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Oct 2022
1h 13m

The Kardashian Kult

Violet Benson
About this episode

For the third week of the cult month, we’re going to do things differently. In a special 2 part episode, this week we will be looking deeper into the Kardashian conglomerate with a different lens and focusing on how their success is anchored on controlling their narrative, building an ever-evolving empire, and remaining uniquely influential.  

Today on Almost Adulting we welcome MJ Corey! MJ, better known as kardashian_kolloquium on TikTok, is a writer and psychotherapist from Brooklyn. She gained starpower on social media by applying media theory and postmodern philosophy to the entire Kardashian family, their reality show, and their overall impact on society through critical thinking. Violet and MJ begin the conversation by defining what postmodernism is and how it equates to celebrities becoming commodities as opposed to civilians. They then move to discussing how the Kardashians are at the top of a modern cult wherein their influence gives them the control over the media and set trends that are both impactful and life changing - far beyond Instagram and fashion. The two also exchange thoughts on the current state and definition of “celebrity”, how our subconscious has been so deeply penetrated by the media, and this culture of hate that is both beneficial and disadvantageous to any celebrity and/or influencer. Part 2 coming soon…


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What to Listen For:

  • 00:00 Introduction
  • 01:56 Applying different philosophies and theories to the Kardashian family
  • 02:56 What is postmodernism?
  • 06:32 What is media theory? 
  • 10:47 The reality they want people to see
  • 15:20 The Kardashians are a cult?
  • 23:27 It started with the infamous sex tape
  • 31:49 Humans are not used to being worshiped
  • 33:57 Using media to propagate and idealized idea
  • 37:28 Reality TV is the a commodification of everyday life
  • 39:19 How impactful real time tweets are
  • 43:10 Everyone has the right to control their narrative
  • 48:05 Repetition and imitation are the essence of social media
  • 50:08 Was it a lucky time to dominate social media?
  • 54:12 The more people hate you, the more you matter
  • 01:02:20 Content come in fast
  • 01:05:13 Curated on hate


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