The Kardashian Phenomenon

In early 2007, Hollywood's social radar barely noticed Kim Kardashian—until March of that year, when someone leaked a now-infamous sex tape of her onto the Internet. From there, Ms. Kardashian launched herself into the reality TV stratosphere.

What happened that caused such a meteoric rise?

Is it possible for the American public and the Western world to seek the scandals of the rich and famous above and beyond everything else?

If a sex tape can produce such a fantastic reaction, it surely means the demand for it is already there.

Considering all available information, we can infer that the media's complicity made it happen. Without them, regardless of which TV station promoted it best, the story — in this case, a recorded tape — would've never surfaced.

Someone once said where there's demand, there'll be supply. This is a perfect example.

What we need to do that will help us understand this phenomenon is take a look at ourselves and our part in this society.

When a single tape recording causes such a social earthquake, we need to stop and wonder what is it that made it so powerful that a relatively unknown celebrity wanna-be, and in such a short amount of time, reached superstardom.

And we can't have enough of it. It's almost as if we are personally involved and reaping the benefits ourselves.

If we were to break the story apart, we'd find some interesting developments.

With her mother’s help to manage the family’s brands and careers, the Kardashians are now one of the country’s most famous families.

While some believe that it was none other than Kris Jenner—Kim’s mother—who released the tape to further her daughter’s career, there is no doubt that whoever it was ushered the Kardashians into Hollywood royalty.

However, as previously stated, experts could easily call the powerful machinery that was put in place "The Making of a Star".

Oprah undoubtedly helped with her incisive, juicy interviews.

Good Morning, America didn't stay far behind.

Tabloids in England jumped on the story like hungry seals, almost in sync and repeating one another like reading from the same script.

Music magazines, especially rap, all went with it, some illustrating the piece quite creatively and catching your eye immediately with sultry images. All with perfect coordination and synchronicity.

The formula is a relatively simple one. The only thing that varies is each story's characters, dates, and idiosyncrasies.

In case the readers are interested, Kim Kardashian’s SKIMS, is a $4 billion shapewear and clothing brand, according to Forbes Magazine.

Regardless whether you like her or not, she is the personification of the American dream at 43 years old.