Full Version: Oprah's View on Spirituality
Is it wrong that I automatically tune out anyone who talks about spiritual "vibrations"?
You can change the channel, but you can never tune out Oprah's vibrations.
Oprah has undeniable charisma, but her speech made her sound like a cult leader, which is sort of how I've viewed her for quite some time now. She plays to the emotions of her audience extraordinarly well, but the substance of her statements (here, "we're all really similar") is unremarkable--it's all in the delivery and her personality. Kind of gives me the creeps.
I agree, and yet people seem to hang on her every word as if its some pronouncement from God.
Oprah is god!
all hail the great and powerful Oprah
whoops wrong movie
all hail the great and powerful Oprah
whoops wrong movie
I too have wondered about her for a while. It's almost as if she has her fans under a spell. I mean, she's a good interviewer, but nothing extrodinary, and certainly not worth her estimated value of 135 billion dollars...isn't she worth something like that? I don't get it. Maybe I'm just jealous.
I'm not an Oprah fan by any means but that was an impressive little speech. So how come somebody who believes what she believes can allow a closeted hypocrite like Tyler Perry (for one example) to peddle his "Christian" wares on her show whenever he has a new project in the marketplace, without at least attempting to challenge him? That's one of the main things that pisses me off about her.
So let me get this straight...has Tyler made any negative statements about homosexuality that would make him a hypocrite or is everyone in the closet (assuming he's gay...do we know for sure? I suspect he's familia but I suspect a lot of people are and I'm sure I'm not right about all of them) a hypocrite?
Yeah, I don't get the TP bashing. I don't know much about him but his appearance on Oprah just before this latest movie was released was quite charming. And while he did seem like he could be a big ole homo (mostly because he was very cute, very smart and very show biz savvy) I haven't heard anything about him bashing homos or spouting Christian manifestos? Fill us in, someone, please...
And for those who don't 'get' Oprah, I think you have to take a look at her entire career to understand. I'm from Chicago so I became aware of Oprah just before she started her show, and even waited on her in the mid 80's at a restaurant in Water Tower Place. I was just about to take a trip to South Africa and she had just returned from one of her first trips there. She was very overweight then and had an air of fatigue about her, but she was simply delightful, very present and very nice. Her career was launched and grew voraciously because she was so down to earth, so much a regular person, so awed by show biz people and the like. She was known early on for her empathy, her putting her arms around an audience member and crying with them, and for her frank yet sensitive nature. Of course her weight battles were front and center virtually every year.
Over the years, she became show biz. Her idols became her best friends. She became an actress quite successfully. She grew and grew and grew. Along the way, she became very adamently against schlock talk show behavior and very embracing of spiritual values and awareness. She's very tuned into the whole movement of healing and a collective awareness of what's going on around the world. She's obviously mega rich, mega powerful, and one of the real power brokers in show business. But, it's also obvious that she cares deeply about what she's doing and the state of the world. Her 'vibrations' speech that prompted this thread was given on a show that featured Mr. Amachi - there was a time where Oprah was questioned about not speaking out enough for gay rights and awareness yet she's always been an advocate, and continues to do so in a very big, very broad minded way. For all her show bizzy insider stuff, her obvious coronation as the spiritual big Mama, that woman is truly amazing and deserves her success...in my humble opinion. As many are apt to say, she walks the walk and talks the talk...in a very big way.
And for those who don't 'get' Oprah, I think you have to take a look at her entire career to understand. I'm from Chicago so I became aware of Oprah just before she started her show, and even waited on her in the mid 80's at a restaurant in Water Tower Place. I was just about to take a trip to South Africa and she had just returned from one of her first trips there. She was very overweight then and had an air of fatigue about her, but she was simply delightful, very present and very nice. Her career was launched and grew voraciously because she was so down to earth, so much a regular person, so awed by show biz people and the like. She was known early on for her empathy, her putting her arms around an audience member and crying with them, and for her frank yet sensitive nature. Of course her weight battles were front and center virtually every year.
Over the years, she became show biz. Her idols became her best friends. She became an actress quite successfully. She grew and grew and grew. Along the way, she became very adamently against schlock talk show behavior and very embracing of spiritual values and awareness. She's very tuned into the whole movement of healing and a collective awareness of what's going on around the world. She's obviously mega rich, mega powerful, and one of the real power brokers in show business. But, it's also obvious that she cares deeply about what she's doing and the state of the world. Her 'vibrations' speech that prompted this thread was given on a show that featured Mr. Amachi - there was a time where Oprah was questioned about not speaking out enough for gay rights and awareness yet she's always been an advocate, and continues to do so in a very big, very broad minded way. For all her show bizzy insider stuff, her obvious coronation as the spiritual big Mama, that woman is truly amazing and deserves her success...in my humble opinion. As many are apt to say, she walks the walk and talks the talk...in a very big way.
Good Post Bryan.
I was impressed with her speech. It's easy for people to dismiss her as someone who plays to the emotions of her audience because of her wealth. However, I have never sensed that about Oprah.
She makes some strong points in thsi paticular video that probably most outside the Oprah Audience would view as "cultish", but when it's put into it's proper context, it's actually quite brilliant and right on mark.
I was impressed with her speech. It's easy for people to dismiss her as someone who plays to the emotions of her audience because of her wealth. However, I have never sensed that about Oprah.
She makes some strong points in thsi paticular video that probably most outside the Oprah Audience would view as "cultish", but when it's put into it's proper context, it's actually quite brilliant and right on mark.
QUOTE(SFTom @ Oct 31 2007, 11:50 AM) 
Oprah has undeniable charisma, but her speech made her sound like a cult leader, which is sort of how I've viewed her for quite some time now. She plays to the emotions of her audience extraordinarly well, but the substance of her statements (here, "we're all really similar") is unremarkable--it's all in the delivery and her personality. Kind of gives me the creeps.
Amen to that!!
I try to like Oprah, and do most of the time. But I can't stand people who pull rank. Years ago, on a rainy day in Chicago, she went to a major hotel on the mile, with her dogs. This hotel didn't accept pets and wouldn't accept hers. The next day on her show, she had a live phone conversation with the hotel manager. Basicly, she made him apologize for not allowing her to break the rules. I never understood why this event wasn't handled on a personal level. Without getting her audience and viewers involved.
The 'good' she does far outweighs the bad stuff.
Just a thought: Oprah is a big supporter of Obama. I wonder if she will give away hundreds of thousands of dollars in cars and prizes to her studio audience when it gets closer to election time. And just how will that be viewed from the general public and the powers that be.
Oh yes, and spirituality, in a former life, she was a rich southern white guy who owned a plantation. And now we have the rest of the story.
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