The Cosmopolitan Blog

You know how, when you think of The Beatles or Elvis Presley, any image you have of them in your head, they’re always accompanied by shots of their hysterical screaming fans? These girls that are crying, and fainting, and screaming, and hugging, and dropping like flies at the sight of their idol? ok, well, that’s fine, i mean, it’s the Beatles, i guess they were hot for their time, and it’s Elvis, you know, he had… um… the hips :-S

So, I guess the fans remain the same for modern day stars, like Justin Timberlake or Tom Cruise. But you could imagine how women might get excited to even see someone like Oprah, right? It’s just, well, cuz she’s a woman, there’s not the sex appeal part that woman see in Elvis or Justin, and yet, i’ve seen The Oprah Show, and they do get excited as well, not quite to that extend, but when she enters the room, they jump up, scream a bit, wave, jump up and down and clap joyfully.

But here’s something i just DON’T get, maybe someone can explain this to me. So the audience of The Oprah Show get “kinda” excited when they see Oprah arrive, but when she stands up and says “today is Oprah’s favorite things day”, something happens that i don’t even think happened when John Lennon walked on stage. Oprah says those 6 words, and it’s INSTANT mass-hysteria, and i mean mass-hysteria like it’s not even conceivable. And it lasts for like 5 minutes. The women jump up from their chairs, and they YELL these shrills that should be illegal. Then, they start crying, hyper-ventilating, hugging the total stranger standing next to them, some of them in shock, some gesturing like they’re about to throw up from the excitement, some of them throwing their arms up in the air and thanking God, and they’re crying, and crying… It’s like some supreme being just came down from the Heavens and promised to take away all their pains, stop all wars and remove world hunger. Cuz honestly, a reaction like that should NOT be caused by something so materialistic, it seems wrong, somehow.

I honestly don’t get it. I love Oprah, you know that. But this? I REALLY don’t get it. Why? I mean i get it, she’s gonna tell you everything she loves right now, and then give one of each thing to each audience member, so, by the end of the afternoon, each person has walked away with about $2K worth of gifts. That’s awesome, great, congrats, i’m happy for you. But why hyper-ventilate? Why faint?

I swear, Oprah and to stand there for 5 minutes, saying “Calm down, relax, ssshh, it’s ok” and she has this look of bewilderment, and it took the women 5 minutes to calm down.

This has got to be acting right? I mean, seriously? Ok, the gifts were cool, the main ones were: a stove-top range cooker thing worth $800, a GPS system, a $200 gift card for any Courtyard Marriott (um, hello, can i just point out that a Courtyard Marriott is NOT a super luxurious hotel, it’s just like your average Holiday Inn?). Other gifts include a range of makeup, some clothes and swimsuits, a CD and a weekender bag. Then her friend Gail introduced this blush brush (yes, yes, a makeup brush) that’s valued at $75 and told them they were each getting one, and the mass-hysterial begun again: they were up on their feet screaming and clapping.

Ok, maybe it’s just the fact that these women know they’re now using all the products Oprah uses. Because, I mean, you can go on game shows and win way more, right? So it can’t purely be the money value. The worst part is that i fear that this is just companies sponsoring this show and telling Oprah what to showcase, i don’t even think she necessarily uses all this stuff, does she? Sorry, try as I may, I really still don’t get it. If you’re gonna thank the Lord for something, please! Don’t let it be for a makeup brush!

But maybe i’m totally missing something. I try to be as open as possible with anything i come across in my life, and i want to understand this. Can someone share some insight? Please post a comment.

As you know, i’m a strong supporter of Oprah. I think she’s a smart, independent woman who has risen from a very difficult start, to a very influential person in today’s world. Am i proud of her because she’s a woman? Sure, woman are very “patriotic” that way, we stand together because many, many women in our history have fought real hard to give us the standing we can enjoy in most of the Western world today. Seeing the situation of women in the Middle East and Africa makes this fact even more obvious. BUT, at the same time, i would respect anyone with a story like Oprah’s, somehow who started from an unprivileged background to become one of the most successful people in their field.

So why does everyone always come down so hard on Oprah? I’m sure she doesn’t need me defending her, but seriously, do we really enjoy criticizing people who do well? You ask some people, and all they know of Oprah is some chat show host you went through her whole life having weight issues. NEWSFLASH! We haven’t discussed Oprah’s weight issues for years now, instead, her politics, her thoughts, her books, her charities, her movies… all of these things have been a lot more in the forefront than her weight issues in the 90s. So don’t give me the “well that’s all people talk about”, no they don’t! It’s what you choose to remember.

