Since we got one of those cable box recorders a year or so ago, it seems my every journey through the female controlled living room has Oprah on 24/7. I have nothing against Oprah, but it is not television for macho good looking men like me. Our large HD screen and stereo sound is visible from where I often feed myself in the kitchen while I read the newspaper. Over a year now of watching constant snippages of The Poprah I have noticed an alarming theme that I have named For Winners Only.
I suppose this is not an issue for those who view Ms Winfrey occasionally, but I worry about her steady viewership.
Over 200 audience members win cars as opposed to the 200 million who do not.
The bad teenage girl cleans up her act and succeeds in all she does as opposed to the 95% who do not.
The drug addicted fellow beats it and goes on to great success as opposed to 95% who do not.
The author sells a million books as opposed to 95% of authors do not.
On and on this goes no matter what the issue. It is always that very small portion of those who beat it, who win it and succeed while the 95% who don’t, cease to exist.
This constant barrage of seeing only the winners causes the constant viewer to judge those around them in Poprah terms causing them to see their own friends and family – the 95% of us – as losers. It is much the same as watching Romeo and Juliet or Love Story every afternoon. After a few weeks of it your love story begins to look like crap. Or the opposite. Those Jerry Springer type shows where we are presented with an endless string of disgusting losers and end up feeling good about ourselves and loved ones in comparison.
From low beginnings Oprah Winfrey has managed to amass a very successful corporation. She has done so by going along with whatever comes along, which is mostly apolitical good news. She is a powerhouse with an audience is mostly middle aged white women who hang on every word. When she made her move to Barak Obama – she more than anything else – ended the inevitably of Hillary Clinton becoming the first woman President.
The video here is an example of one of her sadder moments. While pushing for the Iraq War she snaps at a young Black woman in the audience who had the gall to question her about it.