Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and the Price of Fame

Clearly, I do not want to live in this world, although it’s a nice diversion from the world in which I am not famous. For Mrs. Kardashian West, however, this isn’t a diversion. This is her reality. She doesn’t have a choice on whether or not she is scrutinized. She had a choice when her sex tape was released—be forever known as a woman who had a sex tape, or try and take control of that situation. She no longer gets to have “off the clock.” When Mrs. Kardashian West wakes up, she is working. When she goes grocery shopping, she is working. When she is with her family, she is working. Every word she speaks and outfit she puts on and decision she makes must be made in respect to the fact that it will be recorded and analyzed. This is reflected in the game, as well. I managed to escape the E-List by buying a nice outfit and thereby gaining more in-game fans. There is no visible metric for when or how this happens, and when I saw the notification, I was a little startled. Although the game makes sure you never forget that you’re always being watched, it doesn’t exactly spell out how closely.

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood serves as a reminder that Mrs. Kardashian West’s Kim Kardashian-ness is not an accident, nor is it easy. After the release of her sex tape, E! enlisted Mrs. Kardashian West and her siblings for a reality TV show. After having her public persona determined for her, she would be able to take the reins. This show has run for nine seasons. Since then, she and her sisters have designed numerous clothing lines, and she has created 4 perfumes. She has had minor roles in two movies, and recorded a charity single produced by The-Dream, to which she donated half of the profit to cancer, saying to MTV, “The-Dream’s and one of my parents passed away from cancer. It’s just all having fun—with a good cause.” She has appeared on numerous television shows. As an Armenian American, she has campaigned for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, writing in a blog post, ”…What I’m trying to show [is]…it’s not history. Until this crime is resolved truthfully and fairly, the Armenian people will live with the pain of what happened to their families and the fear of what might happen again to their homeland.” Mrs. Kardashian West is now worth an estimated $45 million, has recently married and given birth to a daughter. And she is still working.

As of writing this, my Kim Kardashian: Hollywood avatar is still on the B-list. But she’s still working, too. She has a national ad campaign lined up, and she just finished a cover feature for a national magazine. She makes celebrity appearances in clubs on each coast. She owns a small boutique. She’s saving up for a vacation home in Miami. She’s been on a few dates, but she hasn’t met anyone she really likes yet. Plus, dating takes time and money, and Gossip Gita honestly doesn’t have the energy for that.

The greatest asset for videogames as fiction, one that it holds over other forms of media, is the immediacy with which you can identify with people and experiences that are not your own. While books and movies allow you to observe, videogames really allow you to be someone else. With each little tap on my tablet’s screen, I feel like I am closer to experiencing Mrs. Kardashian West’s world, though with less pressure, and the ability to turn it off. If there’s any reason or purpose for this game other than to put more money in Kimberly Noel Kardashian West’s pocket, it’s this: You want to know why Kim Kardashian is famous? It’s because she works.

Gita Jackson writes at xoxogossipgita.tumblr.com and her Twitter is @xoxogossipgita.