 "Photo: Peter Franklin, Daily Texan Staff")
The pursuit of spiritual change through material means has become part of American society, and at the center of it all is Oprah Winfrey, said Yale assistant professor Kathryn Lofton on Friday in Burdine Hall.
Lofton visited UT to give her lecture, “What Would Oprah Do?: Celebrity and Corporate Religion in the 21st Century.” The Departments of Religious Studies and American Studies hosted the talk.
Lofton said she spent 10 years studying everything about Oprah, including her television show, Web site and magazine. Oprah has influenced many people by prescribing buying behaviors intended to produce internal and external changes. She tells her audience what to do, where to go to get it done and offers smart products to assist and decorate the process, Lofton said.
“It’s not just about selling the products, though; the point is to educate you to the lifestyle,” she said.
Lofton said self-indulgence, self-discovery and shopping are the keys to Oprah’s self-improvement program, which tends to involve a high standard of consumption. She is always telling her audience what to do, but Lofton focuses on the fact that the audience listens to Oprah.
“Is it religious culture? Is it consumer culture? The argument of this book is that there is not a difference,” Lofton said. “It is American culture.”
History senior Kelley Reeder said she thinks this mix of religion and consumerism is a distinct American creation.
“I am a really big fan of Oprah, but I have never thought of it in this broad of a scope,” Reeder said. “To think of it in this religion and consumer way is interesting. I think I cannot distinguish between them anymore.”
However, the mix of religion and consumerism will die when Oprah does, Lofton said.
“Oprah is a product Harpo sells, but in this case, the end of her is the end of the brand,” Lofton said. “She is never to be replicated.”
History graduate student Rachel Ozanne said she thinks Oprah’s show is silly, but she was drawn to the talk because she wants to understand why some people find it so compelling.
“I’m really interested in the idea of what replaces religion for some people in the modern world, and Oprah seems like an obvious choice,” Ozanne said.
Lofton said the media assault of Oprah makes the message clear — don’t just watch, do.
“It’s Oprah’s world,” Lofton said. “We are just buying in it.”
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