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Oprah's Greatest Lesson - Connection Trumps All
May 28, 2011
I’m talking about race and to a lesser extent – class and gender.
With her unique personality, Oprah Winfrey has managed to transcend them all. People just don’t see her as a black woman or as a woman who came from tremendous poverty. She’s simply Oprah – over weight, big smile, big voice, inviting, eloquent, intelligent, engaging, perceptive and empathetic. By pursuing universal themes, Oprah, through her 25 years on air, has truly become a transcendent figure. She’s not a powerful black woman.
She’s powerful – period.
Capitalists lust after her endorsements as do writers of all kinds. Celebrities gush over her, while money watchers gush over her 2+ billions. Tabloid journalists are indebted to her for their livelihoods as are Dr. Phil, Barrack Obama, lululemon and God knows whoever else or whatever else. Madonna, Maria Shriver, Michael Jordan, Tom Hanks, Beyonce - they all apparently attended her farewell party, professing love and appreciation for the woman and her work. But celebrities only confirm her "power"; it's her legions of fans across the globe that confirm her greatness as a communicator and as a transcendent figure. She's been inspirational to millions, bordering on prophecy and sainthood. When Oprah talks, she's pure magic, pulling in and moving people from all sorts of demographics. For those who follow her, she's truly been heaven sent.
She's never done much for me though, I must confess.
I saw her as nothing more than a brand to be frank. And I'm not hating, I promise you. I even went to some lengths, on my own precious blog, to defend Oprah against that trash collector - Kitty Kelly and her friend, Erica Jong.
So, why don't I exactly feel Oprah then?
When I was in school, it was more about disappointment. I thought she wasn't using her power to draw attention to the needs of black people in America. She talked about expensive ornaments around Christmas time, makeovers, weight loss clinics - things that have nothing to do with the structural problems haunting the black community. As a powerful black person, I felt she had a duty to talk about "serious" issues frankly. I didn't really understand power dynamics then, you see. Now that I do, I can honestly say that Oprah Winfrey has achieved what she has achieved while remaining authentically black. She openly celebrated black history month, introduced Maya Angelou to her viewers and even brought Toni Morrison's Beloved to the big screen. She chased television friendly universal themes, but never shied away from her "blackness."
But that all still meant nothing to me.
By the time I realized that Oprah wouldn't be Oprah had she moved beyond middle class preoccupations, she had turned into a brand that I just couldn't' buy. I felt no connection to her or her message. Yet millions and millions of people (white, black, Chinese, Indian, rich, poor, male, female) across the globe do. And that's great - cuz it proves that "connection" has nothing to do with race, class or gender.
It's completely personal.
Yet these social categories have a powerful way of shaping our understanding of each other - a powerful way of telling us who we're gonna like and who we're gonna keep at bay. When in reality, it is that simple conversation, that one-on-one, that determines the connection between people. On the onset, we are always inclined to judge each other on the basis of cultural prejudices and expectations.
But when we get closer, we always abandon those prejudices and expectations and treat each other as individuals - separate from those social categories that are great at dividing us, at antagonizing us.
~Addis
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