When I was reading this article, there was something that was mentioned a couple times that really stood out to me. There were at least two examples of how "Oprah" contradicted her messages. For example, she says, "You're responsible for their own life. People watch our show and realize they're not alone." I thought this was very interesting of Cloud to point out. I think we get that a lot these days, like a promotion from a gym may say it's up to you to live a healthy lifestyle, but join our gym to do that. I can see this as being a tool that the media uses to, like we talked about last week, send a message to us as consumers.
"Oprah" Winfrey's Rags-to-Riches Biography
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This is a good point. I'm not a huge Oprah fan but I certainly know people who are and use her advice in their own lives and expect her to somehow change them and learn and grow from her - yet that sentence in itself its extremely contradictory and I can see exactly what you mean from it. I especially like your example of the gym, it sums it up nicely in a different sort of context.
I think the gym example is spot-on! I hope we are able to discuss this point in class because the way that health and wellness becomes a matter of individual responsibility is particularly relevant amidst debates about health care. Great point!
It's so true how Oprah is seen as a beacon of light guiding people down the "right path" in life. It scares me to watch how things have unfolded over the last 18 months or so with her show coming to an end.
People that made it to her shows treated it almost as a religious experience (I went to high school with a girl who worked at Harpo and she told me how people would cry when they get in the studio for a taping--guh!). For what? To sit in an audience and hear someone tell us the gym membership routine.
I find it kind of odd that people will take what one person says and live by it. I think that some people in a way think of Oprah as some type of God and live their life (or parts of it) from what she says.