Oprah Winfrey announced this week that she is ending her daytime talk show in 2011, after twenty five years of broadcast. Winfrey didn’t give much of an explanation as to her decision regarding ending the program but simply said that it had been the greatest time of her life, and that she knows when to stop. Winfrey is truly a pop culture icon and something of a role model for the millions of viewers who tune in everyday to see celebrities and cultural personalities interviewed on her
Although I am not a Oprah viewer I do recognize her influence on society I recently saw a program called The Oprah Effect and it basically outlines how any product or artist that Oprah recommends turns into the hottest thing overnight. She just has a level of trust with her huge audience that allows her to be extremely influential. Her affect on mainstream culture is something like that of Wal Mart. For instance Wal Mart decides to sell your product you’re a success, likewise if Oprah says that she likes you or your product riches follow.
Every time I hear the name Oprah Winfrey I am reminded of this SNL sketch where the women in Oprah’s audience scream with excitement every time she says something remotely interesting. Throughout the show the audiences excitement builds until Oprah gives everyone in the crowd a gift and the audience soon break out into an all out blood fest riot. Women are punching each other and tearing each others limbs off because they are so excited to receive the free stuff from Oprah. Although this skit is sensationalized and over the top it does however key in on the large dedicated following that Winfrey has accumulated over the years. I wonder what the millions of American housewives will do at four o’clock after September 2011?
Oprah Winfrey is one of the most popular culture influential people of her time. Therefore, when her television show is off the air in 2011, perhaps many of her faithful viewers will stop being deceived. Oprah has had great power over the popular culture for many years and had a huge effect on today’s culture. In addition, she has helped many people. Unfortunately, she has been taking advantage of them. She has held most of this power and offered help through deception. When a person has as much power as Winfrey does over people that person should take care in their responsibility for the way they affect that culture of people. Her viewers tune in hopes of finding meaning for their lives or a goodness rarely seen. Oprah gives them an artificial meaning and fake goodness.
ReplyDeleteThe audience “give a ways” are a huge mocking joke. It is a well-known fact that the “gifts” are items from her corporate sponsors. Reports on the news covered her spending money for a girl’s school in South Africa. Now it is good that she wanted to help and she has helped people. However, the money could have been better spent helping more than the selected few girls. The school has less than four hundred students. Spending that same amount of money new schools could have built to give many more an opportunity.
Since this woman will still have influence over the popular culture let’s hope she wizens up and begins a new campaign to influence the true meaning of life and not an affluent secret meaning of life.