As I was trying not to glaze over watching the rerun of Dancing with the Stars, I came up with an idea...as the summer rerun season begins, I'm going to throw myself more thoroughly into the investigation of Oprah's website and take on the myriad of projects, recipes, and exercises listed there. While I certainly have a few current assignments to finish (and ongoing ones that seem to never end!), I will keep this project fresh by addressing her massive website.
Many of you have sent me articles (and I just watched a piece from CNN.com) about Oprah's flagging popularity. Some analysts believe her support of Barack Obama is to blame. I was surprised to hear that, but it does make sense that many of her viewers must also be Hillary Clinton fans...with some McCain mixed in for good measure. Perhaps they feel as if her endorsement of Obama represents her turning her back on those with other political leanings. I find her separation from real-people-problems to be far more of a turn-off than her politics, but then again, I'm a bleeding heart liberal who is happy anytime someone supports my causes.
I think another issue here is that she has permeated the media so thoroughly that people are actually tiring of her. She's not fresh anymore and her name represents a massive corporation and no longer the woman who holds the moniker. I will admit, way back when, I used to love Oprah because she represented the underdog. Those days are long since past and now she is more like Goliath than David.
I'd really love to hear back from all of you. What is your take on the flurry of stories about Oprah's sinking ship?
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
17 comments:
Hi LO,
Long-time reader, 1st time responder. I don't think that it is the Barack effect. I think it is what you touched on - her loss of reality with the common person. I also think it has to do with something you touched on earlier in some posts - the "spirituality factor" Spirituality and religion are very personal and people either get it or they don't. Her whole into the deep with Elkhart Tolle is bound to turn people off because for many it just may not resonate appropriately, especially when you're also feeling as if she isn't in touch with the lives of regular people who are simply trying to survive. Our need to go to work, care for our families and buy gas for our cars while worrying that our children aren't being educated propoerly and the furutre looks dismal, just don't have it in them to be "spiritually enriched." It is too exhusting or impractical. Plus TV is meant to be many things: educational, awareness building and entertaining. People enjoy the entertaining Oprah and sometimes the spiritual aspect of the shows are anything but for people. I am personally very spiritual but recognize that at the end of the day, i'd like to maybe learn something, be endtertained and not have to be bombarded with her ideology of how life should be for me if only I could commit to her life lessons. I'm a big fan of Oprah and her ability to educate and inspire but sometimes one watches the show and just wants to scream ENOUGH ALREADY.
Absolutely, the vibe I get from Oprah is very condescending. It doesn't matter what any of us think though - I'm sure Tolle will convince her that what we're 'percieving' as condescending is really a higher plane or something..
I think it's true to say that historically in times of economic concern audiences tend to want fantasies to distract them from their every day concerns.
It sounds like Oprah just gives her audience more stuff to worry over and feel guilty about.
For me, it's been a combination of the fact that her life NOTHING like that of her normal viewers, yet she continues to make recommendations to them about how to live, what to buy etc. It took a few years for this to sink in with me, but it really started to bug me. So many women rely on what she says, and I feel that she is leading many of them, who can least afford it, astry with her materialistic recommendations. (Boy, maybe that's why I enjoy your project so much!)
Secondly, it's her spirituality kick. I am turned off by many of the new age type things she's advocating because I think they're a bunch of hocus pocus that gives people false hope(The Secret tops my list.) I think many of her viewers see those new age things as anti-Christian, and that turns them off.
hola educatedmomof3. i'm so glad you kicked off the discussion. i think you have some really strong points and i wonder if her search to find herself has overwhelmed her to the point that she believes we all need to walk her path to enlightenment. she does also cross the border to proselytizing which really pushes people away.
i've also noticed what comes across as a coldness these days. for instance. she says, "wow" A LOT during each show in order to display she understands a topic or a story is remarkable, and yet she says it flatly and lifelessly. i think that's why i still love those moments (ie. the puppymill show) where she seems really emotionally connected.
that_girl: i'm curious - do you still watch the show? or has she turned you off entirely?
jen-the alien spouse: that's true - and her programming is a bit schizophrenic - one day marveling over insanely expensive shoes, the next talking about budget and not being attached to things, one day talking about dieting and the next tauting Coldstone Creamery. it's really confusing and scattered to watch the show these days.
kelly - yeah, it's been really fascinating for me to hear what she thinks we "need" to own or do. for instance - one of the latest assignments is to treat ourselves for a weekend getaway. (first of all, i work on the weekends, so i lose out on pay when i do this). not everyone in this horrid economy can afford to do take time off, get out of town, or "treat" themselves to anything besides groceries. it's outlandish to think what she can easily do, we can as well. i wish, like oprah, i wasn't negatively affected by the recession, but i really am. this 21-Day Cleanse is actually pretty expensive for me, incidentally!
thanks all for your fab input!
xoLO
Yes, I still watch the show whenever I can - Oprah is like an old friend that's gotten a little off track.. I watch hoping to see a glimmer of her down to earth self..
I don't know, I tend to think her loss of popularity has more to do with everyones sagging ratings. No one in TV is having an easy time of it (see American Idol ratings) and absolutely NO ONE in the magazine industry is having an easy time of it.
