thank you notes 7/19

i'm thankful that the show continued its elaboration of last week's theme of the importance of mutual collaboration and support in kim and kanye's relationship, with scenes demonstrating the importance of kanye offering his artistic perspective about kim's too fussy and filigreed look at the shoot for a fergie video (which she is thankful for, because she wouldn't be brave enough to ask for what she wants) and kim, in turn, offering her feelings and counsel to kanye about the taylor situation, calling herself the "wife of pablo" and saying "kanye, you've got to think about your brand." i'm thankful that her input is clearly important to him, thankful that he says, "if you think it's a big deal, i'll follow your lead."

i'm thankful for sam donsky's glorious exegesis of kim's snapchat edits of the phone call video and for mariah smith's always rigorous keeping up with the kontinuity errors column. i'm thankful that reading these and watching this week's show made me think about the kardashians in the context of the old debates about creative nonfiction and the question of "poetic truth" as opposed to factual truth, about the ethics of representation. i'm thankful to meditate on the interesting paradox of kim indicting taylor as fake on a show in which she and her family regularly stage or reenact conversations and moments which are edited together in an artificially constructed timeline which is meant to feel naturally chronological and linear to the viewer but which is almost always anything but. i'm thankful for the moment when kim and khloe are getting their makeup done for a night out in vegas while talking about the taylor situation and you can see the contrast between the amount of bronzer that's been impastoed to khloe's face and the natural skin tone of her neck.