oprah observations
Whether you like her or not, you probably have an opinion on Oprah Winfrey. Check out this interesting article titled "The divine Miss Winfrey?" Do you agree with the author? One of the sources quoted raises a good question: how can someone who has never been married, never raised children and carries the title of billionaire be in touch with the average American woman (who comprises the majority of her audience)?
posted by Jana at 12:15 PM
6 Comments:
"how can someone who has never been married, never raised children and carries the title of billionaire be in touch with the average American woman?" Good question but Oprah's not always been a billionaire. Maybe women (and men, too) relate because Oprah's seen much in her life: she's been dirt poor, sexually abused, ostricized because of her gender and race, and struggled with weight issues. Yet, in spite of all this, she's overcome. And every one of us loves a good story about overcoming.
I don't think Oprah is near as down-to-earth as she could or should be (money corrupts) but I respect her story and because of that, I tune in every now and then.
I think Oprah listens. And people will overlook a lot if a person seems to really listen and care. There is something about her gives her a common touch despite her immense wealth and power. I think Bill Clinton and Bono have this same charecteristic. Of course none of us really know Oprah the person, but she hasn't betrayed our trust has she? She is upfront about her relationships, where she came from, what she has, who she is, what she stands for, she is "scandal" free, and is open about her struggles. I think this transparency is what moves people to become better themselves instead of just wishing they were Oprah.
Oprah has money and power that we can't even comprehend. To be truthful I wouldn't want that much money and power, too much responsibility and accountability. That being said, Joe do you really think she is corrupted just because she has a lot of money? If you are meaning that it's corrupt to spend $180,000 on a pair of earrings then perhaps you are right. But is that any different than me spending $299 for an iPod. The amounts are worlds apart, but the scale isn't. In fact $180,000 earrings is only .0078% of her annual income (based on $230 million gross).
Perhaps I am naive, but I think Oprah would be the same person championing the same causes and doing the same job whether it paid her $230 million or not. Oprah (like Bono) is great at rallying other people and celebrities to give money. It will be interesting to see what she does after she retires. Does she start a philanthropic foundation, sink into her own celebrity, or just disappear?
she jumped on the Darfur bandwagon, encouraging viewers to support refugees there
This is probably where I have the most difficulty with her. It seems to me that she rarely has an original thought, she does a lot of bandwagon jumping and sometimes (like with the James Frey thing) has to go back, eat crow and cover her butt
"One of the things that's key," says Marcia Nelson, author of The Gospel According to Oprah, "is she walks her talk. That's really, really important in today's culture. People who don't walk their talk fall from a great pedestal — scandals in the Catholic Church, televangelism scandals. If you're not doing what you say you do, woe be unto you."
And this is something I really like and appreciate about her. She's very real and open and honest. I love it when she debunks tabloid myths about herself, like that she and Stedman got married over a weekend and she'll say on the show the next week, "Really, then I must have forgotten to invite myself" or something ridiculous like that.
Anyway, I tend to have to take her small doses. Lately I can't get through an entire show and other times I'm recording it so that I won't miss it.
Since I am at work, I don't get to see Oprah. And I better not hear about it from my wife when I get home! She has work to do and shouldn't be wasting her time watching Oprah. Laundry, house cleaning, yard work, shopping, dinner planning, etc. No way she better be wasting time on Oprah! She knows her place.
BTW, anyone know a good divorce attorney, I have this gut feel that I am going to need one.
:-) Sorry, didn't have anything to add about Oprah but wanted Jana to know I am reading. I am kinda proud as a Nashvillian that a Nashville girl has captured so much respect and attention.
Tony
Oprah for President!!!!
I like to call her "Okra"
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