From Paris Hilton to the Kardashians, society has a unique place in its heart for those who are "famous for being famous."
You know the ones: the people who haven't necessarily achieved anything themselves (other than being born into the right family) yet are showered with wealth and fame.
The next group of ladies, eager to take the "famous for being famous" crown, appear to be "The Westbrooks." I'll be honest: I had never heard of the Westbrooks until I saw their TV show on BET. Reality TV show junkie that I am, I had to check it out.
My reaction? Irritated at best, aggravated at worst. I rolled my eyes so hard I thought they might fall out of my head.
The show is entitled after the family themselves, "The Westbrooks." The Kim Kardashian equivalent of this crew (i.e. the most popular) is India Love Westbrooks. She currently has 1.4 million followers on Instagram, is the youngest of the bunch (only age 19?!) and has dated celebrities and NFL players alike. One of whom is reportedly 35-year-old rapper, The Game — the age gap is enough to make me barf on that alone.
Firstly, it is quite obvious that BET is molding these ladies in the Kardashian image: all girls, all beautiful, all notorious online ...
I would probably be less annoyed if it weren't painfully obvious that the show revolves around their online fame. When each girl does a confessional (a separately and privately filmed scene, discussing situations on the show) it features their username as well as the number of followers they have. The cover photo, advertising the show, has each girl posing with her phone in selfie position, for Christ's sake.
In the episode that I watched, a large majority of it was spent with one of the girls riding around on a motorcycle in a desert for hours. Why? Well, to get the perfect 15-second video, of course! I'm not kidding. They literally hopped on motorcycles while wearing clothes from the brand "Wavy," all to achieve what they called an "Instagram takeover."
There's nothing wrong with being popular online. There's also nothing wrong with using social media as advertisement, marketing or to further your career. If I thought that I could be jet setting and living a luxurious life just by posting pictures every day, then you better believe that I would throw up a peace sign to college so quickly the financial aid office wouldn't know what hit them. But alas, the cards are not in my favor.
My problem is that I undoubtedly know that there are people in the world more deserving of a show than India Love Westbrooks.
There is a plethora of young people who are famous online who use their popularity as a platform to counteract and solve problems in society like racism, sexism, Islamophobia and more. I would gladly watch a show about Dounia Tazi and Mina Mahmood who use their accounts to speak out on issues like the lack of diversity in fashion and beauty standards for women. I would eagerly devour a show about Amandla Stenberg who uses her accounts to discuss topics like cultural appropriation and misogynoir.
Mind you, this is all coming from a girl who watches "Bad Girls Club" and "The History Channel" with equal reverence. I understand that there's a comfy, air-conditioned place for fluffy, shallow television just as much as there is for the shows that try to educate and change our lives.
I'm not angry at India Love Westbrooks or her sisters. I'm not knocking their hustle. Good for them for pursuing their goals. They're all beautiful people and I'm sure that when they put they put their phones down and the cameras go away they're wonderful people as well. It's just tiring to see people who have done so little continue to gain so much fame. I'm ready to see more media attention on those who make contributions to society.
Now that "The Westbrooks" have this show, I'm sure it won't be long before they're prolific entrepreneurs and businesswomen, paving their way to even more wealth.
The show airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m./9 p.m. central. I won't be watching. Will you?
Reach the columnist at nlilley@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @noelledl_
Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
Want to join the conversation? Send an email to opiniondesk.statepress@gmail.com. Keep letters under 300 words and be sure to include your university affiliation. Anonymity will not be granted.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
