Oprah Winfrey is a notable world-renowned celebrity and multi-billionaire who has made an enormous impact on the business and entertainment industry through her many roles as a media executive, actress, former talk show host of the Oprah Winfrey Show that aired for twenty-five years from 1986-2011, television producer of the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), founder of her very own magazine that releases every month, as well as a philanthropist. Not to mention she even has her line of products promoting wellness and self-care. Born into a poor nonwealthy African-American background, she has worked her way up to being one of the wealthiest people in the world and a woman of color who demonstrates that anyone can achieve their dreams through proper work ethic, a career path, and paving the way to success in a positive professional manner and attitude.
Through her strategic business strategies over the past two decades, she has launched a full-blown business and entertainment empire seemingly transitioning from talk show host to actress in Oscar award-winning films that regard African American slavery and other controversial issues, to promoting health and welfare for all and touching on sensitive topics to help, heal, and resolve. Many often regard Oprah Winfrey as the “woman who gave away free cars” on her show, or a “woman of power”, to the extent that she is widely known as a beloved celebrity. She wants the best for everyone and the same goes for her audience, viewers, and consumers. By analyzing and evaluating the political economy approach of Oprah Winfrey, we will be examining her image to sell her products, through savvy empowerment and self-care through those products, as well as delving into the context of cultural assumptions of her audience and consumers. This paper will define Winfrey’s role as a cultural artifact of wealth, empowerment, and wellness that has made a lasting impact on society and swept it to its core.
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According to Douglas Kellner, delves into the critical and cultural framework of media and cultural artifacts that we utilize and know of to this day by examining their significance, social purpose, and existence in society. In this quote, Kellner (1994) said, “We are immersed from cradle to grave in a media and consumer society and thus it is important to learn how to understand, interpret, and criticize its meanings and messages.” (Kellner, 1994, p. 1). This essentially describes the market-based capitalist economy we currently live in today that has originated from simple means of marketing to large sums of profit used to target particular audiences and demographics to drive a circulating and ever-evolving system of currency to provide economic prosperity and welfare. It is quite interesting that he describes our attention to media from the moment we’re toddlers to now that it’s been a part of our lives for as long as we can remember, almost like being “slaved” into this system of advertisements and mass consumerism in an increasingly globalized society of technological and economic growth throughout generations. Kellner (1994) says “The media are forms of pedagogy which teach us how to be men and women. (p. 1). They show us how to dress, look, and consume; how to react to members of different social groups; how to be popular and successful and how to avoid failure; and how to conform to the dominant system of norms, values, practices, and institutions.” (Kellner, 1994, p. 1). This showcases how the media has imminently created our social norms and behaviors of how we adapt and exist in categorized social groups without really recognizing that the media is one of those reasons, it also really depends on how you’re raised and grow up in society we live in today.
In regards to political economy and production, Oprah Winfrey is simply a multicultural artifact that represents her positive image through her products such as her magazine, which is released each month showcasing the latest tech, fashion, health, and wellness trends, as well as talks on controversial issues and topics in certain social groups, especially in the African American community, as well as promoting an upbeat attitude to her audience and consumers to create and inspire. She’s recently partnered with WW, to market weight-loss initiatives to help women live a healthy lifestyle and stay “beautiful”, as well as have her line of food called “O That’s Good” which contains healthy and organic ingredients sustainably produced and packaged to promote a balanced lifestyle with healthy living and eating. Her production and distribution scale is increasingly tremendous with her image even on commercials showing herself smiling in her kitchen or garden, or even just her voice that captivates the receiver to do what Oprah does. Oprah Winfrey was created with a capitalist concept to make millions upon millions of dollars and have everyone love and celebrate her success and achievements. If you look behind all of it, it’s all about making a profit, which is exactly what a capitalist approach to the economy is. Not for anything, her social campaigns are quite convincing and she emphasizes them in such a way that makes anyone agree. This impacts Winfrey’s image through the development, presentation, accessibility, and the way her products are sold since her image is perceived by many as savvy, feminine, and upbeat which makes it attractive to her consumers.
