http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZjZzFDb_x4&feature=endscreen&NR=1
A parody is a form of satire that pokes fun directly at one specific target, and in this case it's at the Kardashian Family. The television show, Saturday Night Live, put on a skit making fun of the recent divorce of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries after they had only been married for three months. This divorce was the cover story to every popular magazine on the newsstand and is still continuously talked about in these tabloids.
Based off of the clip, how do you think reality TV is affecting American culture, and is it getting out of control? Why are celebrity divorce stories and other celebrity tragedies becoming cover page news over more important issues?
How do the actors and actresses in SNL portray each member of the family to the public eye? Would you say this is an example of burlesque?
And, how does Kim's divorce relate to how other women view marriage and divorce? Are celebrities their influence? What about from the man's perspective?
Alex Casola
Paige Laudermilch
Shen Jin
Reality TV has a big impact on our culture. Shows such as Jersey Shore and Keeping Up With the Kardashians have become very popular and have reached almost every household. Often times, these shows portray negative values, the sudden divorce of Kim and Kris in this case, which may negatively influence viewers. High divorce rates are a problem in America, and it does not help that the three month marriage of Kim Kardashian is publicized as much as it is.
ReplyDeleteThis clip shows how the public feels about reality stars like the Kardashians. The cast of SNL really tries to over exaggerate all the small details about the family. How the mom tries to act and look young, the dad having a weird face, and the voice of Kim make what should be a somber event funny. Saturday Night Live does a great job of showing how celebrities divorces are celebrated in the news.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Anthony that reality TV has a large impact on our culture. With the number of reality TV shows on the rise the number of viewers is going up as well. The audience then puts the "stars" on a pedestal, becoming completely enthralled by them even though they have (usually) not done anything to deserve the attention. SNL portrays the members of the Kardashian family as a joke, which makes the satire very effective since many people watch the show because they see the Kardashians as jokes too.
ReplyDeleteReality TV has become a huge part of American culture over the past few years and SNL chose to do a parody of one of the most popular ones,"Keeping Up with the Kardashians". the SNL skit was written to make fun of the cast of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians" and shows how they are uninteresting,and boring people. It also makes fun of how the emotions of the cast ore fake; this is evident of when Kim's mom insisted that the only reasons Kim got married was for money and publicity, and also when Kim was discussing how sad she was over her divorce, but seemed to show more emotion over getting her anus bleached. These criticism are just not unique to "Keeping up with the Kardashians", but to all reality TV series, which is probably why SNL chose to satirize it.
ReplyDeleteThis skit portrayed the Kardashians as a plastic surgery-obsessed, fake, swayed by money, and fame-hungry. It acts like the marriage was a farce because of their desire for attention and money. The actors and directors made the real situation completely overblown because of how people view the Kardashians. People often don't take them seriously because they are always in the limelight and they have a lot of money- how could they possibly become sad over an event like a divorce when they lead such posh lives with huge mansions, exclusive parties, glamour and beauty, and major connections in the biz of fame and glory? Celebrities, however, are real people too, but it's easy to look to them first to make fun of them because they are so well-known and have everything average people don't have. I do notice, however, that they still portray the familial relationships in the Kardashian family in ways we see in average life as well- close sister relationships, using each other for support in hard times (although they downplayed the "hard time" in question- Kim's divorce).
ReplyDeleteI agree with your points, and I believe that we need to look inward to ourselves and see what makes us happy. Money helps us to live comfortably, but does not guarantee happiness. Whether or not the marriage was a media scam or an actual attempt at finding happiness through love is hard to tell, but what I do know is that money alone doesn't make me happy.
DeleteThe clip shows how reality tv is really starting to get out of control and the shows seem to get dumber and dumber. Why is it that people want to see some family live some lavish lifestyle and follow these peoples lives? Celebrities are just normal people except they have vast wealth and fame which causes anything they do to be "important" but really is not worth a second of anyone's time. The clip shows how much of a joke the Kardashians are. Also it's funny in the clip how its a divorce but everyone is happy and having fun while divorce is a serious thing and not supposed to be a party as it is portrayed in the clip.
ReplyDeleteGoing off of what Lisa had said, It's hard to see if the Kardashians were even upset about the divorce on top of all the other "fame" and material contributions to their lives. This skit is a representation on how the media down plays hardships in celebrities lives, by focusing on all their negative attributes, for example, Kim's voice, the mother's desire to be young etc. Although I am not particularly a fan of the Kardashians, I do feel that they require some sort of support during difficult stages of life, just as you and I. The clip depicts the main purpose of the wedding as the desire for money. This may be true, and in the clip it is greatly emphasized, the difference in celebrities' thought process over the average person's, in that all their concerns and priorities seem superficial. Although the depiction may be comical, realization that celebrities are human as well, and have to deal with the same issues we do, just handled in a different manner, is necessary. This clip does a great job of satirizing the major issues within celebrity decisions, but may overlook the truth in some situations, to gain the advantage of gossip and making the celebrity come across as the bad guy.
ReplyDeleteReality has skewed the publics point of view of many different issues, in this case, marriage. Marriage from a christian stand point is a very serious thing. Divorces are very complicated in the Bible and it is the only time where a christian is supposed to engage in sexual relations. If they don't follow that there is grace given to us by God, but that is a different story. The divorce rate today is 50-60% and the Kim and Kris are only helping that stat. Reality TV is making it seem like divorce is a good thing to do because you will get a lot of money out of it. The complications that divorces put on families and kids are reason alone why divorces shouldn't happen. As for the portrayal of the characters, the sisters are all spoiled, fake tanned brats, the mom is jealous of the daughters fame and the dad has a weird face. They are all caricatures of the actual people in real life.
