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THE KARDASHIANS: KEEPING UP WITH THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/anoosh-chakelian/kardashians-keeping-up-with-the-armenian-genocide_b_1448303.html?ref=uk
April 24 2012
Anoosh Chakelian.Freelance journalist
Today is international Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, but is one
Los Angeles family of it-girls driving the remembrance single-handedly
this year?
Ever heard of a period during the First World War in which an
estimated 1.5 million Armenians were annihilated by the Ottoman
Turkish authorities, in events today's Turkish government continues
to deny constituted genocide?
And ever heard it referred to as a "big-time incident"?
Because this is the bizarre euphemism used by Brother Kardashian
(whose name begins with 'R', the maverick) that will have come to your
attention if you were one of 2.1 million viewers who watched the March
11 episode of that diamante-studded homage to banality 'Kloe & Lamar',
titled 'No Turkey For Khloe'. In which case, I doubt you'd admit it.
You may even be one of many who consequently took a fleeting, 21st
Century interest and contributed to making 'Armenian Genocide' the
10th most-searched term on Google the day the episode was aired on the
American E! Network (which broadcasts such televisual triumphs as The
Simple Life, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and, um, Bridalplasty).
Another quasi-reality offering kourtesy of the Kardashians, the
series generally sees Gratuitous Acute Accent Kardashian, Khloe - you
know, the one without the sex-tape? Labelled first and foremost as an
"American businesswoman" on Wikipedia, if that helps? - tumbling into
all kinds of scandalous scrapes with her NBA superstar husband Lamar
Odom, such as half-heartedly arguing. And driving around sometimes.
But this episode was different. Yes, there was still the obligatory
drivel about believing in your dreams, and trusting those you love,
etc, but the main focus was on the events and political ramifications
of the Armenian Genocide debate.
Khloe was distressed by Lamar's proposed posting to play basketball in
Turkey. Anxious that her Armenian fan base would find it disrespectful
of her to go off to Turkey and cheer on her man, who had become
frustrated by the NBA's lockout and wished to get back to doing what
he loves - slam-dunkin' and shootin' some hoops, or whatever it was
they didn't say in the '90s, her rallying cry was: "I don't wanna
piss off my culture."
Floating faded photographs panned across the screen picturing
harrowing scenes accompanied by a commentary explaining what the
Armenian Genocide was, careful to acknowledge it as "genocide" rather
than sticking to customary tentative American rhetoric on the issue:
"atrocities". It then gave the Turkish viewpoint, that it was a war
on both sides, and summed up the current political conflict for its
viewers by informing us that "it's never been recognised."
Perhaps even without having witnessed this heavily-edited half hour
of trauma in Khloe's life, you may have an inkling of this contentious
subject, the remembrance day of which is today, 24 April.
It is, after all, the history of humanitarian failings' worst-kept
secret, despite every subsequent Turkish regime's best efforts, and has
been recognised officially in France, Russia, Canada, Italy, and Greece
among many others, as well as by a smattering of US presidents in the
past. Nicolas Sarkozy recently pushed for a bill officially prohibiting
its denial in France, as is the case there with the Jewish Holocaust.
But its events are relatively unknown - particularly in Britain
where it continues to be unrecognised officially as "genocide"
and the government prefers to prevaricate over pastry-wrapped
politicking - compared to the Kardashian family's twenty-four hour
frolicking. You surely must have been hiding under a boulder somewhere
extra-terrestrial, or perhaps watching too much 'Bridalplasty', not
to have heard of this Californian glam-clan of cacophonous society
gurlz and their tabloid teasing antics.
So they are bringing an otherwise fairly obscure topic to an
international audience of millions tuning into their antics. Lamar
even argues that his wife should be "an ambassador for the Armenian
community, to make peace." But is this a good thing?
Should it be that the mouthpiece for such a sensitive issue, still
boiling in the hearts of most Armenians across the Ddiaspora, are these
vaguely pointless women who have globally-broadcasted arguments about
borrowing handbags and mocking each other's "fat asses" in public?
Flagship Kardashian, Kim, who lashed out at Turkish Cosmo this time
last year for putting her on the cover in the month of genocide
remembrance, advises her sister to "be careful, because you're
Armenian." Indeed, last year she wrote a blog post on the matter,
emphasising her strong connection to her background:
"My family and I are incredibly proud of our heritage. My dad taught
me a lot about Armenian culture, and I have a strong connection with
my roots. Every year, I honor the memory of the martyrs who were
killed during the 1915 Armenian Genocide."
She then tweeted "it's time to recognise the Armenian Genocide" to
7.2 million fans. She now has more than double those followers. It's
doubtful the Armenian government, or many activist groups, can boast
such a dedicated fan base. At least not with as much petrifying
lipgloss to hand, anyway.
So despite how highbrow we believe ourselves to be, or how snobby
we really are, no publicity is bad publicity. The fact that the
Kardashians have found the time in their busy brash-splash-cash
scheduling to expose the often stifled subject to a far wider audience
than ever before is commendable. Sorry, kommendable.
