kim kardashian

Who is Kim Kardashian?

Who is Kim Kardashian?

Kim Kardashian is a well-known American media personality, socialite, businesswoman, model, and actress. She gained widespread fame and recognition primarily through her reality television series "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," which premiered in 2007 and ran for 20 seasons until 2021. Kim Kardashian was born on October 21, 1980, in Los Angeles, California, USA.

Where is KK from

Kim Kardashian is from Los Angeles, California, USA. She was born in Los Angeles on October 21, 1980, and has spent much of her life in the city. Los Angeles is where she gained fame and built her career as a media personality and businesswoman. It is also the location of her family's reality television series, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," which contributed to her widespread recognition

How did KK gain her popularity?

Kim Kardashian's rise to fame can be attributed to her family's reality TV show, her active presence on social media, successful business ventures, involvement in controversies, personal relationships, fashion influence, and her commitment to philanthropy. All of these factors combined to make her a prominent figure in popular culture.

Kim Kardashian brands

KKW Beauty: Kim Kardashian launched KKW Beauty, her beauty and cosmetics brand, in 2017. 

KKW Fragrance: In addition to KKW Beauty, Kim Kardashian also launched her own line of fragrances, known as KKW Fragrance. The line features a variety of scents and perfume collections.

SKIMS: Kim Kardashian introduced SKIMS in 2019, a shapewear and loungewear brand. SKIMS is designed to provide comfortable and supportive undergarments and apparel for a wide range of body types.

Kardashian Hollywood game

The game was released in 2014 and is available on both iOS and Android platforms. It falls under the genre of a celebrity simulation game and allows players to experience the life of a rising Hollywood star.

In the game, players create and customize their own characters and work to become famous in the world of fashion, modeling, and entertainment, just like Kim Kardashian herself. They can complete various tasks, attend events, go on photoshoots, and interact with virtual versions of Kim and other celebrities.

‘Kim Kardashian: Hollywood" has been quite successful and has garnered a large player base. It's known for its engaging gameplay and for offering players a taste of the glamorous Hollywood lifestyle. 

The aim of Kim Kardashian Hollywood is to work your way  up the celebrity scale from Z-List to A-List.  As you play you will interact with a range of real and fictional characters in the United States and around many of the world’s most glamourous and famous locations.  As you progress, there are collectibles and missions that will allow you to develop the status of your customisable character. Your ranking is determined by your position on the Top Stars list in Hollywood. They are sorted into six different lists, Unlisted being the lowest rank to the A-list being the highest rank. You rise up in ranks by gaining fans. The goal of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is to gain as many fans as possible by doing well on projects, getting attention from Starnews, and dating to get to the A-list.

language specifically gameplay

Join KIM KARDASHIAN on a red carpet adventure in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood! Create your own aspiring celebrity and rise to fame and fortune! 

CREATE YOUR OWN STAR and customize your look with hundreds of style options, including Kim Kardashian’s personal picks!

⋆ STAR in a huge interactive adventure as you encounter other celebs, dedicated fans, persistent paparazzi… and even hang out with Kim herself!

⋆ RULE THE RED CARPET as an A-list movie actor, cover model, fashion designer and more – what you do is up to you!

⋆ TAKE OVER L.A. in a virtual world complete with exclusive clubs, upscale boutiques, and luxury homes! Travel to New York City and Miami!

⋆ DATE AND DUMP CELEBS at the best parties and hottest clubs! Flirt and become the next huge celebrity power-couple!

⋆ BRING YOUR FRIENDS ALONG FOR THE RIDE using Game Center and Facebook – help each other rise to fame, compare styles, send gifts, and see who can be the biggest star!

narratives and objectives

The aim of Kim Kardashian Hollywood is to work your way  up the celebrity scale from Z-List to A-List.  As you play you will interact with a range of real and fictional characters in the United States and around many of the world’s most glamourous and famous locations.  As you progress, there are collectibles and missions that will allow you to develop the status of your customisable character. Your ranking is determined by your position on the Top Stars list in Hollywood. They are sorted into six different lists, Unlisted being the lowest rank to the A-list being the highest rank. You rise up in ranks by gaining fans. The goal of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is to gain as many fans as possible by doing well on projects, getting attention from Starnews, and dating to get to the A-list.

characters

Characters are NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) that appear in goals or locations and the storyline as you progress in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. These exclude NPCs you meet in the game that you can date or network with. These types of contacts are randomly generated according to each individual game.

The characters in Kim Kardashian Hollywood are a mixture of real VIP characters and fictional characters. There are 100s – you can see a few opposite.

In your pursuit of celebrity some of the fictional characters work with you and some actively try to ruin your journey by beating you to A-List.

Settings

There are a range of locations in the game that try to mirror the stereotype of the celebrity lifestyle of an A-lister:

special events

Special Events are temporary goal arcs that are available only during Weekend Events in the game. By completing them, players can not only earn Cash Cash, XP XP, Energy Energy and Star Stars, but also Special Event stars.  These regularly happen and keep the game fresh.  It also means established players keep coming back to the game to see what the latest updated events are.

By collecting Special Event stars, players can unlock exclusive rewards and Kustomize items. The Kustomize screen, also known as your wardrobe, is the screen where you can customize your character to your liking. You can purchase tops, dresses, pants, skirts, shoes, hairstyles, facial features, nail colours and fashion accessories like bags, jewellery, and tattoos.

You can change your look whenever you like. The game encourages players to "keep on top of current fashion to maximise your fans!"

audience

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is incredibly popular. It has been  downloaded over 50 million times and generated $200 million plus.

Why do audiences like it?

