[smt88]

Like crypto, the Kardashians are interesting and important because hundreds of millions of other people care about them and believe falsehoods about them.

Lewis often writes about such topics -- things that are popularly misunderstood, swindlers, etc.

I think your dislike of crypto will make the end result more interesting to you, because Lewis is good at bridging that gap for people.

[dmix]

My girlfriend watches Kardashians and I don't think she believes in falsehoods about the Kardashians. Nor do most people besides maybe the young teenage audience. This is a big misconception in society.

The whole idea of celebrities/reality shows/TV news/etc is that the audience thinks they are dumb and feels superior to them (see most Twitter outrage cycles like the current big one)... but when challenged they don't care since it's a "guilty pleasure".

They know it's vapid and dumb. People seek escape and fun.

Saying people watch them merely because they are being fooled is a bad take and often used in politics. It's basically dressed up satire that feeds into base desires. It's also an opportunity to hear things said that are socially taboo otherwise if the person is to be taken seriously.

The fact some segment buys into it (they would be buying into something equally dumb otherwise) doesn't mean the bulk of the audience does.

[smt88]

This is a little bit of a tangent. The specific case of the Kardashians is unimportant to the overall point, which is that there are reasons to be interested in things that we perceive as frivolous or vapid. When hundreds of millions of people are interested in something, it's almost never frivolous or vapid when you learn more about it.

> I don't think she believes in falsehoods about the Kardashians.

I can't comment on your girlfriend. You're obviously correct about her. That doesn't mean she's a typical fan or typical media consumer.

The things most people don't realize about them are:

- they're intelligent, talented, and capable people;

- absolutely nothing on their shows is any more real than what happens on a scripted TV show, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians is literally scripted;

- they don't personally make many of the decisions about their brands (what they post on Instagram or Twitter, what products their brands release, etc.)

> They know it's vapid and dumb. People seek escape and fun.

I agree. I don't think most fans of reality shows think the shows are important or admire the people on them. That's partly my point: like crypto, we may look down on all the people involved without realizing that there is a lot more than meets the eye.

> Saying people watch them merely because they are being fooled is a bad take and often used in politics.

I agree.

[dmix]

Can't say I disagree with anything you posted. I may have over-analyzed your one sentence.