Now, the poor woman makes a choice and stands by a political candidate, and she gets grief for too?For one, if she didn’t make a choice, she would be criticized for not having the guts to take a stand. So, in case some of you hadn’t noticed, Oprah is a black woman. Turns out, 1 democratic candidate is a woman, the other is black. So how illogical is it for women across the country to criticize her for supporting Barack Obama and being unfaithful to women? Um, hello? So if she supported Hillary, we’d criticize her for supporting a white candidate??? So, let me get this right. She doesn’t express her opinion, she gets shot down. She DOES express her opinion, she gets shot down… man, sux to be a prominent figurehead.

For one, i think she is an amazing role model. She teaches us not to follow her blindly, instead, she gives us the tools to empower yourselves, as women, as citizens of the world, as human beings. If you could put aside your sarcasm and opinionated mindset, you might find that you can relate to a few things that Oprah has to say. Don’t vote for Barack Obama because Oprah supports him. Don’t vote for Hillary because she’s a woman like you. For Pete’s sake, women voters! Do what you do best. Combine your logic and your intuition and LISTEN to both messages. Then find which one rings truer to your situation and your heart. Judge them not for their gender or the color of their skin, we’ve evolved, we’re smart human beings, we are better judges of character than that… and stop judging Oprah for her choices and weight issues.

I’ll stop preaching now…

This is really not helping the general US ego. They already think that the world revolves around them, and now, what sucks is that the world does actually revolve around the US. The way they talk about the elections (ok, granted, i’m in Canada, it’s hardly very far away) on TV, you’d think it was everyone’s elections. I haven’t met someone who doesn’t know about Hillary and Barack. The republican race may be less known across the planet however, since the candidates haven’t yet been raised to celebrity status. Speaking of celebrities, i just heard that Fred Thompson (actor from Law and Order, that’s how i know him, anyway), just announced that he was dropping out of the race.

Last time around (2004), it was already bad enough, everywhere we looked there was a debate between Kerry and Bush, but at least, i feel like we were spared the primaries. And sure, in 2000, well, we all know that Bush rigged the votes and Al Gore should have been president, so, again, that had our attention.

But the primaries? Really? Seriously? We have to get involved this early in the process? It’s not, you realize, until this time next year, that the next president is sworn in… I heard on CNN that, during the New Hampshire primary, one of the voters expressed the fact that he wouldn’t vote, because he’s already so over it, and it’s overkill, he doesn’t want to go out and vote, so a bit of a backlash there.

I supposed the good news is, the more we spend time talking about the future president, the less W. is getting facetime… Which might explain why he hasn’t been feeling the love recently, and decided to give every US citizen and $800 tax rebate in the form of a check in their mailbox… Can someone say blackmail? Hey, W! You got a reputation and historical legacy you’re trying to salvage?

The thing is, like it or not, you gotta care. Like it or not, the news of possible US recession just sent the markets reeling this past week. The few shares I follow have hit rock bottom, and one’s not even in the US and is in one of the most stable industries you can get!

So, then, I ask you this. The question that’s on everyone’s lips: are Americans more racist or sexist? Are they more ready to vote for a woman or a Black man? Shame Oprah didn’t join the race, but seeing she’s Black AND she’s a woman, I think THAT, somehow is still a decade away (in my estimate) from being acceptable in such a bigotted, conservative and puritan country.

Personally, i think they’re more ready for a woman, although Barack has my Canadian vote. But here’s the truth. I honestly don’t think they’re ready for either. That is, they WILL pick either the woman or the black man, and that person will be the party’s nominee. But when it comes down to voting for the leader of the free world, my opinion is, come November 08, the Americans will chicken out, and decide not to vote for the Democrat candidate, they won’t want the woman or the Black man, and, therefore, by default, the votes will go to the Republican nominee.

So here it is: I predict that the next president of the United States will be a Republican again.

Anyway, whether you’re glued to your TV set or whether you wish the US would disappear off the face of the planet for a while, let me know what you think. There’s a new poll up (see right hand side), i hope you vote, you can select up to 5 answers.