Who in the media has the power to turn someone into a millionaire with a single sentence? Up until two years ago, I’d never watched her show. During Heather’s convalescence prior to the twins being born, it was on in our house every day, and from the day this began until now, I’ve gone from despising her to appreciating her to getting real about the fact that it’s all about money. Recently her shows have been speaking directly to me about things that I feel really matter.
My mother was over a few months ago and Oprah was talking about a woman, who was either raped or killed while on a cruise ship, or it could have been someone in her family, my brain generally doesn’t file details of this sort away for more than a day or two. At the time I was angry with Oprah, as there HAD TO be more pressing issues worthy of an hour than this! “Why not let FoxNews, CNN and the rest of our ‘carrot on a stick’ media outlets waste their time on how a good looking white woman was done wrong on vacation?” To this, my mother responded with something about how lots of people get done wrong while on vacation. “If she had a cleft pallet, nobody would give a shit, and she sure as hell wouldn’t be on TV right now.” Reluctantly, my mother agreed.
I feel the same way about the shows where celebrities are given a full hour to explain how wonderful and quirky they are. Just last week Sarah Jessica Parker informed everyone watching that she absolutely loved the experience of childbirth, that the tissue of her vagina stretching out to pass something the size of a honeydew melon was pleasant and enjoyable. Everybody applauded, I muttered “bullshit”, and then Oprah started helping her hawk a line of perfume. This is how bad it can get.
Lately though, she’s been tackling topics like the state of our country’s education system, how the poor 12th grader gets the equivalent of a rich 8th grader. With the help of Anderson Cooper, cameras were taken into a school just down the street from the white house. Exposed pipes, broken windows, unsanitary bathrooms and a pile of work orders dating back years on the principal’s desk told an important story. What school in a rich suburb would go that long without basic maintenance? The show also had a piece that showed students in a poor community and students in an upper middle class community switching schools for a day. One school had musical instruments, science labs, state of the art libraries – the other school had nothing.
America is off course, badly off course, and only the efforts of those with a loud enough megaphone are going to make a difference. Oprah’s now talking about poverty and the fact that our country’s minimum wage hasn’t increased in a decade. It’s almost like she realized that America getting dumber had something to do with her.
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Meta
Sounds like she is talking about some important things. I’ve always seen her show as one tailored to pampered housewives.
Ultimately she is going to go where the ratings are. If pampered housewives want to hear about poor schools she will talk about them. Seems like a chicken or egg thing. Do people care about something because the media covers it or does the media cover it because people care about it. As a Natalee Holloway addict I ask myself this question a lot.
I’m working on a ‘virtual’ porno film involving Natalee Holloway…working on the double-entry feature right now.
Oprah is still a douche!
I tend to agree John. Not quite as annoying as the flubby losers on Dr. Phil’s show however.
I disagree…at least the people on Dr. Phil are screwed up enough to be entertaining. Like a woman who runs up 150K worth of credit card debt, while her husband only makes 50K a year…
If I HAD to watch one or the other, I’d take Phil, purely for the “really messed up people who probably shouldn’t be on TV” factor.
Letting your woman run up that type of debt….the golden reward has got to be sweet, galactic, and mindblowing.
Jerry Springer is still the best in day time TV.
As for Natallee Holloway has anyone checked girls gone wild island?
I’ve got two copies of every girls gone wild ever made…she’s not on any of them. But since I’m Chinese, all American white girls look the same.
They gotta be All American! Patriotism is the way.to.go.
I agree…plus, white girls are the only ones stupid enough to perform!
Doesn’t that seem like the case though? I always get mesmerized by those infomercials…
And they never get old…even after the 100th time in a night seeing the same one…
I’m super nanny addict (if you tell anyone I’ll deny it).
Now there’s some messed up stuff.
“I’ve been bad nanny, and I need a spanking.”
If you ever feel like you’re a crappy parent just watch that show. You’ll feel like a superstar in no time.
As for Holloway, we may finally have a resolution eh?
As a public service I have been watching GGW videos over and over again trying to find Natalee Holloway, I didn’t want to but I felt it was my duty.
Anyone seen honey we are killing the kids, on TLC? Shows like that can make anyone feel good about their homelife.
The Nanny shows are certainly good trainin’. Heather loves those shows, and admitedly, it’s a genre I can sit and enjoy watching depending on the players in an episode.
Discipline being what it is in America, I’m glad these shows are out there. Something to counter-ballance the “you’re doing the right thing as a parent, and if it doesn’t work, hand out some spankings and it’ll all work out” mantra of Dobson.
The shows point out something very important, that being a child’s desire to make their parents happy. It’s a lot of hard work, being consistent and following through with a clean slate/mommy and daddy love you/can’t misbehave talk once the punnishment has been served.
On a larger scale, I’ve noticed the same thing managing military and civilian workforces. People generally want to do the right thing, but when that happens, they need to be told so, and just as important if not moreso, when they do wrong, whoever they are (best worker or worst), accountability is a must.