Oprah Winfrey - Eat Me

The BBQ Pit
141

Actually no. That’s the part I left out. His is the only one that I read cover to cover, precisely because what he had to say was so valuable. (And amusing, actually. I like his good ol’ boy shtick. most self-help is so deadly serious it sucks the life right out of you before you’re halfway through.)

95% of the self-help out there is rehashed and obvious and once you’ve read the first 3 chapters, you’ve read the whole thing. A particularly egregious expmple of this was that drecky Venus/mars thing. The whole premise, which I think is pretty valid, can be summed up in about a page.

I’ve watched pretty much every show that Dr. Phil has done with Oprah. He very rarely gets sentimental and squishy. Which would explain the fact that in the current season, where they are doing the 5 day seminar thing all season long, so many people came into that seminar with variations on the theme “Dr. Phil scares me”. Usually, his MO is not to take shit from anyone. He almost never buys into the “inner child” crap, and except in cases of someone being a total basket case in front of him, his general attitude is “Snap out of it! It’s up to you, quit whining and complaining!”

Hardly touchy-feely.

This season has been a little different because of the seminar thing and because of 9/11, so he’s struggling to be a little less judgmental and aggressive, which are his hallmarks, and a little more sensitive.

He is a licensed psychologist, if I’m not mistaken. I love the story he tells about how he got out of private therapy and into what he does now. He says he used to counsel couples, and one day a couple came in and started bitching and he realized. “Hey, no wonder you guys can’t get along. I’ve only known you for five minutes and I can’t stand either one of ya.” - Classic Dr. Phil.

Perhaps so, but context is everything. Oprah Winfrey is a generous, openhearted, kind, thoughtful person whose entire empire is devoted to making life a little better for everyone. She is steeped in gratitude, she is seeking the light, she is a fundamentally good person with fundamentally good motives who rarely has a harsh word for anyone. Whether you like her or not, these are the basic facts of who she is, or at worst, who she appears to be.

Rush Limbaugh is a deceitful, mean, obnoxious asshole and makes no bones about it.

It is going to come across differently depending on who is saying it.

stoid

142

Jarbaby–might I suggest that you try reading Stones from the River by Ursula Hegi? It meets your above stated qualifications, conflicts with none of your restrictions, and is about Germany.

143

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A very interesting point, Stoid. Like you say, the power she has was given to her; she didn’t seize it illegally, but I am still uncomfortable with the level of power and control over huge amounts of people that Oprah has. She supposedly uses her power only to benefit people, but who is she or anyone else to judge what is good and what isn’t? She has no divine insights guiding her, only her own personal ideas of what is good for everyone. I would rather have an Oprah than a Hitler, too, but what is the difference between the two? Hitler used his power to achieve his own ends; Oprah does the same. Oprah has what she considers beneficial ends, but it still makes me uncomfortable for one very fallible human to have this level of control.

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I see what you’re saying, Cranky, but this thread itself is kind of a rebuttal of your opinion; the way this thread very quickly induced strongly polarized replies to this thread indicate that people feel very strongly one way or another about Oprah. The word ‘cult’ was probably inappropriate, loaded as it is, but I find it very interesting how people are responding to this thread like Oprah has some intrinsic value far beyond being an entertainer.

(Zoff, I’ll let jarbaby speak for herself, which she has done admirably and at length.)

144

I don’t know what you’re talking about. jarbabyj has spoken for herself and I’m cool with it. What are you talking about?

I’d think you were joking, but it appears from the context of your comments that you’re serious.

Some people do have strong feelings. On the other hand, several posters (including me) have made it very clear that we don’t give two shits about Oprah. The issue is whether it’s appropriate to stereotype people who read books from the Oprah Book Club. Even jarbabyj realizes her comments could have been read to be condescending. This simply isn’t the anti- Oprah vs. pro-Oprah thread you are making it out to be.

145

Then I would just chalk it up to different taste in books. I know I am in a definite minority on this board because I don’t like Sci-Fi or Fanstasy or erotica, and it seems like most “What are you reading?” threads seem to end up being SF/F discussions.
In the thread I referenced (and others like it) people start mentioning books and authors I have never even heard of. When I realize it’s all SF and fantasy, or heavy-duty intellectual stuff, I tend to lose interest in the thread.

When you dissed the book club, I just got a little defensive…not of Oprah, mind you, but of what I perceived to be a diss against my choice in reading. As I mentioned before, there are some people (not necessarily you) who seem to think the Oprah books are lightweight shit not worth the paper they’re printed on.
Anecdote: Last summer (2000) I was reading I Know This Much Is True. One day while I was at the pool with the kidlets, I was reading it when I realized a woman sitting near me was reading the same book. We talked about it and chatted a bit. A few weeks later, we were both reading White Oleander. We talked about that one, too, and then her husband walked up and was very dismissive of our choice, saying all the Oprah books were nothing but “happily-ever-after romantic crap”. To me it was obvious he had never even read the back cover of one.

I just don’t get why there is such a dissmissive attitude towards her book club. How can someone (again, not you) have such an disdainful attitude about books they’ve never even read? People seem to like saying (with a very superior attuitude) they’ve never read any of her book club choices, but to me that is a very closed-minded attitude. How can you know they’re all crap if you’ve never read one?

Maybe I’ll mosey on over to the Cafe Society and start a thread about Oprah’s Book Club. Think it’ll sink like a stone?

146

I have it, a friend of mine sent it to me but I have never read it. I never even saw the movie. It sits in a box somewhere along with all the other books that people give me and I never read.

