Oprah: Classic or Dud

Oprah = really okay, the more I think about it. Pathetic as it is that her fan base is so intellectually enslaved, she at least uses this to do things like getting people to read (crap books, yes, but at least books, and at least almost-not-crappy books). And limp and stale as much of her "message" is, it's really, really hard to say there's anything wrong with it. I find it sad that people still need to hear it, but so long as they do ... at least Oprah presents that drivel in a way that encourages people to be somewhat thoughtful and aware in their lives, instead of just entertaining them with it.

She's just such a powerhouse, too. Two examples: (a) stood up against the beef industry pretty wonderfully, and (b) chose one of her Oprah books simply because the author asked her to read the manuscript -- she asked the author to drop it off at her hotel, read it herself in one night, made some calls the next day about getting it published, and voila. One must admit that that's impressive.

Nope.

hahaha! yes, you did, nicole! and it went weird even.

Anyway: Oprah was talking about (totally simplified) health stuff yesterday, so I watched, because pop science/healthcare is where my academic inclinations are right now. And it was pretty good, if only for all the talk of "pooping" and farting that reached millions of viewers. It was like, oh, Oprah probably just saved *a lot* of people's lives (or made them far more comfortable at least) just by saying the word "poop" on tv and encouraging people to not be shy/silly about what might be wrong with their "poop" and that they should deal with their problem by, y'know, eating better or maybe even seeing a doctor. So, hey, classic.

It was September 2001, a confusing time for us all.

Big Stupid book-wrecker.

Wow, there was only one back then!

whooooooooo

oprah speaking @ commencement!!

Goodbye syndication, it seems.

'Why would anybody stay in Chicago? It's freezing here, and I have a mansion in Montecito that I haven't been able to enjoy.' (Allegedly.)

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081215132756AAxP1UB

oprah got soft

so she's basically just doing the show on her own station? so why the tears, Oprah?

So a couple times over the last year or so I've blurted out something about being irritated by Oprah in the company of friends and then accidentally gotten into a semi-serious argument/debate with someone, which is not something that typically happens when I'm "hanging out". But when asked about why I loathe her, all I can really come up with in a drunken state is:

- she puts herself on the cover of her own magazine - titled 'O' - every month, occasionally riding a white horse
- her role in endorsing The Secret
- something about the way she flaunts her charitable actions that really touches a nerve with residual traces of my Xtian upbringing

...and that's about it. it's a pretty weak argument, I guess. And in response, the argument I get is "is it possible that you're threatened by a strong, confident black woman"? Someone please help me get to the bottom of my Oprah problem.

problem of Oprah's bottom

i dont know dude... sounds to me like yr prob just racist/sexist sorry

- endorses wacko health products/treatments that range from the merely useless to the actually harmful

http://www.csicop.org/si/show/oprah_winfrey_bright_but_gullible_billionaire

^ yeah that is the worst, see also - http://www.newsweek.com/2009/05/29/live-your-best-life-ever.html

The thing that weirds me out about Oprah is actually something that weirds me out about my mom, namely: after every fight she* has with my dad, she types up a big, epic letter to Oprah about how shit her life is and how empty her marriage is, etc etc. Naturally, neither Oprah nor one of Oprah's Little Helpers has ever sent her so much as a form letter back. Not that I expect them to, but it is weird to me that Oprah is the vessel that my mom pours all her despair into, and never hears a damn thing back. Why does she keep writing Oprah? I mean, if you change a few words here, this scenario is basically why I'm an atheist (if you change the name of Oprah into God the Eternal Father).

*mom, not Oprah

I also remember some episode from the mid-90s (I used to catch it with my mom after school) where she got the audience to clap along to her comment along the lines of "all paths lead to heaven, no matter what religion you are" or something like that. which, i dunno, if everyone wants to adjust their spiritual views to line up with Oprah go for it I guess, but kinda struck me as a weird manipulative statement

loool at Aaabbbooottt

I guess that Oprah is also a path, so eventually following Oprah will also lead to heaven

I wish that "Oprah vs. 9000 penises" video that Cankles posted above still worked, I'm kinda curious!

My mom is also convinced Oprah would secretly love to be white. Her evidence is some episode where Oprah held up the palms of her hands and said, "Look, I'm white too" (or something like that). Oprah can't help that her little joke fed into my mom's crazy confirmation bias that successful black people secretly want to be white people. But my mom says it makes her more relatable. Guys, please don't hate my mom after this.

I've never watched Oprah but she's got to be doing something that makes sort of racist housewives in shit marriages love her so much!

Oprah Goes To Auschwitz

Oprah is the benevolent mother and wise best friend those racist housewives always wish they had and never got.

When you have that much money and power, you can be as weird as you choose to be.
Why is she taking on talking in Bellowing ShatnerSpeak these days? Nobody knows.

