You Go, Girl
I've been an Oprah admirer for many years--her rags to riches story is just too good to be true, but it is. She's a talented talk show hostess, actress, producer, magazine and Book Club editor . . . what can't she do? She's a tremendous role model for everyone who has dreams and the talent to go somewhere with them. I don't particularly pay attention about her personality off camera. If she's egotistical, it doesn't interfere with my admiration.Having said that, I must say that she's not my taste. The few times that I've watched her show, I've found her interviews too "Hollywood emotional" (guests either cry or jump up and down on her couch) and her own on-screen persona a trifle too contrived. For instance, she can morph seamlessly from the uppity Oprah to the ghetto Oprah sometimes within the same sentence. I suspect that she knows it's in her best ratings interest to pander . . . I mean appeal to everyone.
However, it's time to praise Her Divaness for dishing out a double dose of mean whup-you-know- what on author James Frey on today's show. Frey's autobiographical novel, A Million Little Pieces, was an Oprah Book Club best selection and shot up the best-seller lists. After thesmokinggun.com reported that Frey's fantastic life of a rehabilitated criminal was mostly fabricated, Oprah initially defended Frey, even putting in a call to the Larry King show last week. Evidently, after some more fact finding, Oprah realized that she had been duped. So she summoned Frey to the principal's office, where he admitted that he had stretched the truth in order to make his story seem more emotional in order to sell more books. A disgusted Oprah, in no mood for reconciliation, told Frey she had felt betrayed, washing her hands before she threw Frey under the bus before her loyal legions.
I wish I knew more Oprah lingo so I could really get cheezy and end with a typical Oprah moment. You know, like "You go, girl." Instead, I think I'll just go downstairs, bounce up and down on the couch, and proclaim my love for Lady Oprah. I hope no one sees me.
posted by JTF @ 9:55 PM
8 comments
8 Comments:
I'm sorry I missed that show today, but I still defend James Frey, and I think I wrote about that issue in a journal entry. Frey's book is not about a quota of arrests or crimes committed, it's about his journey, his recovery and the extraordinary way that he told his story. If he was an average person who had just written the book from imagination, making it purely fiction, would the book be any less amazing? When I heard the accusations about the lies in the story, it really irritated me because that's not what the book is about, and anyone who actually takes the time to read it and not be influenced by all of the people who want to criticize it, will read a very fascinating book, and most likely be affected in a positive way. If One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest was a true story, but then you learned that Ken Kesey exaggerated about something trivial, like the amount of time McMurphy had been arrested or in jail, would you change your opinion of the book, would it change how you felt when you first took in this story? I'd hope not, because the facts and figures aren't what a great story is about. I'm just saying that it's frustrating because I really enjoyed that book, and not just for what Frey went through, but the way in which he told it. That's what made the story good, and if people want to be analytical and skeptical, than they're not only missing the point, they're missing a great story. Why does it matter if what he wrote happened exactly as he describes it or not, or even at all? Because regardless of how various people remember something, it could have happened, right? Isn't it "the truth even if it didn't happen"?
Great defense of the book using the Chief's words. Certainly, we can learn and appreciate as much from fiction as we can from non-fiction. You don't have to dislike the book any less, either, because of the allegations. Oprah's beef (pun intended, Oprah fans) was that Frey always insisted that the book was a factual memoir. He lied to her and to the reading public. Kesey, on the other hand, never pretended that his novel was a true story. Your willingness to accept the "truths" of Kesey's book is based on his ability to make an unreal story seem "real." That's the mimetic process. Cuckoo's Nest is highly exaggerated. It's told by a paranoid schizophrenic narrator. How could it be "realistic", as you and I define that word?
In your defense (not that you need it),here's a similar situation. In the movie A Beautiful Mind, which starred Russell Crowe as the real-life, schizophrenic Nobel Prize winning John Nash, apparently, there were many made-up or left-out or omitted portions of Nash's life. I didn't know that before I saw the movie, which I enjoyed. Later, I was disappointed in knowing the "truth." Seems the great Nash was in some trouble with the law, among other things. However, I have to admit that I still enjoyed the movie and even understood the artistic decisions that were made. To defend the movie, I'll say that it's part of the movie genre to embellish or omit real-life events at the screenwriter's discretion. That's not true, with non-fictional memoirs, though, in which we expect to be "the whole truth and nothing but the truth."
one of the biggest arguments for any issue is that you cannot fully judge and critique unless you have a full understanding of it. you cannot fully understand something until you experience it yourself. therefore, in general, why are so many people judging Frey and his book without having read it? The story is about recovering from his addictions, the details he fabricated were just that, details. it did not affect the plot and true essence of the story.
i dont even have an accurate view of this book because i am waiting to borrow my friend's copy when she is done reading it, but i have planned to read it since the beginning, and it didn't matter to me whether it was an autobiography or fictional. does it make it less of a story?
everyone is entitled to thier opinions, but i feel if one has any say on the Frey issue, it's time for them to read the book themselves and earn credibility for thier view.
I totally and utterly agree with Des up there. I'm so tired of this on going argument about trivial lies that don't really change the plot of the book at all. The overlying premise of the book is still totally true. It's about a mans journey from addiction to redemption, not about how many times he was put in jail. Lying is wrong. We were all taught that as little kids so I can see why Oprah might be hurt that she has been lied to, but what really ticks me off is the people that are now constantly making fun of the story or belittling its overall message and havn't even read it. READ THE BOOK. And then I'll listen to your comments about the story and really have a good discussion with you(and I am not talking directy to you Fio, I'm talking to all the people who have constantly berated me today about reading this fascinating story.)
The book is amazing. It's simply an amazing journey and is told in an amazing way. Read it Fio, I truly think you would enjoy it.
And one final thing, Oprah says that James has not only duped her but duped his readers. I for one, don't feel"duped" at all. I just want to scream at the top of my lungs: "THE THINGS HE ALTERED DON'T MATTER!" I don't care how many times he was arrested. If he lied about being an addict, it would be a different story. But he didnt. And all Oprah really cares about is her perefct image. If she really enjoyed the book as much as she said, she wouldn't care about all of this.
Just read the book people. READ THE BOOK.
I'm not taking this personally, but I will read the book. Thanks.
Not a fan of Oprah
The book was never touted solely as a memoir...it was only after the publishing company saw it as a fictional book with no capital to gain that it changed the classification to a memoir. Oprah's a tool anyways---anyone else notice (Thanks, Howard Stern) that Oprah actually dressed up and made herself look nice? I guess she knew her 'reaming' would be highly broadcast.
That is another thing I noticed-Oprah's role in this whole ordeal. Oprah called in to Larry King and said that she stood by James Frey, then she went back on her word. She was even quoted as saying that she was embarrassed. She appears to be more concerned with her image than anything, worried about her credibility and the fact that her sticker is on his book. I just want to say to her, did you like this book or not? Nothing else should matter, and it's a shame that media and publishers and promoters have any influence on literature, which is essentialy something to be enjoyed.
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