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TV Bites With
Neena Louise |
Oprah: What Hast Thou Become?
by Neena Louise
I used to like Oprah Winfrey. I liked her show and her open, honest approach to
her topics. I was also impressed with how down-to-earth and in-touch she was
with her audience. She was a woman that most of middle America could relate to:
growing up in poverty, struggling to control her weight and her feelings of
insecurity. What happened to that woman? There's little trace of the old Oprah
left.
I tried to watch her show recently. It made me gag. On this particular day, she
had celebrity guests. She's the worst celebrity interviewer I've ever seen!
These HUGE stars are sitting there, struggling to finish a sentence while Oprah
constantly interrupts them, tries to finish their sentences for them, repeats
every word they say, interjects irrelevant comments about her own life, then
proceeds to mock their accents. It seems that Oprah's the only guest Oprah's
interested in interviewing.
In the early days of her show, I thought how charming it was when Oprah was
sharing a story about having difficulty choosing a carpet while shopping at
K-Mart. Considering she was rich even then, I found it refreshing that she still
shopped (or at least said she did) at K-Mart. Now? Now she extols the
virtues of $70 PJs, $100 sheets, $150 toothbrushes and shopping at Barney's (an
upscale department store) - out of the reach of (and probably of little interest
to) her "average American" target audience.
I think Oprah is a beautiful woman - fat or thin - so her weight obsession is
really becoming tiresome. First it was the diet discussions. She lost it. She
gained it. Then it was the liquid diet. She lost it. She gained it. Then it was
the exercise-obsession. She lost it - claimed she was "thin for life"
- she gained it. At each point in Oprah's struggle to lose weight, she entices
(I'd venture to say, even goads) her audience to do as she does. And all the
sheep-like Oprahlites do just that, despite the fact that they can hardly afford
a personal chef, a personal trainer to follow them around all day, nor a private
gym. I wonder how many people have become weight-obsessed and have developed a
negative body image and poor (perhaps dangerous) eating habits because of Oprah?
Considering Oprah has not yet succeeded in a permanent weight loss despite her
numerous attempts, people are fools if they try to do as she does. I
recall seeing a show about obese children. A 12 year old girl - who seemed more
plump than dangerously overweight - read a letter to her mother, tearfully
begging to be accepted the way she was. Oprah proceeded to interrogate the girl
about how much she exercised, then lectured her on how she wasn't exercising
enough. Poor child. She just wanted to know she was cared about regardless of
how she looked, and there's Oprah - a megastar - telling her she wasn't. It was
a mean-spirited thing to do to anyone - especially to a child suffering from low
self-esteem.
When Oprah began her Book Club, she insisted it was merely to make readers out
of non-readers. A noble cause, to be sure, since there's nothing better than
reading a book, and non-readers are shutting out a wonderful experience. Trouble
is, I find her book recommendations stultifying dull. I'm ashamed to say I
actually tried to read one of her selections. It was very poorly written and so
boring that Moby Dick is a page-turner in comparison. That would be okay,
since to each his own after all, but Oprah doesn't allow that attitude. It seems
if you don't agree with Oprah, she classifies you as IQ-challenged and decrees
that "you don't get it". An audience member once dared to disagree
with the Great Oprah about her book preferences. The audience member stated,
flat out, that she didn't agree with Oprah about who was the best writer in the
world. This is a very, very subjective thing, but Oprah totally went off on her,
practically shrieking at the woman that Oprah's choice was the one and only
and demanded a staff member fetch her preferred book in order to prove it. It
was a disgusting display and goes to show just how egomaniacal Oprah's become. I
have to wonder how many people who haven't picked up a book in years try to read
one of Oprah's boring recommendations, then decide reading is a chore and they
never open another book?
And who can forget the cattle ranchers that tried to sue Oprah over her negative
comments about the safety of beef? This country was founded on free speech and
Oprah has every right to say whatever she wants. However, there are so many
Oprahlites that live Life According to Oprah, her comments had a huge impact on
the beef market. Surely, she knew this would happen. If she didn't, she
certainly should have. When questioned, her response was, "It was only my
opinion" and shrugged it off as nothing. I don't think Oprah should've been
sued, but her comments were irresponsible, given her influence, and it seems she
needs this be pointed out to her in boxcar letters since she seems oblivious to
anyone but herself. Influence in one so irresponsible and with so many blind,
devoted followers can be very dangerous, indeed.
I'm not sure how I feel about her "Angel Network" or "Spirit of
whateveritis". I agree that hearing people doing good deeds may compel
others to do the same, but I am of the belief that if you do a good turn, you do
it because it's the right thing to do and it makes you feel good - not for the
accolades. If you brag about your good deed, it doesn't count (in fact, it's a
strike against you). But that's just me. Perhaps this is one (only?) positive
thing about the "new Oprah".
Oprah's show has deteriorated into one very preachy hour. In a recent interview,
when her incessant preaching was pointed out, Oprah stated that if you don't
like it, watch Jerry Springer instead. Oh, I see. So if we don't like
Pope Oprah and all of her holier-than-thou Oprahisms, all we're good for is
watching trash like Jerry Springer? It seems Oprah has very little
respect for her own audience and deems them garbage if they don't like and agree
with her!
Change Your Life TV? Puleeze! If I felt my life needed changing, I sure
wouldn't turn to the egomaniacal, weight-obsessed, holier-than-thou,
hypocritical Oprah that we see today. I wouldn't want to change into THAT! I
used to feel good when I watched the Oprah show. Now, with all her derogatory
comments on just about every minor flaw every human has, "good" isn't
a feeling I come away with from her show. She's completely lost touch with
normal people and makes no apology for it. Obscene wealth does that, I suppose,
but it's a shame in Oprah's case.
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