Follow Anoosh Chakelian on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AnooshChakelian
Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/anoosh-chakelian/kardashians-keeping-up-with-the-armenian-genocide_b_1448303.html?ref=uk
April 24 2012
Anoosh Chakelian.Freelance journalist
Today is international Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day, but is one
Los Angeles family of it-girls driving the remembrance single-handedly
this year?
Ever heard of a period during the First World War in which an
estimated 1.5 million Armenians were annihilated by the Ottoman
Turkish authorities, in events today's Turkish government continues
to deny constituted genocide?
And ever heard it referred to as a "big-time incident"?
Because this is the bizarre euphemism used by Brother Kardashian
(whose name begins with 'R', the maverick) that will have come to your
attention if you were one of 2.1 million viewers who watched the March
11 episode of that diamante-studded homage to banality 'Kloe & Lamar',
titled 'No Turkey For Khloe'. In which case, I doubt you'd admit it.
You may even be one of many who consequently took a fleeting, 21st
Century interest and contributed to making 'Armenian Genocide' the
10th most-searched term on Google the day the episode was aired on the
American E! Network (which broadcasts such televisual triumphs as The
Simple Life, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and, um, Bridalplasty).
Another quasi-reality offering kourtesy of the Kardashians, the
series generally sees Gratuitous Acute Accent Kardashian, Khloe - you
know, the one without the sex-tape? Labelled first and foremost as an
"American businesswoman" on Wikipedia, if that helps? - tumbling into
all kinds of scandalous scrapes with her NBA superstar husband Lamar
Odom, such as half-heartedly arguing. And driving around sometimes.
But this episode was different. Yes, there was still the obligatory
drivel about believing in your dreams, and trusting those you love,
etc, but the main focus was on the events and political ramifications
of the Armenian Genocide debate.
Khloe was distressed by Lamar's proposed posting to play basketball in
Turkey. Anxious that her Armenian fan base would find it disrespectful
of her to go off to Turkey and cheer on her man, who had become
frustrated by the NBA's lockout and wished to get back to doing what
he loves - slam-dunkin' and shootin' some hoops, or whatever it was
they didn't say in the '90s, her rallying cry was: "I don't wanna
piss off my culture."
Floating faded photographs panned across the screen picturing
harrowing scenes accompanied by a commentary explaining what the
Armenian Genocide was, careful to acknowledge it as "genocide" rather
than sticking to customary tentative American rhetoric on the issue:
"atrocities". It then gave the Turkish viewpoint, that it was a war
on both sides, and summed up the current political conflict for its
viewers by informing us that "it's never been recognised."
Perhaps even without having witnessed this heavily-edited half hour
of trauma in Khloe's life, you may have an inkling of this contentious
subject, the remembrance day of which is today, 24 April.
It is, after all, the history of humanitarian failings' worst-kept
secret, despite every subsequent Turkish regime's best efforts, and has
been recognised officially in France, Russia, Canada, Italy, and Greece
among many others, as well as by a smattering of US presidents in the
past. Nicolas Sarkozy recently pushed for a bill officially prohibiting
its denial in France, as is the case there with the Jewish Holocaust.
But its events are relatively unknown - particularly in Britain
where it continues to be unrecognised officially as "genocide"
and the government prefers to prevaricate over pastry-wrapped
politicking - compared to the Kardashian family's twenty-four hour
frolicking. You surely must have been hiding under a boulder somewhere
extra-terrestrial, or perhaps watching too much 'Bridalplasty', not
to have heard of this Californian glam-clan of cacophonous society
gurlz and their tabloid teasing antics.
So they are bringing an otherwise fairly obscure topic to an
international audience of millions tuning into their antics. Lamar
even argues that his wife should be "an ambassador for the Armenian
community, to make peace." But is this a good thing?
Should it be that the mouthpiece for such a sensitive issue, still
boiling in the hearts of most Armenians across the Ddiaspora, are these
vaguely pointless women who have globally-broadcasted arguments about
borrowing handbags and mocking each other's "fat asses" in public?
Flagship Kardashian, Kim, who lashed out at Turkish Cosmo this time
last year for putting her on the cover in the month of genocide
remembrance, advises her sister to "be careful, because you're
Armenian." Indeed, last year she wrote a blog post on the matter,
emphasising her strong connection to her background:
"My family and I are incredibly proud of our heritage. My dad taught
me a lot about Armenian culture, and I have a strong connection with
my roots. Every year, I honor the memory of the martyrs who were
killed during the 1915 Armenian Genocide."
She then tweeted "it's time to recognise the Armenian Genocide" to
7.2 million fans. She now has more than double those followers. It's
doubtful the Armenian government, or many activist groups, can boast
such a dedicated fan base. At least not with as much petrifying
lipgloss to hand, anyway.
So despite how highbrow we believe ourselves to be, or how snobby
we really are, no publicity is bad publicity. The fact that the
Kardashians have found the time in their busy brash-splash-cash
scheduling to expose the often stifled subject to a far wider audience
than ever before is commendable. Sorry, kommendable.
Follow Anoosh Chakelian on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AnooshChakelian