SLU students comprise audience at first episode of OWN tour
In what felt like a drawn-out advertisement for the “O” Network, “Oprah’s Lifeclass: The Tour” incorporates Facebook, Skype and Twitter into a two hour-long talk show.
The Oprah Winfrey Network debuted on January 1, 2011, as an American specialty channel. With less-than-stellar ratings, the network was forced to cut about one-fifth of its staff this year. However, the recent interview of Bobbi Kristina Brown and Oprah’s move to CEO may help turn things around.
The day started off promisingly as a group of college writers, including myself, were given an extensive tour of the backstage of Peabody Opera House and escorted to our very own greenroom. As it drew closer to show time, we were taken to a room where top Charter Cable executives and the family from OWN’s “Sweetie Pie’s” schmoozed before the event.
After being introduced to several OWN employees, we were able to speak with Oprah herself during a quick photo shoot.
Everyone present was bubbling with excitement, as we were taken to a VIP appetizer event downstairs. There, we were able to speak with the show’s guest star, Iyanla Vanzant, an absolutely delightful woman. Vanzant was something of a Winfrey protégé who had worked as her “relationship expert” in ‘90’s, but the two had a falling out over a business deal, and Vanzant faded from the limelight. Fast-forward 11 years and it seems that all is forgiven, as Vanzant is slotted to host her own talk show, “Iyanla: Fix My Life,” on the network this season.
The set for the show was akin to a sportscast with giant screens live streaming the tweets of viewers at the Peabody. Just about every audience member had their phone or tablet out, tweeting about the show and trying to get their tweet up on the giant screen. Additionally, viewers at home could watch the show on Facebook and update their status in an attempt to get it on TV. Although I felt overwhelmed by the technology at the show, this tactic was well played by the “O” network, as a couple different slogans and quotes of the night were “trending” on Twitter.
Six different locations were Skyped into the show, including a women’s prison in Indiana and groups of fans from Ontario, Melbourne, Mumbai and Chicago. Occasionally, those being Skyped in could ask Vanzant a question, but I was not entirely sure what their purpose was in the show.
To open “Lifeclass,” clips of upcoming series on “O” were played with uproarious responses from the crowd. Oprah then introduced Vanzant, spouting off slogans such as “P.A.I.N.: Pay Attention Inward Now,” that would be a basis for the entire evening. When Steve, a recovering addict, was invited onstage to talk with Vanzant, the audience stood and chanted his name. In minutes, “Standing with Steve” was trending on Twitter.
Vanzant diagnosed Steve as one of many afflicted with the “fatherless son” epidemic, forming the root of his problems. She used Steve’s story as a cautionary tale to “never let your negative ego [make] your story your badge.”
When Vansant interviewed the prison women, she was quick to tell them that they committed their crimes because they felt inadequate. Laura, a single mother with an autistic child, shared her story with Vansant, who seemed to get short with Laura, saying that she “asked to be a mom . . . that’s exactly what [she] got,” and repeatedly asking if she loved her child.
Although I agreed with Vansant’s sentiments that a good attitude goes a long way and “forgiveness begins with yourself,” she oversimplified every issue presented and diagnosed guests without fully listening to what they had to say.
I am not a life-coach expert, but “fixing” someone’s life cannot happen between commercial breaks. The idea of “Oprah’s Lifeclass” seems admirable: showcasing Oprah’s life lessons, revelations and “aha!” moments in order to make life “better, happier, bigger, richer— more fulfilling.” However, the show was an advertisement for itself, and it came off as a commercialized and uninspiring version of “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