MOOOOOOORRRIIIIAAAAHHHHHHH CAAAAARRRREEEEEEEEYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

TYYYYYYLOOOOOOORRRRRRRR PERRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

she's obvious lesbian and is in the closet about it for financial/PR reasons, which is kinda lame

the putting herself on the cover of her own magazine thing is a running joke with me and my wife (ie, we're at the supermarket "hey! guess who's on the cover of O this month!"

On one of the Secret shows, Oprah gave an example of the scientific power of the concept. She said that once, while she was hosting an episode about a man who could blow really big soap bubbles, she was thinking to herself, "Gee, that looks fun. I would like to blow some bubbles." When she returned to her office after the show, there, on her desk, was a silver Tiffany bubble blower. "So I call my assistant," Oprah told the audience. "I say, 'Did you just run out and get me some bubbles? 'Cause I got bubbles by my desk.' And she says, 'No, the bubbles were always there. I bought you bubbles for your birthday and you didn't notice them until today'."

I have no idea what the "Secret" is. do I even wanna know

nah more bubbles Mo problems

lol

It is about actualizing your universal potential to notice stupid shit on your desk.

http://www.tiffany.com/Shopping/item.aspx?sku=14952616

she should "show" that to Gayle

they're just friends you know

My one memory of something that actually happened on Oprah is a woman talking about a guy that tried to rape her, so she bit his penis off. The audience was really into this. I was pretty young at the time & I was discomforted with knowing that someday I might have to choose between getting raped (didn't really understand this concept) or chomping a dick off.

i'm going to go ahead and link to this here even though i also just linked to it in the elite test thread:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4xg9lyEhP8

i don't really like oprah for basically doing shit like that weird car giveaway, for basically being way too offended and put out by james frey's lame book (it was more about "how dare this person lie to ME!" rather than "how dare he make something up!"), and tbh her vocal mannerisms, and the way her voice swoops and divebombs and sounds stitched together from various conversations (esp in her promos) is like nails on a chalkboard. she also reps for generally lame celebrities and she's spawned these weird spinoffs with former regs that seem to be a little culty and weird.

I have to admit I was totally addicted to Dr. Phil for a couple months in 2006.

ugh Dr. Phil... one time we were visiting a friend of my wife's and her friend's husband started in about how Dr. Phil was terrible and "has no penis" and tried to cajole me into agreeing with him and I was like "um, dude I don't know or care btw you have issues"

* More on Oprah's beau
* Winfrey denies being gay
* Her greatest fear revealed

Why does she keep writing Oprah? I mean, if you change a few words here, this scenario is basically why I'm an atheist (if you change the name of Oprah into God the Eternal Father).

well, i think that's kind of the point, though, in that ppl have trouble thinking of "themselves" as a source of wisdom b/c they identify so strongly w/their limited everyday pain-in-the-ass sense of self or w/e, so it all hangs on who you can easily project yr dormant good qualities onto. some ppl might relate to oprah in that way, others to jesus. if it stimulates some conciliatory wisdom or some sort of positive feelings to burble up from one's depths then that's a good beginning, i guess

Her favourite things special is on the telly right now. She gives stuff to 400 women, they all scream like Beatles fans and millions of people watch it. I DO NOT UNDERSTAAAND.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/12/14/3093171.htm

Jackman then gave Oprah a lesson on Vegemite, spreading some onto a SAO biscuit and offering it to the talk show queen.

"I like it," she said.

'I like it,' she said. Instant endorsement, 9348795348% sales spike for Vegemite. FOR GOD'S SAKE WHY.

Russell Crowe then joined Jackman, Urban, Kidman and Newton-John on stage, closing the show in spectacular style with a rendition of I Still Call Australia Home backed by the Gondwana children's choir as a massive Australian flag moved over the crowd.

Meanwhile, Winfrey showed she was still in a giving mood by announcing she would be giving diamond necklaces to all 6,000 of her audience, prompting hysterical scenes.

whole article is incredible

_Russell Crowe then joined Jackman, Urban, Kidman and Newton-John on stage, closing the show in spectacular style with a rendition of I Still Call Australia Home

Dud. Waking up to her on the BBC bellowing "YOU'VE GOT TO COME TO AUSTRALIA" made the nightmare I'd been having seem understated by comparision. And no I don't. WTF BBC anyway.

oh man ;_;

;_;
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Dud. It seems like her success and her narcissism dovetailed, and as her influenced peaked in recent years she seemed more prone to erratic support of dubious people, positions and things, I'm sure because everyone on her staff is scared shitless of her. Besides, given the size of her ego and her messianic belief that what's good for her is good for everyone, I'd say the odds of her retiring the show for good are about as poor as they were for Michael Jordan's first retirement.

(I should say, classic for her book club)

I just heard she did a mere 2500 shows in 25 years! Way too much time off; no Joe Franklin.

Dud. And dangerous.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/public-health/the-oprah-fication-of-medicine/

xp 4500, actually

GUESS WHO'S ON THE COVER OF O MAGAZINE AGAIN THIS MONTH

http://cdn2sitescout.edgesuite.net/cpcode360/300x250-a05ec719767e4459602e766a1812be93-707e662.gif