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Oprah Winfrey is the protagonist of the story to be told here, but this book has broader intentions, begins Eva Illouz in this original examination of how and why this talk show host has become a pervasive symbol in American culture. Unlike studies of talk shows that decry debased cultural standards and impoverished political consciousness, Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery asks us to rethink our perceptions of culture in general and popular culture in particular. At a time when crises of morality, beliefs, value systems, and personal worth dominate both public and private spheres, Oprah's emergence as a cultural form—the Oprah persona—becomes clearer, as she successfully reiterates some of our most pressing moral questions. Drawing on nearly one hundred show transcripts; a year and a half of watching the show regularly; and analysis of magazine articles, several biographies, O Magazine, Oprah Book Club novels, self-help manuals promoted on the show, and hundreds of discussions on the Oprah Winfrey Web site, Illouz takes the Oprah industry seriously, revealing it to be a multilayered "textual structure" that initiates, stages, and performs narratives of suffering and self-improvement that resonate with a wide audience and challenge traditional models of cultural analysis. This book looks closely at Oprah's method and her message, and in the process reconsiders popular culture and the tools we use to understand it.

Winfrey, Oprah. --- Oprah --- Winfrey, Oprah, --- Oprah Winfrey show (Television program) --- PERFORMING ARTS / Television / History & Criticism. --- Oprah Winfrey show. --- Winfrey, Oprah --- Oprah Winfrey show

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celebrity culture --- celebrities and religion --- spirituality --- Oprah Winfrey --- Mormonism --- Bouddhism --- Hollywood --- Scientology --- Kabbalah --- occultism --- paganism --- buddhism

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aliens --- Atlantis --- 2012 --- conspiracy --- New World Order --- Satanism --- Adam Weishaupt --- cults --- pseudoscience --- Nikola Tesla --- Oprah Winfrey --- Davild Wilcock --- conspiracy theories --- conspiracy theory --- conspiracies --- conspiracism --- H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) --- esoteric geology --- mayan calendar --- pseudoarchaeology --- nibiru --- illuminati --- Protocols of the Elders of Zion --- anti-semitism --- David Icke --- UFO --- 11 September 2001 --- 9-11 --- Barack Obama --- Vaccination Awareness Network (AVN)

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"Today on Oprah," intoned the TV announcer, and all over America viewers tuned in to learn, empathize, and celebrate. In this book, Kathryn Lofton investigates the Oprah phenomenon and finds in Winfrey's empire-Harpo Productions, O Magazine, and her new television network-an uncanny reflection of religion in modern society. Lofton shows that when Oprah liked, needed, or believed something, she offered her audience nothing less than spiritual revolution, reinforced by practices that fuse consumer behavior, celebrity ambition, and religious idiom. In short, Oprah Winfrey is a media messiah for a secular age. Lofton's unique approach also situates the Oprah enterprise culturally, illuminating how Winfrey reflects and continues historical patterns of American religions.

Celebrities. --- Religion and culture --- Popular culture --- Celebrities --- Religious aspects --- ambition. --- american history. --- american religion. --- american religiosity. --- capitalism. --- celebrity studies. --- celebrity worship. --- celebrity. --- christianity. --- consumer behavior. --- empathy. --- evangelicalism. --- folk religion. --- gender studies and sexuality. --- harpo productions. --- media studies. --- messiah. --- modern religion. --- nonfiction. --- o magazine. --- oprah winfrey. --- oprah. --- philosophy. --- popular culture. --- popular religion. --- psychology. --- religion. --- religious idiom. --- religious studies. --- secular age. --- social history. --- sociology. --- spiritual center. --- spirituality. --- television.

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Parapsychology --- Occultism --- Interplanetary voyages --- Space Flight --- #FHIW:CAT1 --- Periodicals --- Arts and Humanities --- Health Sciences --- Religion --- Psychiatry & Psychology --- Esoteric sciences --- parapsychology --- occultism --- interplanetary voyages --- space flight --- pseudo-science --- pseudoscience --- skepticism --- critical sense --- science and pseudoscience --- scientific skepticism --- space travel --- space exploration --- spirit possession --- telepathy --- spiritual therapies --- psychic research --- clairvoyance --- extrasensory perception (ESP) --- psychical research --- astronautics --- esoteric sciences --- esotericism --- book reviews --- second coming --- James Randi (1928-2020) --- Carl Sagan (1934-1996) --- skeptics --- Anna Eva Fay (1851-1927) --- mentalists --- medium --- mediumship --- oxygen therapy --- graphology --- paranormal investigation --- Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP) --- Oak Island (Canada) --- treasure hunting --- extraterrestrial life --- ufology --- UFOs --- prayer --- Medical Web Sites --- Guided Wave Theory --- EPR paradox --- quantum mechanics (QM) --- David Jacob Bohm (1917-1991) --- aura photography --- mass delusions --- collective behavior --- collective delusions --- mass hysteria --- conversion disorder --- psychology --- paraneuroscience --- MJ-12 --- doomsday scenarios --- David Bohm (1917-1991) --- medicinal herbs --- alternative medicines --- Jiddu Krishnamurti (1895-1986) --- stigmata --- Thought Field Therapy (TFT) --- power therapy --- energy therapy --- pseudoscience in psychotherapy --- Japan --- Japanese folklore --- dance manias --- St. Vitus dance --- sydenham chorea (St. Vitus dance) --- dancing mania --- tarantism --- science education --- haunted sites --- apparitions --- phantoms --- ghosts --- hauntings --- feng shui --- science --- climate change --- Rogerian Nursing Theory --- Sun Sign Columns --- Astrology --- Psychic Staring Effect --- Barnum Effect --- elicit positive responses --- manage negative responses --- Laws of Nature --- autism --- Bruno Bettelheim (1904-1990) --- Freudian psychology --- face on Mars --- Cydonia face --- pareidolia --- paranatural --- life after death --- afterlife --- near-death experiences --- Francis Bacon (1561-1626) --- Belief --- brain functions --- supernatural powers --- anthropology --- Mars face --- alternative medicine --- demonic possession --- exorcism --- poltergeist phenomena --- ouija board --- spirit communication --- Bay Area UFO Expo --- herbal medicines --- Psychoactive Herbal Medications --- chiropractic --- artificial intelligence (AI) --- Intelligent Design --- Creationism --- Darwinism --- consciousness --- hallucinations --- spontaneous human combustion --- L. 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