Culturebox: Oprah's Network

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television Oprah's Network Your soul is the star of the show. By Troy Patterson Posted Thursday, Jan. 6, 2011, at 1:20 PM ET On New Year's Day, clad in celestial white, Oprah appeared, not unlike a vision, in 80-odd million American homes. She sang of herself and her new cable channel during that channel's first offering, Oprah's Guide to OWN: The New Oprah Winfrey Network. "Every single minute of the 24-hour network was created with you in mind," she swore. She didn't really mean me. Creating a network for yours truly would require the talents of '60s Godard, '70s Roone Arledge, '80s Cinemax After Dark, and the Muppets. Oprah's kind of you is more interested in self-help than in self-amusement. As ever, she speaks to the dreams and frustrations of The Real You, and OWN--one of the greatest acronyms in the history of marketing--stands for the ownership of every sense of empowerment. Oprah wants you to take control of your life, and she wants you to feel possessive about her product. She's all yours, and OWN indeed stays on message every single minute it's on air. A commercial for contacts finds a lighting designer speaking of clarity and vision and the inspirational power of dappling. Where else on cable could an ad for Acuvue contact lenses also sell light and truth? In the first minute of Oprah's Guide, she enunciates the phrase "Oprah Winfrey Network" with an ornate theatrical flourish. Last May, taking Oprah's measure on the occasion of a blockbuster trash biography, Slate's Stephen Metcalf addressed a quote in which she spoke of herself as a religious figure: "I am the instrument of God ... . My show is my ministry." The statement is grand but not grandiose. There's a becoming modesty behind it. In this religion, Oprah Winfrey, the woman herself, is the leader of the church, a saint, and--to select an overworked word with care--an icon. "Oprah Winfrey," the concept, is something like the Holy Ghost. The distance between a lifestyle brand and a way of life collapses, and your own soul emerges as the star of the show. To continue reading, click here. Troy Patterson is Slate's television critic. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Shafer: Vanity Fair Portrays Julian Assange as a Shrewd Negotiator and Master Shape-Shifter Can Mathematical Theory Help Us Understand the Decision To Remove Narcissism From the DSM? The Golden Age of Serial Killers Is Over	Advertisement
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