The Issue with Oprah: An Onyx Perspective
6.23.08
NEWSFLASH -- Oftentimes the best observations about an event or person are made after the headlines have lost their “fresh” appeal or even died out. Such is the case with Oprah Winfrey. It’s been about a month since rumblings of her predicted demise, via her talk show’s falling ratings, were the hot topic of newspapers, blogs, radio talk shows, and other news media outlets. At the request of Onyx Cranium, I listened to some of the buzz, read a few of the rather similar articles on the issue. This yielded little insight. The true viewpoint of those displeased with Ms. Winfrey came through the heated and somewhat sophomoric comments that were posted on line and called in from across the country. There was a lot of ranting and raving, but the majority of opinions for those who believed Oprah’s ratings are a sign of America falling out of love with her seemed to boil down into four categories.
1) Oprah has become too self-absorbed and self-promoting.
2) Ms. Winfrey’s wealth is the real issue. It’s put her out of touch with the common person (or rather woman) who is her core audience.
3) The record setting talk show host’s promotion of books such as The Secret and The Power of Now reveal that she has turned from God (meaning the one that has a son named Jesus).
4) Oprah’s endorsement of Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination rather than Hillary Clinton was a betrayal of the women, particularly those who watch her show.
Before I knock out the ridiculous claims of 1 and 2, highlight the problem with 3 and deal with what 4 really means, I’ll state that as a 30-year-old black woman, I am not an Oprah devotee. I don’t watch or Tivo her show on a regular or even sporadic basis and I’m not a subscriber to her website. Still, like most sisters I know, I am a fan of her journey from an obscure, local talent to the top of the talk show and television marketing food chain. I do not base what I wear, think, or believe on Oprah. Still, I route for her and what her financial and social success represents. Therefore, I took an interest in the above-listed attempts to justify why people would turn away from the touted talk show queen who was asked – not too long ago – if she herself would ever consider running for the position of P.O.T.U.S.
A final note before we rip apart the various sentiments listed above. Many “experts” believe that the drop in ratings of Oprah’s show reflects a downward trend in American viewing daytime television talk shows. The increased ratings for Ellen and Dr. Phil don’t really mean much when compared to Oprah because to put it plainly, Oprah is in a league of her own. Now about these “explanations” for her predicted demise…
Oprah has become too self-absorbed and self-promoting.
When it comes to whether or not Oprah loves herself, there’s no question that she does. It’s a hard earned love and one that is difficult to maintain in a society that villianizes in varying measures, blacks, women, and those of us who exist at the cross section of the two. A special place in social hell is reserved for those who also choose not to attach themselves to some man via marriage. Is she self-absorbed? I’m sure people can find instances of her being guilty of the crime. She has shows that are just about items and ideas that she likes. (Of course she immediately provides audience members with them.) To be truly self-absorbed, one must be much more self-centered.
And even if Oprah Winfrey blatantly chose to only promote herself, disbanded with her charitable organizations and activities, and talked solely about her climb to “greatness,” it wouldn’t be enough to turn viewers away. Why? Because anyone who has been paying attention to mainstream society (and her largely white, female following is about as mainstream as it gets), knows that Americans are all about self-promotion and spotlighting their lovely individual selves. Those who chose to watch Ms. Winfrey might note a self-congratulatory tone to her walk and talk, but they aren’t going to stop watching her because of it. Not when she gives them the tools and resources to do the same for themselves on a much smaller, but still effective scale.
Ms. Winfrey’s wealth is the real issue. It’s put her out of touch with the common person (or rather woman) who is her core audience.
The next sentiment expressed by people of both genders (and for all I know some hermaphrodites as well), is that Oprah has become too rich to relate to the masses. Here’s why that’s bullshit in my book: If she didn’t relate to people, she wouldn’t have so many millions of viewers to lose. Add to that America’s (and most of the world’s) shameless obsession with wealth and thus the wealthy individuals who have it. And even beyond that (real talk), Oprah has been richer than most for quite some time. The idea that she is all of a sudden “too rich” flies in the face of common sense and doesn’t wash when one considers that without her vast wealth and power, she would be much less of a ratings magnet. (It’s not like people tune into Ellen because she’s broke.) This “too rich” issue is a sore spot for me because I’ve grown accustomed to athletes and entertainers (usually black ones) being socially judged for flaunting their wealth (or their faux wealth as their lease agreements would demonstrate). And while I get just as annoyed as the next person with people who continually promote the image of life being one big bottle service table, I believe folks on Cribs and Sweet 16 are just more obvious with their flaunting. Just because the top 1% of Americans who account for nearly half the country’s wealth don’t let the press into their mansions or note the labels on the tags of their shirts rather than having them written across their backs, doesn’t make them any less consumed with money for money’s sake. All that to say that Oprah’s wealth is a draw. If people who watch her show were concerned with a more common experience, they’d talk to their neighbors rather than seeing what O has to say.
