# Can somebody explain Oprah Winfrey to non US-Americans? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** talk-variety-show\ **Created:** [December 18, 2023, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778 "2023-12-18T15:36:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/141 "2023-12-20T12:10:04Z")
I just found out the other day that her show was scheduled to do an episode with a bright, telegenic young family from Arkansas named the [Duggars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/19_Kids_and_Counting#Josh_Duggar_molestation_controversy). Then Josh Duggar’s nasty habits started leaking out and they decided not to do the show. It doesn’t change my opinion of her (since I don’t really have one and any sane TV person would have chosen to drop them as well) but it’s interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/142 "2023-12-20T13:20:35Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > So, she shouldn’t be held accountable? Did I say that? I was just explaining how she’s different from all of the other talk show hosts who have given a platform to nonsense. If anything, it means that she should be held more accountable than those other hosts, on the principle of “with great power comes great responsibility”. > [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > I’ve never been a fan of Oprah, but I perceive a lot of positivity and little or no dysfunctionality on the home page of her website: [Oprah.com](https://www.oprah.com/index.html) > > As a control, I’ll compare it with these stories, cherry picked for dysfunction, from the CBS news website: I’m not sure how meaningful that is, because [oprah.com](http://oprah.com) isn’t a news site. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/143 "2023-12-20T13:28:45Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > He seems thrilled. The audience is exhilarated. Everybody seems to love her. How come? We have a love affair with rich, famous celebrities that approaches the status of worship. When Swift was performing here in Chicago, someone paid $92,000 for one ticket to hear music they could stream from Amazon. Why? Taylor Swift was on the stage in the flesh. So, it is not Oprah per se that is a singular phenomenon, it is her rich, celebrity status that’s the thing. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2023, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/144 "2023-12-20T21:54:23Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Did I say that? Sorry, I misunderstood your intent. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2024, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/145 "2024-04-22T14:32:34Z")
Nothing, if you’re a narcissist. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2024, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/146 "2024-04-22T15:27:51Z")
She is the head of a mainstream religion, like Robotology or Voodoo. /s 🧛‍♀️ ---
**Author:** ![SwissMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@SwissMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SwissMan)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2024, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/147 "2024-04-22T20:45:58Z")
Robotology is not a mainstream religion; their version of hell involves torture with up-tempo singing, fer Chrissake! ---
**Author:** ![Jamasta1976](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b487fb/32.png) [@Jamasta1976](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jamasta1976)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/148 "2024-04-23T05:27:30Z")
Oprah really made a name for herself in the 1980s, the first few seasons of her show were much more taboo busting - while the older Donahue show had much the same format - she took on a lot of topics that were radical for daytime TV: sexual abuse, eating disorders, coming out - generally featuring “ordinary” people as guests. That was a time when U.S. TV was pretty sanitized…daytime television was still dominated by Soap Operas and Game Shows. In a sense, she shifted the culture to “tabloid” and “reality” television. While Oprah’s format might not translate elswhere, I think that shift in programming echoes in everything worldwide from “Big Brother” to “American/Pop Idol”…or Youtube/TikTok. Anyone can become famous. After around 1992 or so, maybe as many other talks shows steered toward even more sensational topics, her program became a more celebrity and lifestyle oriented show. That’s the Oprah most people know of today…the rather bland and cheery show aimed primarily at middle American women. I think that is the Oprah most people still recall. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2024, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/149 "2024-04-23T16:47:00Z")
> [@Jamasta1976](#): > > That’s the Oprah most people know of today…the rather bland and cheery show aimed primarily at middle American women. I think that is the Oprah most people still recall. What I recall from watching it in the 90s as a kid was that she could pivot from bland and cheery to salacious to covering important issues and you never really knew what you were going to get on any given day. Maybe I was watching it during that time of transition. It’s interesting how my views of Oprah have changed as I got older. I was listening to a podcast the other day interviewing a guy who co-wrote a book with Oprah, and even though he was talking a lot of sense, it was hard for me not to hold that against him. I think she’s a complicated figure. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/150 "2024-04-27T11:36:29Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Just reading that transcript makes me want to throw a shoe at a TV screen. Don’t do that. Today’s flat-screen TVs are much less robust than the CRT screens we grew up with, and a show thrown at one could have expensive consequences (you could maybe get away with a knitted slipper). ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2024, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/151 "2024-04-27T12:57:12Z")
On the other hand current flat-screens are so cheap compared to the old CRTs that throwing a shoe at them may be the perfect excuse to buy a bigger one with higher resolution. Then you could watch Oprah at an unprecedented level of detail. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2024, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778/152 "2024-04-29T01:26:54Z")
I just bought a “cheap” flat screen. 40 years ago that many dollars bought a decent car. You can bet I won’t be throwing even socks at it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-somebody-explain-oprah-winfrey-to-non-us-americans/994778.md?page=7)