Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery

An Essay on Popular Culture

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Television, History & Criticism, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Popular Culture
Cover of the book Oprah Winfrey and the Glamour of Misery by Eva Illouz, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Eva Illouz ISBN: 9780231508971
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: November 5, 2003
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Eva Illouz
ISBN: 9780231508971
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: November 5, 2003
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Working for Respect by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book China's Green Religion by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book Philosophers on Art from Kant to the Postmodernists by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book Strangers in the Ethnic Homeland by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book The Rey Chow Reader by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book Flickering Empire by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book Voices of the New Arab Public by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book Courtesans and Opium by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book The Racial Discourses of Life Philosophy by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book The Columbia Guide to America in the 1960s by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book Earth and World by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book From Abyssinian to Zion by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book The Celluloid Madonna by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book Queen Victoria's Secrets by Eva Illouz
Cover of the book Thin Places by Eva Illouz
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy