Keeping up with the Klimate

I watched ten minutes of The Kardashians on Disney+ the other day, and something really important stood out to me.

Not that the scenes were hyper-contrived, or that every statement read as though it’d been written and proof-read by a team of publicists.

What stood out to me the most – confirming my decade-long contention with the family – is how conspicuously these people ignore the environment. And I’m surprised no one else has noticed it tbh.

I think in a time where Climate Change policy is salient enough to swing a national election, it’s really interesting to me that people are so (consciously or unconsciously) unconcerned by the level of irresponsibility and selfishness this family represents.

What I saw on the show, and have seen on the socials, is 6 x K who each have a fleet of petrol-guzzling cars, and now a private jet. They’ve cleared acres of land to build sprawling mansions that are probably lit up and air-conditioned all day (I don’t need to mention the pool that Kim admitted to never having actually used.) Their parties are decorated in millions of tiny balloons, and their closets are full of near-identical clothes that… like, do you really need? Not to mention all the plastic salad containers and drink bottles.

On this particular episode, the family had even hired trailers for each person during a single photo shoot. And I’ve worked on shoots, so I know that it’s not super necessary to have six trailers brought to set.

Maybe if I watched more of the show, I’d see them eating leftovers or planting trees in their spare time, or, re-wearing an outfit. But… probably not.

I know this all serves the optics of being one of the most famous families in the world; a family with immense wealth and privilege that they’ve well and truly earned. There’s no denying that. But, it’s the portrayal of extreme excess as “aspirational” that will probably destroy the world.

Showing people that it’s cool to have whatever you want, whenever you want it, however you want it, is the kind of self-centredness that will prevent or gravely hinder the level of teamwork needed to keep the earth habitable.

My friend, Paul, made a pretty good point; that all this is part of the show, and can be written off as the cost of the production. Which is a valid point and makes me wonder how the rest of the entertainment industry is being held accountable for their environmental impact.