Celebrity worship and the cult of Kardashian

Being slightly behind the times, I've been a little mystified at all of the excitement in the media about the imminent arrival of the (apparently very recently divorced) Kim Kardashian.  While half watching Ten's "The Project" tonight while reading my emails, I was struck by images of a mostly hysterical young girl, overcome with joy at having met the Kardashian sisters - she was so overcome, she couldn't really remember what they'd said, except perhaps "hello" or something else very meaningful. 

Intrigued, I did a quick web search.  Wikipedia (complete with references) stated "Kardashian first rose to fame in February 2007 when she starred in a sex tape with R&B singer Ray J. In October 2007 she along with her two sisters, mother, brother, half-sisters, and stepfather starred in the E! television series, Keeping Up with the Kardashians. As of October 2011, the series has aired 69 episodes over six seasons. She became friends with Paris Hilton,^[when?] who introduced her to the socialite scene.^[8]" 

I read a little further "

Kardashian co-owns a clothing boutique called D-A-S-H with her sisters Kourtney and Khloé.^[14]

Kardashian in Santa Monica, California on May 13, 2009 at Maxim's 10th Annual Hot 100 Celebration

In December 2007, Kardashian posed nude for Playboy.^[15] She has also featured in numerous international editions of FHM, including the cover of the April 2010 Australian edition and the UK March 2011 edition.^[16] In February 2008, Bongo Jeans announced that Kardashian would be their face model.^[17] She also models for Balenciaga shoes,^{[citation needed]} Carl's Jr. fast food, Sugar Factory lollipops, and various other products.^[18][19]"

And then there was a bit more about reality television, but really, to summarise - she rose to fame as the result of a sex tape, appeared in reality television (and now makes her own versions), models and markets.  Oh, and appears in mens' magazines.

And teenage girls and the media are hysterically excited by her (and the rest of her family), to the extent that her arrival in Australia is extensively covered and whole segments of television shows are devoted to her.

The "Cult of Celebrity" is becoming more and more pervasive, and it becomes more and more important that we educate our children to look beyond the plastic facade of physical beauty at the real person.  It's so important to teach them about real role models - those who demonstrate strength of character, humanitarian achievements, intelligence and drive. Strong men and women who are more than the sum of selling their physical parts.

Perhaps Kim Kardashian is indeed one of those people (I do not know her personally), but a quick search suggests that perhaps she is not, yet today, Australian media is more excited about her than almost anything else - except perhaps for Sarah Jessica Parker - sigh.........!!