Letters to the Editor
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Thank you
Thank you for this excellent expose of The Secret. I'm disappointed that Oprah is promoting it. I wonder if she really believes that her lifetime success is due not to educational opportunities, hard work, help from mentors, drive, and so on-- but rather simply to some visualization of success, to a decision to "order" her astounding career from the universal catalog of life? It's really too bad. I wish she were pimping out a cognitive therapy or Zen Buddhist text instead.
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Steve Martin
The Steve Martin joke is:
"How to be a millionaire and never pay taxes. First, get a million dollars..."
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a positive message of hope and self-empowerment
I have seen "The Secret," and I thought it offered a positive message of hope and self-empowerment. I don't think that any part of the film endorsed the idea of blaming a victim for his or her troubles; rather, it tells people that they can create better circumstances for themselves out of their own strength, positive attitude, and volition.
I would encourage anyone who has read this article and heard about "The Secret" for the first time to keep an open mind about this and other affirmative books, Web sites, or videos. You don't have to believe every word of something to find value in it; if a positive message speaks to you and offers you hope, then that is what counts.
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Spot on
I happened to be home the day that one of Oprah's episodes about The Secret was on. I could only stand watching it for about fifteen minutes, my mouth hanging open the whole time.
It seemed to me that this bullshit DVD was a completely fitting item for Oprah to be hawking; nevertheless, I was shocked and disgusted.
Oprah's materialism has always disgusted me, along with her obvious sense that she is deserving of her millions (billions?)--surely it never crosses her mind that she is a prime exemplar of the gross inequities of a culture that rewards entertainers and oil men as it impoverishes teachers, of a culture that shifts its wealth steadily and inexorably upstream, as the gap between the haves and have-nots grows ever wider.
She certainly is one of the most influential when it comes to selling an ideology of "personal responsibility," which dovetails so beautifully with right-wing ideas about throwing single mothers off of welfare or the homophobic notion that a little bit of Jesus will correct that nasty gayness. Whatever your lot in life, it is surely your own fault, right?
So thanks for writing about this; it is so spot on.
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Finally this!
I have thought this about Oprah since back when she started the favorite things shows. I'm so glad to read my awkward feelings about all of her self-celebration and material obsession in such a well articulated and argued article. Thanks!
My two favorite examples of how Oprah is really actually OUT OF TOUCH with normal folks, particularly regarding money: On a favorite things episode, she was giving away these "cool" reading glasses. To show us how great she really thought they were, we got to look insider her office. On nearly every surface, in nearly every drawer, she had at least one (often more) pairs of these stupid glasses. They were $20 bucks each, but it amounted to hundreds of dollars and also, just so wasteful. It was supposted to be hilarious, but I kept thinking, gross. What else does she have waaay too much of. Is she at all concerened with waste and the environment or anything?
The other was when she interviewed SJParker shortly before the final Sex and the City episode. SJP was talking about her young son and Oprah was doing that suck-up thing that she does and telling her how great she looked. SJP started saying something like "yes, but I just want all the moms out there to know, I get a lot of help and ..." One assumes she was going to say nannies, staff (money!) made it possible for her to be away from her son to get this stuff done, but Oprah interrupted and said "yes, but that was YOU up there on that treadmill." And of course turned it in to a story about herself and how people envy her for having chefs and trainers but SHE'S the one who has to pass on the mashed potatoes and SHE'S the one that has to work up the sweat.
We have all seen the early stages of this "Secret." So icky that she's cashing in on this too.
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Oprah - encouraging the power of positive thinking - what is the big deal?
The author seems mainly focused on - and resentful of - the fact that "Secret" author Rhonda Byrne and her fellow "snake oil" salesmen have profited so greatly from book sales, especially with the support of Oprah. In a world where depression, anxiety, and obesity are rampant, the success of "The Secret" is no surprise, because it teaches how to rid oneself of negative self-talk and self-defeatist attitudes. Admittedly, some of the book's propositions are absurd if taken to their extreme. However, overall I think the book is great and encourages people to try and achieve their dreams and to believe in themselves.
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Nothing new under the sun, here
Oy.
I actually viewed this, at the behest of someone who told me that "You really need to see this, my friend saw it and was blown away, etc..."
Well, for her sake, I tried to keep an open mind, but it was hard to endure more than five minutes without laughing out-loud.
This is, without a doubt, one of the most shallow, and yet manipulative pieces of kooky noo-age caca I have ever seen.
I see it this way- if the message is worthwhile, does it really need to be dressed up in all the faux-dramatic tired cliches? The cinematic equivalent of "Empty Barrels make the most noise."
That was the deal-killer for me. I realized that for all it's amateur manipulations, this was still no low-budget production. Somehow, an agency with a truly altruistic bent, or at least, a socially responsible one, would find a better use for all the money paid to their sound designer and forgo a few gratuitous "whooshes" "door slams" and "orchestra hits."
In spite of all this, I still managed to watch it to the end. I concluded that this was just another episode of, "Let's take some gullible losers to the cleaners." Strictly for the "Bet the rent on the Lottery set."
The sad thing is, this crapola is being marketed to the poor suckers who can least afford it, and for whom hope is the only thing they have left. That's just wrong.
I understand that Satan has just approved Donald Trump's plan to add an eighth circle of hell, just for the producers.