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Just like Roseanne's ''recovered memories.''
Posted by harbor boy on 2002-April-18 04:08:13, Thursday
In reply to 'If she was molested....' posted by Abraxas on 2002-April-17 22:26:12, Wednesday
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Hi Abraxas:
I've often thought the same thing about Winfrey's obsessive program themes on pedophile horrors...she is just cashing in on the current panic over a hot button topic in the popular culture. She, in fact, may never have been molested at all. But her program, beginning nationally as it did in 1985, came at a time when the country (the U.S.) was in the midst of a panic over the dangers of pre-schools, their supposedly existing escape tunnels, Satanism and four year olds bieng wisked off on airliners for daytime orgies.
Her new theme was victimization, and finger-pointing. It was now OK to blame your parents, your third grade teacher, a cheating boyfriend, a school janitor, for the reason your life doesn't work now as an adult. None of it was your fault, it was everyone else's fault. Just watch Oprah, she understands why you are a helpless victim, and she will agree with you. (She doesn't tell you how she agrees with you all the way to the bank).
Oprah is reminiscent of Roseanne, a standup comedian originally, who went on to produce and star in a successful TV sitcom. When the now highly discredited "Recovered Memory Syndrome" theory was first making it's way into the American popular culture in the early '90's, Roseanne suddenly was claiming she had "recovered memories." She wrote a book about her family, going on one talk show after another, amongst other things, claiming she "remembered" her father molesting her at EIGHT MONTHS OLD. (Did he touch her "inappropriately" when he was wipeing and cleaning her, when he was changing her diapers)?
None of the daytime talk shows questioned the nuttiness of her claims. Only "60 Minutes" did an investigation into the phenomenon, exposing it for the absurdity it was, and interviewing the more sound practitioners of psychology and psychiatry, who clearly explained why "Recovered Memory Syndrome" didn't hold up as any kind of reliable approach.
But they also did something else, as well. They interviewed the people in Roseanne's family, something neither "Dateline NBC", "20/20", nor, obviously, any of the daytime talk shows could be bothered doing. The family was allowed to present their side of the story, something they hadn't been allowed to up to that point, and the way her lies were effecting them. Their side of the story was quite poinant.
Thry also interviewed a woman who had been convinced through a "therapist" that she had had "recovered memories", and had accused her mother of molesting her. Some time afterwards, her mother died. She eventually realized that she had been conned by a charleton into believing lies. But by the time she had realized it, it was too late to make ammends with her mother. Toward the end of the program, they showed her standing by her mother's grave, so sad that she could not tell her how wrong she had been.
It's worth pointing out that that segment on "60 Minutes" at the time was a news item, not only in it's exposing the lie of "Recovered Memory Syndrome", but also the black eye it delivered to Roseanne, who had become accustomed to going on cheesy talk shows with her book, pointing the finger at her family, and having them not even question the validity of anything she was telling them. The day after the "60 Minutes" segment aired, she abruptly cut off her book touring, flew to France, and hid out for several months.
I agree with what you've pointed out about the "my way only" point of view promoted by Oprah, and earlier with Roseanne. Both of them were invested in people ONLY listening to their point of view, because, supposedly, ONLY they had any truth. Oprah ONLY permits her view, and the agreeing views of her guests, on her show. She obviously perceives any ideas different from hers as a threat.
Despite her self-promoting ads about her programs bieng able to "change" people's lives, one of the ways people change their lives is learning to think for themselves. Oprah, in reality, is about suppressing any information, as well as the ability of an individual to be objective, when their thoughts and ideas are contrary to hers, at least on her show, and I'm sure she'd like to do it in as many other places as possible, as well.
harbor boy
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