What\'s the deal with Oprah??

[Shawn R. L.]

Simple question here - Why is Oprah W. and what she promotes/opposes held in such unusually high esteem? Seems like she is an almost cult like figure to many........Not looking to poke fun at anyone but I just never got the \'aura\' that surrounds her.

 

[BarstoolProphet]

I don\'t really get it, either.

 

[DrEvilmonki]

Really? Man you seem to live a blinkered existance sometimes.

The woman has developed a following over 23 years as a television talk show host. She has avoided (for the most part) any serious personal blow ups. She talks (for the most part) about people overcoming odds, sorting their lives out etc, etc.
A lot of woman admire her because she has excelled in a male dominated industry. A lot of blacks admire her because she has excelled in a white dominated industry. A lot of white males admire her because she she doesn\'t come across as an angry black woman.

But mainly it is as simple as having been beamed into millions of peoples homes over more than 2 decades giving advice and being trusted for it.

 

[Aliengod3]

As successful as she is she is pretty ignorant. in my opinion. What makes this so detrimental is she has so many loyal followers that when she says something incriminating about someone who has done nothing wrong people believe her and it ruins the person in question. I think she has way too much power over people and not enough common sense to make educated opinions about things. Just my opinion...

 

[ScottRadom]

Originally posted by Aliengod3
As successful as she is she is pretty ignorant. in my opinion. What makes this so detrimental is she has so many loyal followers that when she says something incriminating about someone who has done nothing wrong people believe her and it ruins the person in question. I think she has way too much power over people and not enough common sense to make educated opinions about things. Just my opinion...

In terms of the unwashed, uneducated masses there\'s worse things to believe in then Oprah. I am not a fan \'cause of the whole anti-beef thing a while back amongst other things but for the most part she does her job of brainwashing people with things not hateful and mostly positive. There\'s worse zombies then the Oprah follower zombie I think.

 

[Aliengod3]

Originally posted by ScottRadom

Originally posted by Aliengod3
As successful as she is she is pretty ignorant. in my opinion. What makes this so detrimental is she has so many loyal followers that when she says something incriminating about someone who has done nothing wrong people believe her and it ruins the person in question. I think she has way too much power over people and not enough common sense to make educated opinions about things. Just my opinion...

In terms of the unwashed, uneducated masses there\'s worse things to believe in then Oprah. I am not a fan \'cause of the whole anti-beef thing a while back amongst other things but for the most part she does her job of brainwashing people with things not hateful and mostly positive. There\'s worse zombies then the Oprah follower zombie I think.

I think the best thing for anyone striving to make a quick buck is to manipulate the hell out of oprah so that she tells all of her followers how great you are and to buy whatever it is you are selling. By the time she realizes she was taken advantage of you have enough money to last your family 5 generations. :innocent:

 

[Shadzar]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
Simple question here - Why is Oprah W. and what she promotes/opposes held in such unusually high esteem? Seems like she is an almost cult like figure to many........Not looking to poke fun at anyone but I just never got the \'aura\' that surrounds her.

She is a black woman, not a white male, so offers a different opinion to what those \"others\" want you to think.

She is a celebrity.

Many people these days just hide and cower and let other people think for them.

Honestly, I thought she was dead....

I would take Whoopi\'s word over Orca\'s...erm Oprah\'s anyday. Whoopi doesn\'t sugar coat things or suck up, and she doesn\'t need your money or approval.

Must be all the housewives sitting at home watching soap opera\'s and get hypnotized still by Oprah where Sally Jesse, Ricki Lake, Geraldo, Montel, etc have gone off the air and she is the only one left for them to watch.

And if it is said on TV it must be true, and doubly so when a celeb says it.....

That is my gues, but what do I know, I like to think for myself rather than buy into anything every Tom, Dick and Harry on TV tries to sell me on products or ideas.

 

[darthfoley]

Originally posted by Shadzar
I would take Whoopi\'s word over Orca\'s...erm Oprah\'s anyday.

I very rarely give any celeb\'s opinion weight, but Guinan\'s stock in particular dropped like a rock when she tried to excuse Michael Vick\'s dogfighting ring as \'part of his cultural upbringing\'. :no:

*edit* Oh, and Denis Leary discusses Oprah on Letterman...amusing

 

[QuietiManes]

I like how everyone is so racist and sexist with Oprah. Like she is admired because she\'s not white in a white world and a female in a mans world. It\'s rediculous how racist the people trying the hardest to not be racist are the worst.

Obama reminds me of Oprah.

Anyway, I\'m sure noone will agree with my sentiments above so I wont go on about them.

I think people listen to her because she\'s rich and on TV. The general public tends to give celebrities a large amount of trust even when they constantly prove they\'re dishonest and retarded. Think about Paris Hiltons reforms and trends or other pop stars when they get political or charitable, talking about 3rd world countries or the government, they get huge followings when anyone should know their reasons and explanations are incorrect/misleading (but noone checks the facts or remembers anything previous).

 

[lizcam]

I so had a 5 paragragh run-on post written slamming Oprah as the harbinger of all men\'s current ills written and then it didn\'t post. Probably for the best. I loathe Oprah and think she is the cause of all the worlds ills.

