction to reality television consistently stoked. An exhaustive and entertaining look into the Kardashian media machine. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.