Heading North West: A Pop Culture Commentary

Late last Friday night, a gaggle of gals gathered around their neighbor’s backyard patio firepit, sipping homemade peach sangria, chatting it up and going over their week’s events.

Naturally, the intriguingly named love child of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West came up.

North West.

Huh?

Exactly.

And have you seen the photos of the adorable little bundle?? Those gorgeous eyes….those sweet little lips?

You haven’t?

Exactly.

You haven’t.  I haven’t.

But you can bet that Mom-ager (that’s Mom-Manager) Kris Jenner is likely still in talks with media outlets, deciding what makes the best business decision for her progeny’s entrée into the spotlight.  My guess is it’s either OK! or US Weekly that will win it.

It’s not personal…it’s business. It’s ALWAYS business when it comes to those Kardashians. But golly, do we LOVE to keep up with them, watching their antics and luxury living through our flat screen TVs in our modest (by Calabasas standards) living rooms and bedrooms.

Back to the firepit convo:

My friend Julie nailed it on the head – where, or where is the moral compass in this family?  The fact that I’m typing this – or any other media outlet is covering the lives and times of the Kardashians – goes back to one singular incident that inserted Kim and the gang into our pop culture conversation:  a sex tape.

This empire is allegedly built upon a sex tape Kim made several years ago.  Pretty solid foundation, eh?

And then there was the “fairy tale wedding” that lasted 72 days.

And now there’s the love child, North West.

And so much more in between.

It’s easy to be judgmental from the comfort of my kitchen table.  Who am I to say what is the right or wrong way for Kim – or anyone for that matter – to live her life?

But as ingrained as I like to get in the inner workings of a reality television show – be it the Real Housewives of New Jersey, Long Island Medium, etc. – it’s important to remember that as long as producers are involved, there’s always some sort of pre-fabricated script or storyline involved.

While I might not agree with some of the choices or “storylines” that I see of popular reality stars, I realize it’s likely for the show, for their brand or simply just to stay relevant.

I get this.

But I sometimes wonder if the stars living this reality truly get this.

I wonder if those Housewives or The Kardashians realize the significant shifts made in their lives as a result of catapulting themselves into the spotlight.  And the price of fame on their families.

I wonder about the lineage of Kardashian women: matriarch, Kris, her daughters and son, and now her grandchildren – and what will become of those newest additions to the empire.

Kris is an interesting bird.  The driving force behind all of the family’s fame and fortune, in one sense, she’s the Mompreneur Extraordinaire (and you know how much mom a la mode LOVES a Mompreneur!)  but on the other side…on the darker side…she’s their fearless leader on a pop culture journey that seems a bit disconnected to anything remotely related to morals.

And so back to darling, sweet little North West.

Sigh.

What will become of this child?  Let’s hope for the best.  Let’s hope that maybe motherhood will tap into a part of Kim that no one has tapped into before (keep it clean, folks..this is a family blog).  Motherhood can change a person.  It can lighten things, soften edges, tame fires within us.

But let’s face it, if your last name is Kardashian, motherhood can also sell a lot of magazines, be fodder for spin-off shows and inspire children’s clothing lines (North by North West, anyone?)

Of course I’ll tune in. Of course I’ll read the tabloids as my toes are getting done. And of course I’ll share my ramblings here on this blog.

Am curious about your thoughts on all of the above…feel free to share in comments below.  And if you were Kim and Kanye, what would YOU have named your daughter?

Yours in all things pop culture,

mom a la mode
oxox

{All opinions expressed here are solely mine.}