Kim Kardashian has been trying quite hard to bring her name to the spotlight lately – with her most recent attempt being perhaps the most noteworthy one, as she produced a photoshoot in which she appeared naked. According to the initial release, this was supposed to “break the Internet”, and even though it obviously didn’t succeed in this regard, it still managed to create an interesting situation that has been discussed quite heavily.
There are a few sides to this story, and it’s worth taking a look at each of them in detail, although this might prove too difficult of a task for an article of this length. In short, however, one aspect that has been consistently pointed out by observers of the situation has been the fact that the “interview” around which the photos were based, was quite devoid of any actual content, and seemed to be used as an excuse for showing the infamous photos.
Still, that didn’t stop some publications from picking several quotes from the conversation in a mocking manner, using them to further drive home the point about the hollow nature of the interview. Quotes ranged from “I couldn’t really pick out our pumpkins” to “I like all different apps”, and she went on to say that she doesn’t traditionally like to filter her speech, which typically leads to statements like the ones above. Mostly, the interview covered various mundane aspects of Kardashian’s life, and although the interviewer actually made an attempt to dig deeper into some more interesting issues at several points, this didn’t get a very enthusiastic response from Kim Kardashian.
The photos in question were also criticized for lacking originality and copying an older photoshoot from several decades ago. This added a racial layer into the mix, although most publications have been trying to avoid delving into that side of the issue. Most of the comments have been focused on the simple fact that the photoshoot’s basic premise was stolen, although this can be argued, according to different definitions of the word “stolen”.
Mostly, the conversation has been focused on the issue of exploiting the Internet, although as usual, there are multiple sides to that argument. While some have been claiming that this has been nothing more than a blatant attempt to get cheap views by various less than scrupulous publications, others have been pointing out that the Internet is largely based on the classic supply and demand model, and if nobody had been interested in seeing the pictures in the first place, then there would not be any story. Obviously, this wasn’t the case, leading to the question of what exactly can be considered exploitation in the context of the Internet.