I'm sure that we all saw the video of Kylie Jenner walking into her daughter, Stormi's, playroom and singing "rise and shine" as she flicks on the lights, effectively waking up her daughter. It was hard to avoid the video as it was all over twitter and other social media. If you didn't see it, here it is.
Since this viral video started circulating last month, Kylie has made rise and shine merchandise, added music and made a music video, she's even trademarking the saying "rise and shine" for her clothing and cosmetic lines. Some Twitter users have declared that the meme was funny when the video first happened, but after Kylie began trying to make more money off of it, it suddenly became not funny anymore.
Those “Rise and Shine” videos of Kylie Jenner were funny until she started doing too much by making sweatshirts and now trying to trademark it. Like why can’t she just let it be funny and leave it alone?— Ace 🥀🌻 (@_Nikiig) October 23, 2019
At the beginning of November, there was talk of Kylie suing a small Australian business for using the phrase "rise and shine" in their own apparel. Even though the cease and desist letter turned out to be a rumor, the thought of someone who is as rich, making her powerful, as Kylie Jenner over something like this, is scary. What would the average person be able to do if they were served with a cease and desist letter from Kylie Jenner? They would have to stop selling the product because they wouldn't be able to afford to go against Kylie Jenner in a court over something like this.
People who are apart of a lower socioeconomic status have no power if they ever needed to go head to head against one of these super celebrities who own so much of the country's wealth. They wouldn't stand a chance if they ever found themselves in court with a celebrity. The amount of money some of these celebrities have is hard to even fathom, and I'm sure that a lawsuit and court hearings wouldn't but that big of a dent in their bank accounts as it would compared to small business owners or the average working-class person in America.
Even beyond the possibility of a lawsuit, people who are in the working-class or those living in poverty may not have access (or have less access) to culture such as this instance. Not that I would call Kylie Jenner singing "rise and shine" way off-key to her sleeping 1-year-old daughter the height of American culture, but for those in poverty or in the working class, they may not be able to be in on the video inspired memes that are a direct result of the video.
What do you think about the trademarking and profiting off of a saying that has been used for years in everyday conversations?
Every time I see this video, I physically cringe. Just the way she says it makes me feel awkward, but also (as you pointed out) the fact that she almost instantly mobilized it into yet another way to make money is cringeworthy. Of course, she does come from a family that takes every opportunity and makes it into a business opportunity, but - and you can persecute me for this if you want - I think the merchandise isn't that great. Sure, it's a cute design, but the circle of her face in the sun just creeps me out, man.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder if the rumors about her issuing a cease and desist to this dental business was because of the way we know people with that much wealth can behave. The fact that many people believed the rumors about the cease and desist is probably rooted in our collective experience of knowing that many rich people will take every opportunity to get richer, sometimes without regard to those it might be hurting on the way. It's interesting that Kylie's response was so humanizing: the "I had a lot of fun with it, and I have laughed so hard seeing everyone's memes since the video came out a few weeks ago" statement seems like she's trying to be relatable in order to be forgiven ("see? I laugh at memes too!!!")
This was an interesting post that offered insight into how easily celebrities these days can trademark and profit off of contents which had previously been considered public. From what I understand, this current situation can seemingly be attributed to two factors: over-idolization of popular figures, and good ol' consumerism. Imagine just how much less people would attempt to pull this unethical practice if the average populace is smart enough not to gobble up any overpriced celebrity-related merch that's being pumped out on an hourly basis. Furthermore, the consumerist's mindset has been too long-ingrained into Western cultures which only serves to make things worse.
ReplyDeleteThe points you brought up about how much power wealth can exert over a judicial conflict and how trademarking a common phrase can lead to unintentional copyright law violations are also very accurate. A lawsuit regarding intellectual properties will always have gray areas thanks to their intangible nature. After all, even the song "Happy Birthday" is technically copyrighted and yet billions of people violate said right each year.
While we are being honest the success of Kylie Jenner sort of disturbs me. If her family wasn’t wealthy and didn’t already have a name for themselves she would just be another nobody. I try my best to avoid any news pertaining to that family, so while we are still being honest I hadn’t seen that video until just now, and I don’t get it at all. Was it supposed to be funny or cute or? Out of all the video footage of her why did this gain traction? I get that she is famous and all but that was one of the most boring videos I’ve ever watched. I was relieved it was only fifteen seconds!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you that the fact she is trying to generate a profit from it is taking it too far. She already makes money in a number of ways, I’m pretty sure she has her own makeup brand and is related to the Kardashians, I mean that kind of says enough right there. It is wrong of her to try to own a phrase that is commonly used, and especially wrong if the rumors are true about her suing that company are true. It’s crazy how fast she is jumping on new opportunities to make money, especially when those opportunities are kind of outlandish. Besides, she should know that content generated on the internet comes and goes at least every few months. Remember Yodel Kid? Not many people are going to go and buy Yodel Kid merchandise anymore, and that kid played at Coachella like a year ago. The point is she shouldn’t take advantage of consumerism to such a level that people can’t say rise and shine anymore.
The fact that this video became popular shows that she has the capability of making success off of it. No matter how many people seem to criticize her she always has the support of a significant enough amount of fans. I mean her simply saying she had never has cereal with milk was a big deal for some reason, which was a lie by the way, probably in an attempt to gain more popularity. But before it was even speculated to be a lie it was trending news that she had cereal with milk “for the first time” and people actually cared for some reason. I guess I’m also saying it’s not completely her fault. I mean if people worshiped me like that I can’t say I wouldn’t take advantage of it at least a little bit. I also can’t say I’d allegedly sue a company for saying rise and shine though.
I swear every time I watch this video or see a meme about it, I just laugh. The Kardashians and Jenners always are doing something to be relevant in the public eye. Did Kylie know this video was going to become so popular? probably not but this video is iconically popular in todays media. The fact that she has made merchandise off of a 10 second video is mind-blowing. They do everything and anything to make money off of the stupidest thing, in my opinion.
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