Tuesday, November 01, 2005

Is anybody else getting tired of Oprah?

I have been an Oprah lover from years, when she was fat, when she was thin, when she got fat again, when she went New Age (coincided with my time in CA, so that's what I was doing too), when she got thin again. It's been so long I can't even tell you how many times I have used the phrase, "well I saw this thing on Oprah......" during conversation. In the beginning I read her books and watched every show without fail. I even subscribed to her magazine.

First I fell off the bookclub path as the choices seemed so depressing and dysfunctional, then they were classics I had already read, and now books I'm not sure I want to read anyway. Then I failed to renew my magazine subscription. And these days I rarely even watch a show that I have Tivoed. My stepdaughter stunned me with her announcement a few days ago......she took Oprah off of Tivo. Said, what's the point, she simply deleted them each day. And I guess that's where I am too. I can't even remember the last one that I watched. Maybe when Nate announced his new line of products? That had to have been a couple weeks ago at least.

So what's up with this and why don't we like Oprah anymore?

I think Oprah has transcended herself and become one of the celebrities. I liked her better when I somehow felt like she was "one of us" even though I knew she had a gazillion dollars socked away somewhere. In the old days she still made clothing mistakes and had bad hair days. These days she is perfect all the time, clearly she has a stylist or an army of people working it on her behalf. Never a hair out of place, always a great outfit appropriately accessorized. I mean good for her, but I guess I related to her better when she seemed normal. She had a farm in Indiana for God's sake, I mean how normal is that.

And this celebrity thing is out of hand. Ok, so she has them on her show. Sure, we want to see celebs spill their guts, talk about their movies, relationships, etc. Except they don't. They talk about when they "hung out" with Oprah. I mean it used to be that Maria Shriver was the main Oprah "friend," Maya Angelou, the "mentor." Now John Travolta, Jennifer Anniston, Julia Roberts.........Oprah has not just had them on her show, she has partied with them, shared weekends together, HUNG OUT with them. She has clearly crossed the line here. I think this is why all the interviews are suddenly so insipid except for that crazy one with Tom Cruise where he jumped on her furniture and I watched that like I was watching the scene of an accident.

So when did it all happen? Reflecting back, it seems like it has been coming for awhile and I should have seen the signs. Around the time Oprah ate that chicken sandwich and then bought the restaurant. Then the over the top birthday party, then the Legends thingie, I mean did you SEE the jewelry she gave the guests!?!? Enough already.

Don't get me wrong, I applaud her success, I say You go girl and truly mean that. It's just that I don't enjoy the show anymore and can't really relate to this new persona. So I am almost finished with her. I say "almost" because I still have hopes she may reinvent herself and once again seem more real to me. I'm keeping her on my Tivo but this could change any moment.

2 comments:

  1. i, too, am tired of oprah. it happened for me when i watched one of her "favorite things" shows...you know the one where she gives everyone in the audience a lifetime's supply of gifts and goodies. well, the gifts and goodies were nothing a "normal" person could afford and she acted like everyone on the planet should have each and every item on the list. i know she doesn't buy the items (the companies donate them), but it was so extreme. and that's when i started disliking oprah, when she crossed over into the realm of, what i like to call, "michael jackson-ism." when stars start to believe their own public relations person. nobody is that spectacular every day.

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  2. I got tired of Oprah a few years ago when I discovered she worked with a personal trainer for 2 hours EVERY DAY and would then tell her audience that they could have the weight-loss success she had. Yeah, right! Who has the time to spend 2 hours a day on exercise? That was my clue that she had lost touch with the average life.
    (BTW, AshleyShea is my online name. This is Shari from Collage Club.)

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