The Secret of Her Success: Oprah Winfrey and the Seductions of Self-Transformation

Abstract

This essay considers Oprah Winfrey’s rise from mere TV talk show host to global cultural icon in relationship to the rise in the 1980s and triumph in the 1990s of the neoliberal political-economic project. It argues that the expansion of Winfrey’s media enterprise and her ascent to iconic status are a product of the complex historical relationship between capitalism and the distinctly American fusion of psychology and religion captured by the term “mind cure.” Drawing on Raymond Williams’s sociology of culture approach, which looks for the “indissoluble connections between material production, political and cultural institutions and activity, and consciousness” (1977, 80) and Douglas Kellner’s (2003) method of “diagnostic critique,” the essay argues that situating Winfrey’s enterprise in relation to major currents in American political, economic and cultural history provides a means to critically examine the intersection of American politics and culture over the past quarter century. The essay explores tensions inherent in Oprah Winfrey’s professed mission to “empower” her followers — in which she routinely favors private initiatives and individual self-improvement over public funding and collective responsibility for societal needs, and thereby deflects attention from larger issues of social inequality and distributional politics — and considers the class and gender basis of the appeal of this project for her predominantly white, middle- and upper-middle class female following.

The writing skills course as an introduction to critical practice for larger business undergraduate classes

“…With the exception of the only North American student in the class, most reactions were overwhelmingly positive to Winfrey. Some of Peck's (2010) rationale for Winfrey's success (i.e., she provides a set of narcissistic exercises for attaining personal perfection which encourage audiences to accommodate the oppressive impact of neoliberal economic policy, rather than changing it) was then shared. It was noted that this example appeared to work very well, but some students suggested that they felt the course would be "hard".…”

Praising pop emotions: media emotions serving social interests

“…Although it is undeniable that the phenomenon of television has undergone several changes over the years, and countless in recent years (Aladro, 2000;Casado et al, 2023;Casetti and Odin, 2012;Correia, 2015;Eco, 1986;Faltesek et al, 2023;Filho, 2015;Lopes et al, 2023;Wolton, 1994), it seems equally undeniable that the main pillar supporting the phenomenon of daytime mass media content has remained practically intact from the beginning. From the early days of radio, there has been a constant attempt to create empathy, supported by emotional connections with the audience (Almeida, 2022;Foster and Kilby, 2023;Herzog, 1944;Hyatt, 1997;Illouz, 2003;Lourenço, 2017;Nazareth, 2016;Peck, 2010). Symbolically, daytime television still cries with those who cry and laughs with those who laugh.…”

From empowering the shameful to shaming the empowered: Shifting depictions of the poor in ‘reality TV’

“… 1. See Peck (2010) for a discussion of Oprah Winfrey in relation to the neoliberal political-economic project. …”