It brings this to debate as to her products aiming at women and exhibiting femininity and beauty through her products. According to Josee Johnson and Judith Taylor, notable advocates of feminism and social equality, who examine “A Comparative Study of Grassroots Activism and the Dove Real Beauty Campaign” (Johnson & Taylor), this particular quote says “....A corporate project that claims to oppose restrictive feminine beauty standards and a promote a more democratic vision of beauty.” (Johnson & Taylor 1). This delves into the background of how notable bath and skincare brand Dove, had released a commercial campaign very recently to promote natural beauty without all the distractions and fillers of cosmetics and filters. It’s simply about showing who one is and allowing equal individualism for the consumer. The campaign explains how a woman should be feminine in a simple context and look towards simplicity and not complexity. Yet if we look at this critically and analytically, does this improve our perception of how women should appear to society? This certainly can be explained further.
In my opinion, I read my cultural artifact of Oprah Winfrey as a kind, generous, and empowering social figure having the ability to influence and inspire millions to achieve their dreams and success in their own lives. According to Jaap Kooijman, a known advocate for contemporary pop culture and individualism states “Whereas the success myth of stardom reinforces the belief in the American Dream, with celebrities as its living proof, the sensational tabloid press present the shady side of stardom, emphasizing negative qualities ranging from triviality and superficiality to immortality.” (Kooijman 7). This takes a critical cultural framework of how celebrities are perceived from the perspective of the audience and consumer. Despite Oprah’s unparalleled rise to fame, she has battled struggles of her own from criticism of her weight to scandals of never marrying and having affairs with countless others that have molded and shaped the superior woman she is today. Audiences and consumers have had a positive outlook on Winfrey ever since her debut to stardom on The Oprah Winfrey Show back in 1986 she promoted wellness, healing, and resolution to sensitive topics and controversial issues, and been positive and kind to others and has a happy attitude towards life itself. The article brings to light how celebrities are portrayed from a severely negative perspective by tabloids displaying outrageous accounts of misbehavior or lies about their lives and also examining their inability to age by undergoing plastic surgery to “look younger and ageless”. Kooijman clearly emphasizes how even celebrities are not perfect and that their image of perfection is enacted through their roles as a leader in their field. In regards to Winfrey, she maintains her image through her products and her business and entertainment empire. Some deeper ideologies and values that are associated as a whole my reading of Oprah Winfrey may be how women are portrayed and act in the media and life and how their attitudes, goals, and personalities shape who they are today. The big picture most certainly is Winfrey’s ability to conquer, persevere, and move forward to justice despite times of doubt and crisis in today’s turbulent political climate.
She’s also notably known for her speeches during award ceremonies and not afraid of keeping her opinions private, she pushes her voice to the nationwide and global spectrum to captivate the viewer and keep them on a road to prosperity, a quality that makes her distinct from other celebrities.
In regards to audience reception, the different ways that audiences interpret Oprah Winfrey can be through an article, published by Jaap Kooijman, a previously mentioned advocate for individualism. This article specifically focuses on the “Oprahification of 9/11 America” and how Winfrey responded to the attacks that ultimately changed the face of the world forever. She states in this particular quote “American pop culture responded to 9/11 in two distinctively different, yet related ways. On one hand, American pop culture took on the tough patriotic sense of the ‘Angry American’, who was going to teach those terrorists a lesson, and we will do whatever it takes to get them.” (Kooijman 4). This brought the perspective of how the audience or the population of the United States vowed to react and protect our liberties and our democratic system to prevent future atrocities. Winfrey canceled her show that very day and aired the week after to bring the victims of these attacks to light and remembrance for their courage and bravery as well as to send a positive message that the US will conquer and defeat the forces that attempted to steal our freedom. Fans of hers constantly acknowledge her support through Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms that promote communication and social connections between Winfrey and her viewers.
Through these theories and concepts, we have analyzed and concluded that Oprah Winfrey is a notable celebrity figure who has significantly shaped the way we view society and how she has paved the path to achieving success through her products and image of social empowerment, wellness, and positivity.
Works Cited
- Kellner, D. (1994). Cultural studies, multiculturalism, and media culture. Pg 1. Austin: University of Texas.
- Johnston, J., & Taylor, J. (2008). Feminist Consumerism and Fat Activists: A Comparative Study of Grassroots Activism and the Dove Real Beauty Campaign. Signs, 33(4), 941-966. doi:10.1086/528849
- Kooijman, J. (2013). Yes We Can, This Is It: America and Celebrity Culture. In Fabricating the Absolute Fake: America in Contemporary Pop Culture - Revised Edition (pp. 147-168). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wp7ck.11
- Kooijman, J. (2013). The Oprahification of 9/11: America as Imagined Community. In Fabricating the Absolute Fake: America in Contemporary Pop Culture - Revised Edition (pp. 43-68). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wp7ck.7
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