One way of understanding why audiences choose certain media texts is Blumler & Katz's Uses and Gratification Theory.

Uses and Gratification Theory states that audiences consume media products/texts for at least one of the following reasons:

1. Diversion, escapism or entertainment – escaping from normal life.

2. Personal relationships – fulfils their need for companionship. This is particularly true of social media products, online gaming and online communities. It can also apply to audiences developing an affection for certain stars or characters.  

3. Personal identity - seeing your own lifestyle, interests or ambitions reflected in a media product; reinforcing your own identity.

4. Surveillance – using media to find out about the world around them.

Which of these apply to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?

representation

There are some key questions we need to consider regarding representation in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood:
Kim Kardashian: Hollywood contains quite controversial representations of women, celebrity and race/ethnicity.
It has been criticised for offering a representation of women focusing on appearance, modelling and dating as a way to be successful. Similarly, celebrity is represented as something to aspire to even without an obvious talent or ability.
On a more positive note, the game has been praised for its representation of race, ethnicity and sexuality – with the game offering a diverse range of characters.

industries

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood was developed by Glu Mobile, a highly successful mobile game developer and publisher. It was released in June 2014 and was marketed heavily using the Kim Kardashian brand.
With social media promotion, the game quickly shot to the top of download lists and iTunes app store charts

Media convergence

The game design means that there is a great deal of media convergence.  Media convergence is the merging of different media texts. How does Kim Kardashian Hollywood involve media convergence?

through incorporating aspects of keeping up with the kardashians.

The game: TV Show and social media channels are referenced in game.  Player encouraged to engage online and gain bonus items for sharing on Facebook etc.

Social media: Game appears on Kim’s actual social media platforms. Also, need to tweet in game.

TV Show: Game appears on Keeping Up with the Kardashians episodes.  TV Show is also referenced in game.

Glu: monetising Kim Kardashian: Hollywood

The game is free to download but makes huge amounts of money from in-app purchases and subscriptions. Players need to buy energy to complete tasks (or wait 30 minutes for energy to replenish). They can also buy subscriptions:

• Gold: 49.99 USD / month (or local equivalent)

• Silver: 19.99 USD / month (or local equivalent)

• Bronze: 4.99 USD / month (or local equivalent)

Small print

Due to the addictive nature of the game and the potential to spend huge amounts of money on in-app purchases, the developers place warnings in the app store before purchase:

how does kim k use social media to improve her success

By personally attaching herself to SKKN and SKIMS, she effectively drives awareness while continuing to generate interest to make her products desirable by consumers. Looking at SKIMS' success, Kim's social media presence plays a crucial role in making the label a household name.Across social media, Kim has built a loyal fanbase globally. By strategically integrating SKKN and SKIMS into her own persona and everyday life, she leverages her reach and relationship with her fans to create a strong association between herself and the brands..Her transparency when sharing behind-the-scenes footage, product launches and testimonials on her social platforms all play into the sense of authenticity and connection consumers feel when they see and react to the content. She shows her fans that she listens, most evident when SKIMS was initially “KIMONO,” and later received cultural appropriation backlash which led to the change in name. Fans also feel like they are a part of the process, further making the brand more appealing and relatable. A major part of the brand’s success is capitalizing on the power of user-generated content (UGC). Fans are encouraged to show how they incorporate SKIMS and SKKN in their lives. The brand engages by reposting the content, further amplifying SKIMS and SKKN’s reach and fostering a community amongst consumers.aKim’s understanding of how to leverage her social media fanbase to create a community has ultimately been the key to her success. The reality star turned billionaire entrepreneur has created a blueprint for modern brands proving that everything she touches turns to gold. Beyond social media, the rise of SKIMS teaches businesses today the importance of strategic partnerships, authenticity, listening to consumers, embracing diversity and committing to inclusivity. Kim Kardashian built an empire with SKKN and SKIMS, and with her SKKY Partners private equity firm, she is proving that the possibilities are limitless.

what narrative ingredients are used in the game such as character types, settings and events.

character types

NPC NON PLAYABLE CHARACTER

e.g kim k and other celebs from the kardashian family

we talk to them and you can date them fight with them do projects and walk runways with them etc etc

events and settings

runways

reality show

photoshoots

brand values

representation of masculainity

stereotypically. mainly in presented as love interests who are dedicated and utterly in love with the player.

characters have their own personalities e.g shy(levi) , outgoing (cassio)

representations of feminity

represented as succesfull, famous high achieving like kim k courtney k chloe k etc etc

there are enemies represented badly willow pape who is represented as the villain acts chilidish wearing the same clothes fights with you and stirs out drama through the game.

place

many countries and area are represented in the game e.g dubai abudhabi, milan, paris, india, miami, las vegas, bora bora etc etc

this helps the audience recognise and identify the place suiting their demographics

class and age

class:there are only representation of upper class AB which is done intentionally to set the theme of succesfull and fame.

age: children are portrayed as you can have kids in the game but other than that mainly adults or babies

how much control does kim k have over her representation

she has a large amount of control and influence over her representation in the game. In the game she is a role model and treats the player as a best friend who she helps rise through the ranks into the a list.

How does the game play drive the narrative and how does the player impact on the action?

the story is passive as there arent really pathways you can go for or choose nor do you pick the dialogue. the player can make some choices but dont majorly affect the narrative as its set as the same for every player

Discuss a feminist approach to the representations in the game

very much appeals to feminism and the ideal that anyone can be succesful. also appeals to the american dream because everyone can get to the a list if they work hard enough.

what do you do

create you own avator

contrust your narrative

active audience

links to social media/instagram engages them

passive

promotes:

false reality

promoting promiscuity

you have to date and