The worst part about it is I had some really good turns-of-phrase in there. Oh well.

 

[Dragonsreach]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
What\'s the deal with Oprah??

[align=center]Who?[/align]





Shadzar: Housewives bit of a blinkered stereotype there.
Most True Housewives I know haven\'t got the time to sit and vegetate in front of the TV due to the fact that they are working to manage Kids, Husbands, Meals, Cleaning, Shopping, Budgets etc..
(Couple of House Husbands in that mix as well)

 

[DrEvilmonki]

Originally posted by QuietiManes
I like how everyone is so racist and sexist with Oprah. Like she is admired because she\'s not white in a white world and a female in a mans world. It\'s rediculous how racist the people trying the hardest to not be racist are the worst.

Stating a fact is racist? People obviously put their own beliefs onto their perceptions of others. Personaly I can\'t stand Oprah that doesn\'t mean I can\'t understand why those who do do (I said do do!)

There is simply a level of blinkered ignorance involved with people who ask questions like :why is Oprah so popular\". It is the inability to put yourself in anyones position that isn\'t your own.

As to Obama I think his popularity has as much to do with 8 years of Bush, a republican party who thinks Sarah Palin would make a great VP and his cool demeanor and ability to be articulate and thoughtful.

 

[Einion]

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
...I just never got the \'aura\' that surrounds her.

They like her, she\'s on TV regularly, she\'s not afraid of \'big issues\' and making direct recommendations/condemnations. That\'s about it really I\'d think. Beginnings of the same sort of thing with Ellen D. now.

It\'s not like she was always this much of a mover and a shaker, but along with her personal charisma or whatever when you get to being one of the richest women in the world you can develop a sense of your own importance and if you bring it to this kind of arena then there\'s a pretty natural trend to gravitas, which helps *get the message across*.

Personally, while I think her show has done some good things over the years sometimes her insights (air quotes) are twee and superficial IMB; and it\'s not like she hasn\'t been shown up on occasion to be capricious.

Originally posted by lizcam
I so had a 5 paragragh run-on post written slamming Oprah as the harbinger of all men\'s current ills written and then it didn\'t post.

Sorry to hear that, would have liked to read it.

On a constructive note: this should never happen to anyone twice! If you don\'t want to go the whole hog and compose in Word or something just hitting Ctrl-A, Ctrl-C before previewing or posting will almost completely save you from having this happen again.

Einion

 

[supervike]

Originally posted by QuietiManes
I like how everyone is so racist and sexist with Oprah.

I didn\'t really get any racist or sexist vibes at all. Those things mentioned would be the first chapter in any biography of Oprah. They aren\'t meant to exclude her, but rather celebrate her.


However, there was a great article in Newsweek a few weeks back about her power, especially when it comes to some of the wacky health advice. It was very interesting.

 

[wiccanpony]

not a fan...... I really like to do my own twisted thinking and most of “her” values go against mine:evil:

 

[darklord]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
What\'s the deal with Oprah??

[align=center]Who?[/align]





Shadzar: Housewives bit of a blinkered stereotype there.
Most True Housewives I know haven\'t got the time to sit and vegetate in front of the TV due to the fact that they are working to manage Kids, Husbands, Meals, Cleaning, Shopping, Budgets etc..
(Couple of House Husbands in that mix as well)

me for one!

 

[Aliengod3]

My GF likes to watch her show. What irritates me about it is when she is interviewing people, such as Dr. Oz, she tries to finish sentences for her guests as if she is so knowledgeable on the subjects she is discussing with them. If she knows so much why doesn\'t she just interview herself for an hour five days a week?

 

[evil tendencies]

Boring, irrelevant and unaware of both.

I could go on, but I won\'t.

 

[Shadzar]

Originally posted by Dragonsreach

Originally posted by Shawn R. L.
What\'s the deal with Oprah??

[align=center]Who?[/align]





Shadzar: Housewives bit of a blinkered stereotype there.
Most True Housewives I know haven\'t got the time to sit and vegetate in front of the TV due to the fact that they are working to manage Kids, Husbands, Meals, Cleaning, Shopping, Budgets etc..
(Couple of House Husbands in that mix as well)

I tried using a non-insulting term. I guess I could have said homebodies, couch potatoes, etc, but that doesn\'t really cover properly as people who watch Oprah. Not every Couch potato would watch her, and not everyone confined to their house for one reason or another would either.

I could have used more colorful words to say what i REALLY meant, but they would have been a bit more derogatory.

I was mainly focusing on those who watch those type of shows, like those who watch only soap operas, etc.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Originally posted by supervike

Originally posted by QuietiManes

However, there was a great article in Newsweek a few weeks back about her power, especially when it comes to some of the wacky health advice. It was very interesting.

That\'s one of my concerns. Somehow being famous and or wealthy makes someone credible.....supposedly. It\'s like Bono and how the UN seems to court him. Seems like a well intentioned fellow but is he credible beyond good intentions, a large audience and lots of money?