How Do You Spell Narcissism? O-p-r-a-h.....

Okay, I’ll say it. I don’t like Oprah Winfrey. I’ve never understood her appeal, the continuously high ratings of her show, or how she has accumulated so many millions of disciples who latch onto her every word as if it were holy writ. My own mother watches the woman religiously and doesn’t get it when I roll my eyes every time she mentions a recent episode or guest.

Now, to her credit, Oprah has been the single most successful survivor of the 80’s daytime talk show scene. Once wallowing in the same muck with other bottom feeders such as Geraldo and Springer, Oprah made the conscious decision to rise above lowest common denominator programming and try to offer subjects with some substance, with some meat on their bones. As a result, she has ended up with the longest running daytime talk show in history (Oprah is in its 25^th season), she routinely ranks among the top paid personalities in show business, and she has used her fame and clout to jumpstart the careers of other daytime talkers, most notably Dr. Phil.

That said, I’ve been mildly perturbed with the near deification of this woman over the last decade and a half, with nearly every major issue having to be passed through the Oprah filter before many people can decide how they feel about it. Her show has transcended the medium of daytime talk and almost become a religious experience for many, prompting Christianity Today magazine to publish an article called “The Church Of O”, concluding that Winfrey had emerged as an influential spiritual leader, despite the lack of any proper education, training, or experience in that area.

In 2010, Winfrey announced that the upcoming 25^thseason of Oprah would be her last, and the show is scheduled to air its last episode on May 25, 2011. Having co-founded the popular women’s cable network Oxygen, Winfrey launched OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) in January of 2011.

OWN programs a mix of original shows, specials, documentaries, and acquired movies, and at first looks like an updating of other women oriented networks such as Lifetime. Unfortunately, as the father of a teenage daughter who tunes into OWN for reruns of Dr. Phil, I quickly became convinced that Oprah has crossed the line and has begun believing her own press.

Not only is the network named after her (Oprah Winfrey Network is displayed in the corner of the screen at all times), but the network also produces behind the scenes docs on the making of the final season of Oprah, and ads for these shows are run at EVERY commercial break. We are offered the chance to see Oprah behind the scenes, at home, at play, and most disturbingly of all, we are apparently allowed to see Oprah “uncensored”. I don’t know about anyone else, but the words “Oprah” and “Uncensored” do not make for an appealing visual.

It takes a particularly large ego to believe that anybody wants unfettered access to every aspect of your life, no matter how mundane. There are plenty of celebrities that I admire, and some that I am even a huge fan of, but I don’t feel the need to be privy to every business meeting, planning session, social event, or in Oprah’s case, bubble bath that they feel the need to undertake.

Reality TV has already gone off the deep end when it comes to showing us the personal lives of celebs and not-so-celebs, but Oprah is coming precipitously close to the adage known as “rubbing our noses in it”. Starting your own network is an admirable goal, but using that network as a means of furthering and festering your own narcissism is not.

I’ve managed to go largely without an opinion on Oprah for many years, but with this endeavor, she finally caught my attention and made me draw a conclusion.

I’m thinking Oprah may have finally overestimated her fan base, gone to the well once too often, and that because of sheer overexposure, a good idea for a network may have an unexpected flame out in the all important ratings game. Too much of anything can turn out to be a bad thing, and I think Ms. Winfrey is about to understand that.

But then, what do I know? Oprah has been a major force in media for over a quarter century, she’s one of the richest people in the world, and has definitely displayed a Midas touch when it comes to choosing projects that have a habit of succeeding. If I’m wrong, I’m wrong, and if a woman who has gotten this rich and famous by sitting on a couch talking to people can become even more so, to that I say “God Bless America”.