But I do recall a big to-do on Oprah about it or the movie so that’s why I thought it was on the book club.

Oh well. Life happens we put words on a screen and go on.

147

-insert barfing smiley here

Do you like Internet Glurge as well?

That’s what I think of when I think of Oprah-glurge. She’s just so Happy!!! So perfect! So wonderful, so kind, so great.

So goddamn annoying. I think it’s about time Janeane Garafalo got her own talk show.

Give me Daria over Oprah any day! BLECH!!! I hate positive happy crap like that. It’s so…well, sickening…

148

Not enough exploding rocket-ships, broken glass, or space-vixens.

Seriously.

The stuff she recommends seem like either the literary equivilant of chick-flicks or “art-movies”.

When I read for pleasure I want to be entertained. I don’t want “My Dinner with Andre”, I want “Attack of the Bee-Women from Mars”.

And while some might be entertained by “Bridges of Madison County”, I find it has too low of a space-vixen factor.

Fenris (tongue somewhat in cheek) :wink:

149

I’m of the opinion that reading anything is good, as I said before. I don’t knock any books until I read them. Like I said, I’ve never liked sci-fi, but I read Ursula LeGuin anyway so I knew what I was talking about if I wanted to diss it. I’ll read the back of a cookie box if nothing else is happy.

I’ll tell you all something else too: if I ever finish my book (I’ve got two hundred pages, a hundred or so to go), I hope to God Oprah picks my book. I’d make a lot of money and get a definite chance to write another one.

I also tried to get one of those Rosie O’Donnell full scholarships to any college of my choice. I got accepted to several Ivy League schools, but there was no way I could pay for them. So I sent in an essay and hoped like hell I would get a scholarship.

Corporate whore? If the shoe fits…

150

Yeah, I don’t know what I meant either.

Maybe handy? or availible?

151

I’ve tried a couple of Oprah’s suggestions and we don’t seem to have the same taste in books (but I did like The Poisonwood Bible, and we both rate To Kill a Mockingbird among our favorites, which is why I tried a couple). And I know jarbaby and I don’t have the same taste in books either (although, jarbaby, do you like Nicholson Baker?). Which means that there are at least three different sets of taste in books :wink:

I know what jarbaby was getting at in her post. Its bad when you find someone annoying. Its really bad when it seems everyone else finds them wonderful and they are ubiquitous. Kind of like not enjoying chocolate (which isn’t a problem for me, but is for one of my friends).

jarbaby could move to Minneapolis. Our biggest problems like this are Garrison Keilor and Prince. Whole different scale of annoying and ubiquitous.

152

Well, in my experience, Oprah’s “picks” are as hit and miss for me as anyone else’s suggestions. She does tend to lean towards “chick books” and also books about depressing situations. But I’ve enjoyed some of them, and her choice of them did not influence me towards the book. If anything, her choice tends to steer me away from the book because I don’t want to be depressed. But if someone else suggests I read it (as with House of Sand & Fog) I can overcome it.

We ought to have a good discussion about this in another forum; I agree. Is Oprah’s pick the “taint of death” to some of us? Which of her picks have sucked ass, and which have been good?

153

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Here you go.

154

Me too. AFAIK, the “depressing” theme runs all through her picks. I don’t read many novels anyway, and if I do, I sure don’t want to read a depressing novel. But, like you, I’ll read Oprah books if they come highly recommended from another source. I have a couple of Oprah picks sitting on my shelf that have been given to me, but I haven’t read them yet because I’m afraid they’ll be real downers.

155

I must say that I’m disappointed to see jarbabyj back down in the way she has. Her tail was not in the top ten of things I wanted to see between her legs but I guess she takes the (albeit mild) criticism she has received here to heart.

I hope she doesn’t back off with regard to her style though. The OP was probably the only really entertaining one I’ve read here in the Pit and I like to think there is more to come from her.

jarbabyj? Please promise you won’t mellow or anything foolish lik e that. The world really needs more vocal, Germanophile subs, especially at a time like this. Or else the terrorists truly will have won.i

156

Good lord. Stoid, for the sake of the last shred of hope I have that you are a rational human being, please tell me that was satire and I just got whooshed. I’m worrying because I hear the followers of Falwell and Shoko Asahara (the subway nerve gas guy) say the exact same things about their heroes, and you seem to be crossing the fine line between fandom and worship.

157

Which ones are they? Not all of her books are downers.

158

The Book of Ruth. I just realized that The Stone Diaries isn’t on the list.

159

Sublight, get a grip. And if you have any, please show me evidence that she is not exactly what I said, or * as I said * does not at least * appear * to be exactly what I said.

You can hate her all you want, she can give you the willies, that’s fine, i really don’t care. But it’s pretty hard to deny what her behavior and her persona are just for the sake of hating her. And comparing her to Falwell ( who preaches hate of just about anyone that isn’t his brand of Fundie, see his 9/11 comments) and a terrorist? And you are calling * me * irrational?

stoid

160

  1. I don’t hate her, and have never said in any of my posts that I hate her. Nor does she give me willies of any sort. I wasn’t particularly impressed with “She’s Come Undone”, but I don’t consider that her fault.

  2. I did not compare her to Falwell or Asahara, I compared you to their followers. We obviously differ on this, but I cannot conceive of my view of anything so complex as another human as being a statement of fact. I see nothing in your assessment of Winfrey to indicate that you realize it’s just your opinion, to which others may disagree without “hating her”.

  1. My girlfriend does PR work for the American Beef Association. How has Winfrey’s empire been devoted to making her life better?