Oprah's fine, everyone's been saying this stuff about Oprah for years...she's lagging because business is lagging.
I feel like her popularity has gone up and down over the years and so if it's down, it will eventually rebound. I think that she should take a 6-month hiatus and give herself and viewers a break. She can come back fresh, with interesting new shows and engage viewers.
I usually watch while I'm at the gym (free in my work building, but if the topic doesn't interest me then I don't watch. I think that not watching every day helps me appreciate when I do watch. That said, I don't buy the things she recommends or follow her advice in general. I have learned some important health and mental health tips from Dr. OZ and the therapists in the past 6 months.
I have noticed the changes in her speech over the past year or two (eg, wow and the number of times she repeats the same phrase really gets on my nerves--I don't need to hear everything twice). I wonder if this comes from being tired or disconnected.
Here's a blog post idea for a day when there are reruns, how about us sharing our own A-ha moments based on things from the shows we've recently seen?
I agree with you and educatedmomof3. Oprah's promotion of beliefs outside the maintstream, coupled with her blatant self-promotion, has completely turned off a significant portion of her viewers. I don't think Obama had as much of an effect as Oprah's entering into the promotion of anything political.
BTW, I enjoy your blog.
Hey LO, I'll admit I'm not into reruns that much...plus with the summer coming I'm trying to cut back on the amount of my TV watching. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the reason for dips in O ratings (well, not just her, but TV ratings overall) is that people are focusing more on enriching their lives by spending time doing [or exploring] things they love (family, friends, hobbies). Wouldn't that be nice?
PS I agree - I don't think politics plays too much into it. Tolle, maybe...I was sick of her shoving it down my throat, until I got into the book (still not done) - on a bad Monday it was like, "Ok, great, you think Skype is so cool...we get it." :)
I think part of the problem is that she has too much going on - radio show, magazine, Big Give - and maybe she doesn't put as much time/energy into each show as she used to when she had fewer "irons in the fire."
that_girl, i'm right with you on that one. i keep hoping that Oprah's doppelganger will disappear and the "real" Oprah will return!
hixx, i've read that too about the fact that many forms of media are getting lower ratings. i assume this is because of the internet??
betsy, that repetition thing makes me nuts. a friend said that she almost always says "we'll be right back" twice. as if we won't believe her otherwise. nice suggestion about the a-ha moments. i'm gonna think on the best way to implement that. i like it.
terri - hey thanks for writing. good point about the self-promotion. i always cringe (but i also expect to cringe) whenever she launches a new project that has her name plastered all over it. there is nothing anonymous about Oprah!
jax, you actually made me laugh about the skype thing. man, we get the point already! you love skype! we get it! you think it's cool! but, wait, Oprah, what do you think about skype? oy! and i am so in you court on this one - that people are living better lives and don't need to tune into a talk show as much. but the more cynical side of me is thinking people are actually out there juggling their lives because of the economy and just don't have as much expendable time to spend in front of the boob tube.
laurajeanette, yup - the show was at it's best when it was her main focus.
did y'all see on the 21-Day Cleanse episode that she was shocked that people actually had fun each day? she expected that the audience would be just like her - not taking time to enjoy themselves for a moment each day. her surprised reaction was really telling. i think she said something like "i word too hard" and admitted she rarely takes time to enjoy life. again. sad. sad for oprah.
xoLO
If there were camps, I'd be more in the anti-Oprah one. I used to be a fan. I think I got turned off around the time of the book club and seemed to me her fans were following her advice blindly. (And good god, the two weeks of birthday parties she threw herself... for god's sake get over it already.)
I do love this blog though and saw the slip articles as well. Fact is the magazine business is really hard at the best of times. I often wonder if she gets paid to endorse the products she sells. (No doubt she does.) Combine this with a for-the-rich caferia spiritual path (including questionable things like The Secret) people are bound to stop and ask themselves why they are doing what she is saying.
Fact is she has grown increasingly out of touch... *shrug* I guess it's just now showing in her ratings.
if my only thing in common is that we're both voting for obama then i'd gladly send her a t-shirt deli shirt with his face on it...then we and O can be twins.
nat, those birthday parties were something else. it must have been so wild to be the first person EVER to turn 50, don't you think? thanks for writing from your camp!
ioio, i would like a photo of the two of you wearing those matching t-shirts. even if it is a photoshopped one!
xoLO
I think she's got a ratings decline both due to the tv industry generally being down and the fact that she's phoning in the shows and so are her producers. I really hated that she switched from dedicated 1 hour shows to 3 disconnected topics in one show.
Locally in Chicago I find it weird that she just holes up in her apartment and never ever comes out, never does anything civic or charitable, and has no identity here. Her schedule is wacked but she is in charge of it so why run yourself ragged? Cause it looks like you are phoning it in anyway, might as well go have dinner at a cool hotel in the private dining room.
I think some of you take her saying "You've got to have this" or "go out and do this" way too seriously. It's her way of being enthusiastic about something. I understand that LO has to be a little over analytical because of the assignment she's given herself, but I know she has to have totally turned off conservative Christians with "A New Earth" and Obama. So if she's lost popularity, it has to be with these people. You can't please all the people all the time.
Post a Comment