Is Oprah a modern Messiah? (priest, ritual, gospel, tradition)

[Ozzie]

Some facts about Oprah Winfrey (sourced from Wikipedia.org):

1. Winfrey was called "arguably the world's most powerful woman" by CNN and Time.com.[56] Time named Winfrey one of the 100 people who most influenced the 20th century, as well as one of the 100 most influential people of 2004, 2005, and again in 2006.
2. At the end of the 20th century Life magazine listed Winfrey as both the most influential woman and the most influential black person of her generation, and in a cover story profile the magazine called her "America's most powerful woman".
3. In 2003 Winfrey edged out both Superman and Elvis Presley to be named the greatest pop culture icon of all time by VH1.
4. Winfrey's influence reaches far beyond pop-culture and into unrelated industries where many believe she has the power to cause enormous market swings and radical price changes with a single comment. During a show about mad cow disease with Howard Lyman (aired on April 16, 1996), Winfrey exclaimed, "It has just stopped me cold from eating another burger!" Texas cattlemen sued her and Lyman in early 1998 for "false defamation of perishable food" and "business disparagement," claiming that Winfrey's remarks subsequently sent cattle prices tumbling, costing beef producers some USD$12 million.
5. In 2005 Winfrey was named the greatest woman in American history as part of a public poll as part of The Greatest American. She was ranked #9 overall on the list of greatest Americans.
6. In 2002, Christianity Today published an article called "The Church of O" in which they concluded that Winfrey had emerged as an influential spiritual leader. "Since 1994, when she abandoned traditional talk-show fare for more edifying content, and 1998, when she began 'Change Your Life TV', Oprah's most significant role has become that of spiritual leader. To her audience of more than 22 million mostly female viewers, she has become a postmodern priestess—an icon of church-free spirituality."[79]The sentiment was seconded by Marcia Z. Nelson in her book The Gospel According to Oprah.[80] On the season premier of Winfrey's 13th season Rosanne Barr told Winfrey "you're the African Mother Goddess of us all" inspiring much enthusiasm from the studio audience.
7. Some of Winfrey's biggest fans are gay males. For example, one of the stars of the reality TV show The Benefactor was a gay African American man named Kevin who was so obsessed with Winfrey that he would ask "What would Oprah do?" before making any strategic decision. Another gay man included Oprah on his published list of women worshipped by gay men and asked, "What gay man hasn't watched at least 1,000 episodes of The Oprah Winfrey Show?"[81]
8. Oprah Winfrey is the most powerful woman in America. She decides what makes the New York Times best-seller lists. Her touchy-feely style sucks in audiences at the rate of 14 million viewers per day. But Oprah is far more than a cultural force — she's a dangerous political force as well, a woman with unpredictable and mercurial attitudes toward the major issues of the day."

Does Oprah rank as a modern Messiah? If she does, what does this say about the power of the media in modern society? Do any of us have to go any further than our living rooms in search of religious/spiritual education? Would Oprah's views be worth anything if she was worth 10 cents rather than US $1.5 billion (for the sake of the exercise, let's pretend she's your next door neighbour)? What does the constitution of Oprah's fan base (women and homosexuals) have to say about the ability of traditional religious pathways to connect with these groups? Is Oprah's popularity a cause or an effect of their emancipation?

[Buttons*]

pretty long list!

Originally Posted by Ozzie

Does Oprah rank as a modern Messiah?

i think that to those who "allow" her to become the ultimate authority of their own opinions, yes, she is a "Messiah." If she's considered a Savior, I wonder what she's saving us from... buying the wrong book?

If she does, what does this say about the power of the media in modern society?

The media, Oprah or not, has taken the role of... well... everything in modern society! If it wasn't Oprah, it'd be someone else

Do any of us have to go any further than our living rooms in search of religious/spiritual education?

i do *smiles*

Would Oprah's views be worth anything if she was worth 10 cents rather than US $1.5 billion (for the sake of the exercise, let's pretend she's your next door neighbour)?

probably not

[Buttons*]

What does the constitution of Oprah's fan base (women and homosexuals) have to say about the ability of traditional religious pathways to connect with these groups? Is Oprah's popularity a cause or an effect of their emancipation?

guess i missed one! oops

... I'm sorry I dont understand the question. Are you asking if her popularity is caused by emancipation? What emancipation?

[xexon]

Messiah of what? Materialism?

She is an evolved human, perhaps more than most. But if you follow her, where will you wind up in the end?

x

[Ozzie]

Originally Posted by Buttons*

guess i missed one! oops

... I'm sorry I dont understand the question. Are you asking if her popularity is caused by emancipation? What emancipation?

Depending on where you live, it occurred for women from the 70's onwards, for homosexuals more recently. You didn't miss, my edit missed you. BTW, what is *bump*???

[Buttons*]

Originally Posted by Ozzie

Depending on where you live, it occurred for women from the 70's onwards, for homosexuals more recently. You didn't miss, my edit missed you. BTW, what is *bump*???

bump means that you want your thread paid attention to, and hopefully people will participate....

well i dont think Oprah speaks for emancipation....

[jacquie4000]

Of course her money makes a difference and that fact that she is in the public eye ever day. But I don't see her as any Messiah.

I think she does do alot of good with her money it's not like she shouldn't she has enough of it. It is just when she does something there is more media on it. She has her own show to advertise it. She is someone who came from nothing, which is always a big thing to people. Even I respect that.

[spacemonkey]

Hmmm...sounds more like John's description of the Anti-Christ to me. Also, I'm tired of the misuse of the word Messiah. Unless she reestablishes a Torah based government in Isreal then there is no way she can be a messiah, because that is the role/function of the messiah, nothing else.

[unsaltednut]

I was a fan of hers until she berated James Frey because he embarassed her after she endorsed his book. I loved that she was pro-active in human rights and shed light on issues in the world and encouraged reading (yey?)... but I lost a lot of respect for her the day she had James Frey back on her show - the guy never stood a chance.
I don't think a Messiah would chastise someone the way she did.

[Random]

Alas, no: she might possibly rate highly on Sunstone's list of bimbo talk show hosts, though...