The 'NOprah' phenomena part 2

(the oprah article continued)


"The Oprah Empire is everywhere. She makes sure you don't get out of the system. I think she's got more influence now than George W. Bush does."

In addition to the syndicated talk show, the cable after-show, the book club, the diet tips, the lifestyle magazines (with her image on every cover), the self-help online workbooks and Oxygen, the women's cable network she co-founded, fans can even download audio clips of Oprah reading her favorite inspirational quotes aloud at Oprah.com.XM Satellite Radio recently announced an Oprah and Friends channel for September, boosting the company's stock for a couple of days."It's the cult of Oprah," explained Thompson.

"Anyone with that much power, who can make a best seller overnight, anybody who's achieved the cultural penetration she's achieved, you're naturally going to get resentment. One is going to inevitably produce the other."

Schlaucher was surprised by the number of fellow Oprah-haters who responded when he posted an online article titled "NOprah" in 2004. He continues to hear from fellow Oprah-haters who agree that, despite her noble charity work, Oprah has an alarming effect on public opinion, particularly among women.

Schlaucher refers to her following as a "legion of Oprah clones."The Oprah-haters abounding on the Internet are mostly young, and of a generation raised not only online, but on Oprah.For the 20-somethings, Oprah's been a cultural institution and a public figure since they were small children.And she has plenty of fans in that age group. "If you don't like Oprah, there's got to be something wrong with you," said Kelly Cook, a 24-year-old from New York City who calls herself an "Oprah fanatic."Cook recently purchased Oprah's 20th Anniversary DVD set."I just cried all the way through it," she said.

"I rarely miss a show and if I do, I tape it," she wrote in an e-mail message. "I read her book club books; I read her magazine; I buy products she endorses on her `Favorite Things' show. She's like family to me.I view her as a moral and spiritual guider and as a model for the way a woman ought to be in the world."Brandon Renken, a Harvard University graduate who wrote an anti-Oprah column for CampusNut.com, takes issue with this view."No matter who you are, Oprah is NOT like you," he said.

"The fact that she can convince you that she is should make you even more afraid of her than I am."The anti-Oprah contingent feels that Oprah's preaching from the tele-pulpit is what draws in viewers, show after show.The last segment of the program, Schlaucher pointed out, tells her audience "how to get soul. It's like a church following. You don't really have to do anything, but it makes you feel better."Many disdain Oprah for what they consider vapid celebrity chitchat and gossip.

"The only difference is that her guests jump on the chairs," said Schlaucher, referring to the now-infamous Tom Cruise interview, "and on Jerry Springer they throw the chairs."Heather Weller, a stay-at-home mom from Worcester, Mass., expressed her views on an Internet message board discussing Oprah's Book Club. "Does Oprah have some sort of mind-control device we don't know about?" she asked. "But I have to say anything that gets people to read is a good thing. It would just be nice if it also got them to think."