Trends Reviews and Recaps

Comedian Kathy Griffin famously has said, "Oprah thinks she's Jesus."

Less famously, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Annette John-Hall seems to agree with that assessment. Not the thinks part, but with the is part.

A few excerpts from John-Hall's May 24 column about Oprah Winfrey, "Good Company: Oprah and Her Lady Legends":

Look around. The books we read, the food we eat, the television shrink we cite, the exercise we do, the moisturizing cream we slather on, even the bras we wear are predicated on the question: "What would Oprah do?"

Yes, Oprah is America's fairy godmother, granting wishes ("You get a car! And you get a car!") throughout the land. […]

Even if you don't believe in the divine, you've got to acknowledge that something other than good luck is at work in Winfrey's life. […]

Maybe she is as powerful as she is because she is sincere in her well-doing.

Someone open a window. It's getting insufferable in here.

[Note: Regarding Winfrey, see also "The Strange Genius of Oprah" by Lee Siegel in the June 12 issue of the New Republic.]