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I hate Oprah
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By Brandon Renken
, Harvard University
I Hate Oprah
I think a lot of people would beat
around the bush with this one, so I am just going to come out and say it: I hate
Oprah Winfrey. Maybe hate isn't exactly the right word, but somehow I would feel
like less of a man admitting to the whole world that I am afraid of an aging,
perpetually dieting, vegetarian talk show host. In reality, we should all be
afraid.
Oprah Winfrey is a modern demagogue. She's like the soccer mom's Mussolini, prescribing what to wear, what to read,
who to vote for, and even what to eat. The truth is, I just don't think that I,
nor anyone else, really comprehend the limits of her power. And just think, ten
years ago she was nothing more than the female equivalent of Geraldo Rivera - make that two Geraldo Rivera's. Or maybe she just ate Geraldo Rivera - it doesn't
really make a difference. Oprah's rapid climb from talk show host to saint can
go unnoticed no more. I volunteer to take the rap. I will accept the hate mail. I will shoulder the anger of thirty million women in the United States. I will
do whatever it takes to get the word out: "I hate Oprah and you should
too!"
Let's consider some of the facts. Okay, some approximations of the facts, but you'll get the idea. Nobel prize
winning authors usually see their publication increase in the hundreds of
thousands, at most, after winning the prize. However, if an author gets his or her book
on Oprah's book list, he is guaranteed a spot on the New York Times'
best-seller list. She is neither a respected author nor a respected literary
critic, but Oprah speaks and millions read. And it seems like a simple
observation, but when you consider the historical influence of what we read, the
social ramifications of Oprah's guidance become clearer. During the Red
Scare, people were branded communists based on what they read, and Hitler recognized
the power of literature and focused much of the Nazi effort on censorship; so
clearly, at least according to history, what people read has an effect on their
social and political views. I'm not saying that Oprah is Hitler or McCarthy - I'm
saying she's both of them combined.
Really, everyone has to recognize the
power that Oprah wields over one of the most powerful voting blocs in the United
States. For soccer moms, Oprah is Buddha and Jerry Springer all wrapped into
one; she entertains, but at the same time she remains focused on the salvation
of the soul. Everyday, hordes of women gather around the tele-pulpit and pray
to the gods of Oprahism, people like Kevin Aucoin and Cindy Crawford,
contemporary dieticians and designers; all capitalists posing as prophets on
Oprah's multi-national stage.
No matter who you are, Oprah is not
like you. The fact that she can convince you that she is should make you even
more afraid of her than I am. I'll probably have my legs broken by angry mobs of
women sent by Harpo Productions tomorrow, but today, I hate Oprah…and I'm
sticking to that.
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Venty
100% in agreement with Brandon. She is also a racist. She hates low economic blacks. She believes in creating white millionaires. Besides Gayle, name one black millionaire she has created. She will not hire a black Harvard graduate to walk her dogs,cook her food, clean her house or give one a TV show especially a highly black educated female.
1/14/08
Ams
Okay well i love you for this Brandon! My English Lit. class is going over the color purple which is a book that was turned into a movie that she actually starred in and i HATE IT! I despise the whole thing! She had no right to ruin such a good book! she had to go and ruin it with her 100 cents that she had to put in because she refuses just to put in 2 cents! So thank you brandon for making it public!
9/28/06
Jenna
I used to be a Big Oprah fan. Major. Then I started noticing stuff about her that turned me off. There was one particular episode. Too long to get into here, but she basically placed her Ego over that of a troubled kid that was on her show.Basically, was pissed that this child that wanted to kill herself and read a note the parents who inspired her to not kill herself-Got to read her(the child's) letter to the parents-Instead of Oprah.She then acted very condescending to the little girl and said something to the effect of "Is it all better now? in this condescending way. It made me so angry and I felt like I was seeing the *Real* Oprah for the first time. If you ever see that episode *unedited* it'll make you wonder why it took people so long to feel that Oprah is more than a little self-absorbed. Kudos for you for having the guts to post what a lot of people are probably realizing....but not talking about.
9/20/06
John
I agree. Well said, Brandon.
8/9/06
ang
It makes me sick when I see people oohing and aahing over Oprah. The few times I have seen parts of her show she was bragging about who she knows or what she has and the mindless idiots in her audience were clapping like drones. There are plenty of people who do charity work or work to bring criminals to justice but you don't see them broadcasting it to the whole world. I think Oprah just does that stuff so she can be a snotty and condescending but morons will still think she's great because she "cares about people". Really, what has Oprah ever done for that soccer-mom except tell her where she buys her $400 an ounce face cream?
7/30/06
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