In case you haven’t heard, there is a spiritual “priestess” that has been rising on the horizon for quite some time now. We all know her as Oprah. She has been called the most influential woman in the world. That, my friends, is no small title! She is a television host, media mogul, and philanthropist. Her internationally-syndicated talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, has earned her multiple Emmy Awards and is the highest-rated talk show in the history of television. She is also an influential book critic, an Academy Award-nominated actress, and a magazine publisher. She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, the most philanthropic African American of all time, and the world’s only black billionaire for three straight years. This track record certainly earns her the title of ‘most influential woman’.
How influential is Oprah, you might ask? Well, take for example a show aired in April 16, 1996 about mad cow disease with Howard Lyman, Oprah exclaimed, “It has just stopped me cold from eating another burger!” Texas cattlemen sued her and Lyman in early 1998 for “false defamation of perishable food” and “business disparagement”, claiming that Oprah’s remarks subsequently sent cattle prices tumbling, costing beef producers some $12 million US dollars. If she can create such a fuss on just hamburgers, think of what else she can do in other areas of more importance. Here’s another example. In late 1996, she introduced a new segment on her TV show called Oprah’s Book Club. It focused on new books as well as classics, and often brought obscure novels to popular attention. The book club became such a powerful force that whenever Oprah introduced a new book as her book-club selection, it instantly became a best-seller! Being recognized by her often means a million additional book sales for an author! This has come to be known as the “Oprah Effect”.
But now, it seems like she is ready to add yet another title under her belt, that of America’s spiritual priestess. If it were any other person, it probably wouldn’t be much of a big deal, but we’re talking about Oprah here! And here is where the problem exists. In 2002, Christianity Today published an article called “The Church of O” in which they concluded that Oprah had emerged as an influential spiritual leader. The magazine said the following, “Since 1994, when she abandoned traditional talk-show fare for more edifying content, and 1998, when she began ‘Change Your Life TV’, Oprah’s most significant role has become that of a spiritual leader. To her audience of more than 22 million mostly female viewers, she has become a postmodern priestess-an icon of church-free spirituality.” On the season premier of her 13th season Roseanne Barr told Oprah “you’re the African Mother Goddess of us all” inspiring much enthusiasm from the studio audience. The animated series ‘Futurama’ alluded to her spiritual influence by suggesting that, a thousand years from now, a religion known as “Oprahism” exists. I am here to tell you that you need not wait a thousand years, it is here now!
6/8/2008
James
{All information & quotes are from Wikipedia.com, the free online encyclopedia}
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