The record setting talk show host’s promotion of books such as The Secret and The Power of Now reveal that she has turned from God (meaning the One that has a son named Jesus).
The third argument for her dropped ratings appears to carry a little more meat. People believe that Oprah has turned away from the Christian church – a big no-no in a country of individuals who pride themselves on following “God’s word” as they interpret it to fit their own desires and actions. Several of the rather angry and somewhat frantic comments I read from American citizens stated that God was punishing her for her pride and thinking that she was God. I googled the church that Oprah must have founded, but didn’t find it. Then I looked to see if she had re-written the Bible or added a supplement to it like so many other religions (including Christian ones) have. No such luck. It appears that she just happens to be a person who believes that individuals can somehow take more responsibility for their own lives rather than doing reactionary prayer aimed at making their self-made drama less dramatic. Did we hit a sore spot? Lose a couple of readers on that one? Oh well. Back to Oprah. The most significant problem with the argument of her losing ratings because she’s “strayed from the Christian path” is that the ratings didn’t coincide with her promoting another Eckhart Tolle book or revisiting the lessons of The Secret. No, they seemed to have occurred when she made a proclamation that had nothing to do with religion – Christian or otherwise.
Oprah’s endorsement of Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination rather than Hillary Clinton was a betrayal of the women, particularly those who watch her show.
And finally we arrive at Reason 4 or as some would put it – the real reason for all the hoopla: Oprah’s very public and very enthusiastic endorsement of Illinois Senator Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination and eventual President of the United States. Many comments from former vans and viewers were adamant that by not endorsing the first viable female candidate for the president, Oprah had betrayed her core audience. What it boiled down to was that because she had not endorsed the white female candidate, she had betrayed white women. Now people didn’t phrase it this way. No, they put it in much grander terms. They stated that she’d betrayed ALL women and I’m sure that most would argue that race really had nothing to do with it. But, of course, they would be wrong. The fact of the matter is that Hillary Clinton is white (hope no one’s surprised by that) and benefited from her race as much if not more than Obama did from his gender. Oprah’s core demographic is primarily composed of middle class white women. So the statement that white women are mad that she didn’t support a white woman is not only a fair claim – it’s an accurate one.
The idea that Hillary Clinton’s run was more historic and more significant than Barack Obama’s is at the heart of this political turned social storm. Not only that, but Clinton supporters have been waiting for quite some time for her to transition from former first lady to first female president. They feel cheated that a charismatic man who is a neophyte on the national political scene could usurp the heavy favorite. In short, they feel that Hillary was robbed and that Oprah’s endorsement of Barack makes the talk show queen an accomplice to the political crime of their lifetime. So, if the ratings did indeed drop because she endorsed Obama, the question becomes whether or not Oprah did indeed betray women.
Our answer is that she did not. Black people who voted for Hillary Clinton, contrary to the claim of less than thoughtful Obama supporters, did not betray black people unless their purpose in voting for her was to make sure a black man never got into office. No, Oprah did not betray women. What she did was decide who she thought should be president and despite the expected backlash from the viewers who are usually so enamored of her, she then set about supporting her choice. The bottom line is that Clinton supporters can’t fathom that Oprah would choose supporting racial history over gender history. And like most white women and black men, they were too excited to understand how pathetic it is to experience another presidential election without a candidate who could accomplish both. Of course they also can’t fathom Obama being a better candidate for office than Hillary. The reverse of both statements is equally true for Obama supporters. Bottom line – a woman who has worked hard for her wealth, her power, and her clout deciding to use all of those to empower who she wants to see in office is not a betrayal of women, black, white or otherwise. It is a testament to them. When a female is willing to make a choice that sacrifices her public feminine persona while affirming her private beliefs, that is a victory for the feminist and womanist movements, not a defeat.
Beyond race and gender, aside from religion and politics, and far past wealth or self-image, we believe that if Oprah’s fallen ratings are in fact the result of purposeful action from her viewers - that’s a shame. People are always amazed when those they admire or emulate turn out to have opinions and views outside of their own. Oprah provides a service. The agreement between her and her audience is that they tune in to be entertained and informed for an hour and (minus commercials), she provides them with said entertainment and information. The contract is a simple one and she is not obligated to any of her viewers, white females included, beyond that.
People want Oprah to stay in the box they see her in from 3:00 to 4:00pm. But she is not just a one-hour show or even a one-week special. She is a flesh and blood black woman who is no saint but is no demon either. She has power and like most people with power possesses something that others claim to find respectable, but cringe upon witnessing – a mind of her own. Oprah’s not a genie to grant wishes, though she does. She’s not a profit anointed to heal and save the world, though she commits acts that go in that direction. She just happens to be a billionaire sister with her own opinion. And at the end of the day, people just don’t know how to take that. Perhaps they would, if they were more comfortable with seeing it. But they aren’t. Right now, when it comes to billionaire worth and having several million loyal viewers and fans while owning her blackness, Oprah stands alone. She has no competition and unfortunately, at the same time, she has no company either.