ReplyDeleteThe actors in the SNL skit portray the Kardashians as ditzy and unfazed by the issue of divorce, something that in Hollywood seems to be trivialized. It points to fame and money as things that sway celebrities into having whirlwind marriages that are unlikely to last long, ending in divorces like Kim's that do little to the divorcees emotionally and leave them virtually untouched. This is shown in the scenes of the girls partying and having a good time.
ReplyDeleteI believe that many young women look up to Kim Kardashian and other figures like her. The characters in the SNL skit portray the Kardashians as rather stupid. If people look up to figures that are ditzy and dumb, they are lowering their standards and morals overall. Divorce has become fairly common in today's world, and by having a wedding on a whim only to end in divorce, I feel that Kim and her family are not setting a very good example for the future generation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this comment. It is a shame because the young women everywhere really do look up to Kim Kardashian. But why? because she is famous and was able to make herself stand out enough to make other people want to know more about her. Overall if you look at Kim she has been a very successful women. I feel like the problem lies not just with the bad influence she has made but with also the way that the media chooses to make you out to be. How often do we hear of articles out about the other successful things she has done in her life that girls could look up to. Just a thought to look at.
DeleteI believe that celebrity divorces, tragedies and other gossip often become cover page news because it's what our society likes to hear and read about. Today, American culture is centered around the media and famous individuals. People would rather read and be entertained by celebrities lives instead of focusing on bigger issues like government spending, war, etc.. In addition, a viewer might infer that this clip is trying to portray how in these modern times, divorce has become a common fad.I personally think that the actors and actresses of SNL portray the Kardashians as a bit farce. Like Nicole said, we need to take in account that celebrities are human and people often do get married and realize it was a mistake.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the characters in this parody portray all of the characters as dumb and somewhat just wanting attention. However, I think that this short clip also really shows the the intentions of many women celebrities that they really just marry the men for their money and not really for anything else. This is why many of the marriages never last because they are almost making mockeries of the event that many people in society hold as sacred.
ReplyDeleteI agree that this clip makes the Kardashians seem as though they wouldn't be moved by something like a divorce like a 'normal' family would be. Just because they have money and a fabulous lifestyle they are portrayed as careless people when it comes to Kim's divorce. However, in today's society, most celebrities do that to themselves. They play off a divorce like it's not a big deal because there are more important things to worry about, thus giving people many opportunities to make fun of them. Despite how the media portrays these celebrity marriages, though, many girls do look up to celebrities like Kim Kardashian during occasions such as marriage. Some girls see her as a role model of some sort, and they view what happened to her like she were a regular woman.
ReplyDeletei laughed in moments when kris tries to act young and "in style". she is obviously doing anything to strive for attention. she is jealous that her 3 daughters have followed in her footsteps and are now getting all of the attention. the clip is making fun of the fact that kim received a lot of money off of the wedding, some even think that the wedding was just planned to get attention and money. reality tv has took a turn for the worst and this clip is making fun of it
ReplyDeleteTV has turned more towards reality in recent years, but its strange to think that a divorce special with bacon wrapped in 100 dollar bills would ever be catagorized as "reality". I would definitely say this is an example of burlesque because normally a divorce is a very solemn event, without any excitement. SNL says that all three sisters are dumb and aren't very emotionally attached to this decision.
ReplyDeleteThe clip exaggerate the divorce of the famous Kardashians family. Divorce rate now in the US is fairly high, even the celebrities. It seems that US now, does not take marriage as serious as they did. The actors and actresses in the clip highlight the soft point of each family member, mother's willing to keep young, Kim's fancy voice to draw others attention, etc. Kim seems not care her divorce in the clip. This release the reality why the divorce rate in US is now rising. People sometimes behave all based on their feelings but not the reality. The act on impulse sometimes will cause the problem.
ReplyDeleteGoing off of what a few people had said about turning to celebrities to make fun of them because they are the easiest target, I think society throws the spotlight on these people to make average Americans feel better about their own lives. If someone can turn on the TV and see the Kardashian sisters yelling at each other and throwing things, viewers will think that even those with money, fame, and power still have many problems. It gives the average populace a sense of equality; "they may have money, but they have problems" vs. "I make a decent amount of money, but I don't have that many problems."
ReplyDeleteThe situation that divorce rate gets higher and higher also can be seen as the result that more and more people bring themselves into a marriage too soon before they actually know each other well. In today's society, more and more people act only rely on their feeling. They get marriage impetutously when they just fall in love without having a plan for their future. This kind of action can be regard as the potenical reason cases increasing divorce rate.
ReplyDeleteReality TV today heavily influences peoples decisions and this proves it very well. This skit plays at the fact that the original TV airing of the wedding gained around $17 million dollars and was watched all around the world only for the couple to get divorced less than 3 months later. The actors of SNL do their best to portray the members of the Kardashain family as clueless and self-centered. Kim's marriage actually could have an influence on how people view marriage because it seems as if she doesn't take marriage as seriously as she should have and this could influence people's thoughts.
ReplyDeleteThis clip parodies Kardashian family's divorce drama. Since Kardashian family is on the realty TV show, characters, which are the family members, would have or "find" tensions in their life and relationship. Therefore, people tend to act irrationally so that the media would keep catching with their stories and audiences would watch their show. Recently, as the stress in life increasing, people want to see something to distract their anxiety in life, so people need news that are startling and could be talking about. So Lady Gaga's strange costumes were being talked about and covered magazines most of last year. Now audiences just find another target to kill their time and distress.
ReplyDelete