The rise of Oprah Winfrey as a cultural icon: A qualitative descriptive analysis.

摘要

Oprah Winfrey is arguably the most renowned woman in America today. No other person, no political figure or media celebrity commands such influence and power. Primarily a qualitative descriptive analysis, the study of this contemporary icon also employed exploratory and historical methodologies to examine the cultural factors that contributed to the rise of Oprah Winfrey as a cultural icon and the cultural implications of that rise. It examined Oprah is the context of early studies of eminence, celebrity, significant samples, and other historically famous people; it made use of historical data, biographies, television and other electronic media, and mainstream and popular media texts in relation to iconistic indicators in American culture. Over the past 20 years, Oprah has emerged as a cultural phenomenon, distinguished among the vast array of iconic personages in contemporary American culture. This study was undertaken to offer a qualitative description of the Oprah phenomena. Out of this research, three themes emerged, (a) Oprah Winfrey is a multidimensional icon, with unique influence in multiple cultural spheres; (b) Oprah's iconic rise is linked to the zeitgeist and cultural shifts during the 20 years of her rise, the period of The Age of Oprah; and (c) Oprah Winfrey is a complicit in her rise as a cultural icon.;This research contributes primarily to our understanding of the status of Oprah Winfrey as an icon, the identification and characteristics of icons, the relationship between iconicity development and culture, and the influence of media on the development of icons. It assesses the deferential iconicity of Oprah Winfrey and found that she is a multi-dimensional iconic personality unique in power and influence among other icons, on both the national and world stage, and across cultural paradigms. The study broadens the discussion of icons to include issues of race, gender, and social status. Future study of eminent personalities and iconic figures such as Oprah Winfrey will also require the use of unique research approaches, direct and indirect, such as the distinctive methodological features of qualitative descriptive research employed in the study. The multi-dimensionality of contemporary icons such as Oprah Winfrey requires the examination of them in the context of biography, race, gender, culture, and media to develop new theoretical paradigms around characterizing and identifying their iconicity. Further research should examine the correlative relationship between iconic development and culture, and the influence of the media on the development of icons. Growing fascination with celebrity, genius, eminence, and people of fame and wealth incentivizes such study.;Key words. iconography, cultural icon, cultural phenomenon, media icon, eminent samples, significant samples, celebrity culture, iconic personality, Age of Oprah, Oprahfication, tabloidization.