Oprah Winfrey PRESENTATION--Maureen Beam

How Gender and Race Influenced Oprah’s Media Career: 

By: Maureen Beam 12/2/11 How Gender and Race Influenced Oprah’s Media Career

Race, Gender, and Breaking Free From the Male Gaze : 

Race, Gender, and Breaking Free From the Male Gaze Oprah Winfrey is one of the most powerful and influential media figures in the world. (Garson, 2011, pg. xxii) Though, she is female, African American, and was born poor, she dared to “revision” her place in the world. She was successful and now helps people all over the world to “revision” their lives. Oprah Winfrey’s race and gender can be seen as a major influence in her creative works of oration as demonstrated by her newest program, Oprah’s Lifeclass .

Oprah’s Younger Years: 

Oprah’s Younger Years Born to single mother in Kosciusko, Mississippi in 1954 Raised by her grandmother, Hattie Mae, on a farm Went to live with her mother at age 6 (Cooper, 2007, pg. 15-25) Was sexually abused by family friends at age 9 Adopted wild promiscuous lifestyle Had a baby at age 14, but he died Went to live with her father permanently He was strict and emphasized education Graduated high school ( Paprocki , 2006, 14-16)

Oprah’s Adult Life: 

Oprah’s Adult Life Attended college at Tennessee State University Accepted job as reporter/co-anchor in Baltimore Worked on AM Chicago AM Chicago became the Oprah Winfrey Show Actress, producer, director, writer, philanthropist (Garson, 2011, pg. xi-xiii) Founded Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa ( Paprocki , 2006, pg. 5) The Oprah Show aired for nearly 25 years Oprah began her own television network— OWN (Garson, 2011, pg. xxiv) Oprah’s Lifeclass Season One begins (Oprah’s Lifeclass , 2011.)

Oprah’s Lifeclass : 

Oprah’s Lifeclass Show aired on Oprah Winfrey Network First season consisted of 25 episodes over five weeks Each episode/class features a life lesson Discussions include past footage from Oprah Basic concept is dream, believe, achieve (Oprah’s Lifeclass , 2011.)

Oprah the Orator: 

Oprah the Orator

How Does Race and Gender Influence Her Work?: 

How Does Race and Gender Influence Her Work? Oprah’s Lifeclass usually highlights stories about people that were challenged and then found a way to succeed. Each episode focuses on the lesson learned. Oprah’s compassion and mission to help others appears to have stemmed from her own personal obstacles. Lifeclass ’ recent example: Khadijah had been homeless most of her life while she lived with her mother. Though the odds were against her, she believed that education would save her. She is now a junior at Harvard. ( Harpo Productions, 2011)

Tyra Banks and Oprah: 

Tyra Banks and Oprah Tyra Banks addresses a variety of topics connected to the news, but also covers fashion and fun areas. Compassionate style and honest In one episode, she even showed the audience photographs of herself that had not been retouched. Tyra realizes that she is a role model for her viewers that range in age from their teens to their thirties. (Hill, 2009, pg. 31-32) Oprah possesses more life experience and this is reflected in her work.

Oprah’s Impact on Talk Television: 

Oprah’s Impact on Talk Television Talk show hosts are more open to revealing their personal thoughts and personalities. Important/relevant/ serious issues are addressed. More female hosts More African American talk show hosts Viewers expect important subjects will be discussed

Conclusion: 

Conclusion The male vision of women has created a burden that women must prove themselves to be valuable. This is unfair, but Oprah overcame these beliefs to create success for herself. She defied social barriers and used them to enhance her work and help others.

Works Cited: 

Works Cited Cooper, I. (2007). Oprah Winfrey . New York: Penguin Group. Garson, H. S. (2011). Oprah Winfrey: a biography (2nd ed.). Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood. Harpo Productions. (2011). Episode 25 [Television series episode]. In Oprah's Lifeclass . Los Angeles, CA: Oprah Winfrey Network. Hill, A. E. (2009). Tyra Banks: from supermodel to role model . Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications Co.. Oprah's Lifeclass - OWN TV. (2011.). Oprah Winfrey's Official Website - Live Your Best Life - Oprah.com . Retrieved November 30, 2011, from http://www.oprah.com/oprahs-lifeclass/oprahs-lifeclass.html Oprah Winfrey Photos : People.com. ( n.d .). People.com : The #1 Celebrity Site for breaking news, celebrity pictures and star style . Retrieved December 1, 2011, from http://www.people.com/people/oprah_winfrey/photos Paprocki , S. B. (2006). Oprah Winfrey: talk show host and media magnate . New York: Chelsea House. Peach, L. J. (1998). Women in culture: a women's studies anthology . Malden, Mass.: Blackwell Publishers.