Oprah Winfrey devastated

[Lily]

She can just cry herself to sleep on her 1,000,000,000 thread count sheets.

[DoveFeatheredRaven]

At least she isn't bawling over a dog.

[nycgirl]

she's "shaken to the core"......what a typical Oprah thing to say

[pacific breeze]

I still fail to see how this is Oprah's fault. Is she supposed to be at the school 24/7, because that would be the ONLY way she would be to blame. Otherwise, you do what any school does and hire the best person you can find and do checks on them. If you have a monitor on that person, then you'd better have a monitor on the monitor and so on.

LOTS of schools runs into these problems. Hell, in the UK most boarding schools are like this and for all we know, that culture has permeated Africa. The most prestigious boys' school in Canada, Upper Canada College, recently went through a scandal like this. Unfortunately, you can't watch everyone all the time.

[Lily]

The academy is a controversial enough project in South Africa that the government withdrew its support, because of the amount of money that's been spent on its well-reported, lavish design -- money that could have gone instead to creating perfectly fine schools that served many, many more students than the 350 who will be making use of spa facilities at the academy. But, when I watched Oprah's prime-time special about interviewing candidates for the school, it seemed to me that she wasn't nearly as excited about providing an education to the girls as she was about providing a "Secret"-like "transformative experience." (And not just for the girls, for herself; the first thing she said to the family members at the opening ceremony wasn't, "Welcome to a great moment in your daughters' lives," it was, "Welcome to the proudest moment of my life.")

On the special, Oprah talked far more about what the school would do for the girls' self-esteem and material lives than what it would do for their intellects -- sometimes sounding as if she was reading directly from "The Secret." And in discussing what she was looking for in prospective students, she didn't talk about finding the next Eleanor Roosevelt or Sally Ride or Jane Smiley. Instead she used "Entertainment Tonight" language like "It Girl" to describe her ideal candidate. She praised the girls for their spirit, for how much they "shined" and "glowed," but never for their ideas or insights. Oprah puts a lot of energy and money into aesthetics -- on her show, in her magazine, at her school. The publishers of "The Secret" have learned well from their sponsor and are just as visually savvy. They have created a look for their books, DVDs, CDs and marketing materials that conjures a "Da Vinci Code" aesthetic, full of pretty faux parchment, quill-and-ink fonts and wax seals.

Oprah's TV special about the Leadership Academy, essentially an hourlong infomercial, was just as well-coiffed and "visuals"-heavy. In fact, when Oprah was choosing her students, her important criteria must have included their television interview skills. On-camera interviews with the girls were the centerpiece of the special, but as one spunky, telegenic candidate after another beamed her smile at the camera, I couldn't help wondering how Joyce Carol Oates or Gertrude Stein or Madame Curie would have fared -- would they have "shined" and "glowed," or more likely talked in non-sound-bite-friendly paragraphs and maybe even, God forbid, the sometimes "dark" tones of authentic people, and been rejected. Sadly, the girls themselves (and who can blame them, desperate 12-year-olds trying to flatter their potential benefactor) parroted banal Oprah-isms, like "I want to be the best me I can be," and "Be a leader not a follower" and "Don't blend in, blend out," with smiley gusto.

--from "Oprah's Ugly Secret," Peter Birkenhead, Salon, 3/5/2007

Who does Oprah think she's fooling? Who do any of these self-worshiping celebrities think they're fooling?

[Trixie]

Originally Posted by Palermo

I think she tried to do a good thing, but I cannot STAND to hear her go on about "my daughters". They are not your daughters and never will be. Even though I have no kids it offends me for their real mothers.

I agree, that bugs me too. Benefactor, mentor, even Auntie Oprah...but she's not Mother.

But I guess calling them her "subjects" would be a bit over the top.

[crackho]

Perhaps a little bad karma after after dissing and snubbing needy American kids and opening a $40 million school in South Africa?

[pacific breeze]

I think anyone who opens schools anywhere deserves applause, not a slam. It is her money and her choice of where to open a school. I think she has perfectly good karma for doing this.

If other people want to open schools in the States, absolutely nothing is stopping them. Plus, Oprah is known to give a LOT of money to various schools in the U.S. She just happens to like South Africa, big deal.

I don't like the "mother" thing either, but that kind of honorific is common in South Africa and other African countries.

[Bkny Mix]

Corporate Company of America does it all the time. You're monitored from head to toe. She's got the means to provide safety for these kids.

[sweetness]

I'll let my kids call her "Mama O" if she'll help me come up with the money to send them to college.

[Elisa]

Originally Posted by pacific breeze

I still fail to see how this is Oprah's fault. Is she supposed to be at the school 24/7, because that would be the ONLY way she would be to blame. Otherwise, you do what any school does and hire the best person you can find and do checks on them. If you have a monitor on that person, then you'd better have a monitor on the monitor and so on.

LOTS of schools runs into these problems. Hell, in the UK most boarding schools are like this and for all we know, that culture has permeated Africa. The most prestigious boys' school in Canada, Upper Canada College, recently went through a scandal like this. Unfortunately, you can't watch everyone all the time.

JMO, but the woman is so damn self righteous and the first to cast stones, that I only hope it opened her eyes that this can happen to anyone, anywhere.

[cynic]

Originally Posted by nycgirly101

she's "shaken to the core"......what a typical Oprah thing to say

EVERYTHING is all about Oprah, doncha know? Other people's pain hurts her worse than it hurts them. At least between the commerical breaks......

[pacific breeze]

Originally Posted by Bkny Mix

Corporate Company of America does it all the time. You're monitored from head to toe. She's got the means to provide safety for these kids.

And she has done. I cannot imagine that Oprah isn't micro-managing this situation. Do you think that she is glad that this has happened? That she engineered this so that she could get MORE publicity? I assume she is handling the situation as best she can. And don't forget that she is also dealing with a different culture in a different country.

There are NO absolute guarantees on anybody no matter how great their references are or how closely they are watched. Corporate America breaks more rules, and has more psychopaths working for it, especially at the top, than I care to think about. Are you saying that everybody who works for corporate America from the CEOs on down, is infallible simply because they are monitored? The headlines don't support that.

And who is monitoring the monitors? The whole thing becomes ludicrous.

[Dixie Normos]

I think it's great that she opened a school for girls in Africa. The more education the women have, the better chances their culture/people have for survival. Sure American kids are needy too, but Americans don't have to worry about losing most of their constituants to famine and AIDS, not to mention Malaria, Dyptheria, and Dog knows what other illnesses that are easily prevented in a strong country. Also, the women don't have the support and personal power that most Western women do, which is why they need help so desperately.

Kudos to you Oprah for sharing the wealth, stepping up to your mistakes, and moving forward with your goals.

[Lily]

^But she didn't open a school to educate girls or expand their intelligence. She admitted she's looking for "It" Girls and wants to shape them into Mini-Oprahs.

She's teaching classism and materialism and she glorifies the superficial over anything of substance. Good deeds my arse.