Although some of us still put the celebrities of today on pedestals, the distanced mystique of the vintage idol is gone. Now, we can watch an actor in a movie, then tweet him or her when we’re done watching. We can spend hundreds of dollars on Beyoncé tickets and simultaneously see her post a picture giving insight to her family life on Instagram.
Celebrities are no longer dreamlike, enigmatic figures to us, they’re icons who tweet, post pictures to Instagram, and capture snippets of their daily lives on Snapchat just like the rest of us. It’s crazy to think that in previous times, the general population could only learn more about their favorite famous people through watching them on TV or in movies, and maybe the occasional talk show or magazine article. Now, more often than not, we’re likely to see tweets from celebrities interlaced with and similar to our friends’ tweets complaining about work or detailing what they made for dinner that night. All of this results in an interesting mix of celebrities who we both idolize and relate to.
It’s no question that The Kardashians (and Jenners) have taken over today’s media, whether we like it or not. A lot of people question this extensively wondering why these types of celebrities are famous. The celebrities who have capitalized on their incidental fame aren’t to be looked down upon in my opinion. Although I will agree that it’s not apparent what any of the Kardashian-Jenners did originally to jump-start their rise to arguably the highest level of stardom, what they have done since their reality show began to keep and grow their wealth is genius.
Anyway, if you consider the type of position traditional celebrities are now in—with the ability to share as much or as little of their lives with the public as they want to on social media—figures like the Kardashians can use this enormously to their benefit. Why are people still interested in Kimye and their kids North and Saint? Because Kim has drawn us into their lives on Instagram and Snapchat. Why do lip kits sold by Kylie Jenner—an 18-year-old non-makeup artist—sell out releases in mere minutes? Because she’s built up her social media presence to be both incredibly influential and relatable. We see Kylie’s constant Snap Story updates and although they are riding around town in her Ferrari or Rolls Royce, her and her friends seem to have genuine friendships just like us. If Kylie Jenner and her friends can take pointless drives on a Wednesday night like us and post snaps of it, then we should wear the same lipstick as them? I don’t know how seamless that logic is but hey, it works for her.
The celebrities of the 21st century have become more accessible, and in turn, more famous than ever before. We now not only idolize TV and movie actors and singers on tour, but we also follow the lives of people who are famous for being famous. Although we have reached an age that has ended some of the elegant subtlety of old hollywood, good can come out of this new era as well. New media has allowed people like the Kardashians and Jenners to become highly influential superstars, and although some people may not like this, my two Kyle Lipkits are 10/10.
