The Oprah Effect

Oprah's latest high profile act of good will is the construction of a $40 million school for girls in South Africa. Is this a genuine act of compassion or just another example in the latest wave of popular Hollywood acts of charity in Africa?

Don't get me wrong, I think this school is great, and I think that the recent attention celebrities have given to Africa opens the world's eyes to the many crises that exist there, but I'm always a little suspicious when Oprah does something like this.

Oprah has successfully fashioned herself into a spiritual (if not religious) leader for our culture. Few in America have a pulpit that reaches as far as Oprah's. She is a role model for countless numbers of her fans. She recommends books and they become best sellers. I'll leave my full thoughts about Oprah for another time, but because of the fact that when Oprah speaks and acts so many people listen and watch, the message she delivers needs to be scrutinized.

In a recent edition of Showbiz Tonight on CNN's Headline News, TV critic Linda Stasi rips into Oprah and her funding of this school. Stasi's main point is to question why we should spend so much money on projects a world away when there is so much need here at home. I think that this argument is actually quite shortsighted and misguided. There is plenty of suffering to go around and I think that it is a good thing to help wherever we can.

What I did find interesting about Stasi's rant, however, is her point that Oprah can go to Africa and do this great thing and get lots of public praise and attention, but she isn't really addressing the root causes of problems, especially in places like our own city of Chicago. More importantly, I think Stasi has shown that Oprah herself may be part of the root problem.

Stasi claims that Oprah's rationale for building this school is that, in her experience, American kids are only interested in high end products like iPods and don't care about education. But as a role model, Oprah isn't addressing this issue. Instead, she is feeding it with her own shopping sprees and by giving away high end products on her shows. Oprah contributes to the problem of American consumerism and materialism. Why not give away scholarships instead and use her star power to get kids interested in learning?

You can listen to the entire interview here: Critic miffed Oprah spent $40 million in Africa.

Do you think that Stasi's critique is fair?

Is Oprah doing more harm than good in the overall example that she sets?