From Multimillionaire to Mobile Home
Photo: George Burns/Harpo Studios
PAGE 5
In a culture that takes more than it needs and gets caught up in the quest for wealth and power, Oprah says that one of the ways we've gotten so off course is the obsession with celebrity.
Tom: Celebrity should be celebrated. We should celebrate you and others for your talent. For your gift. ... [However,] when we put people on a pedestal, [we get] in the way of our authentic selves.
Oprah: But look at what we did as a culture. First, there was celebrating people because they did something or had an achievement. And now, this culture celebrates people for doing absolutely nothing.
Tom: Yes. ... The irony is we call it "reality TV." It's anything but reality.
Oprah: But aren't we a part of it?
Tom: Oh, my gosh, yes.
Oprah: Aren't we the feeder system? Everybody who's watching it? We're the feeder system. You can see how it reflects us, and we reflect it.
Tom: The audience—you guys have all the power. You see, you have to stop elevating us. I don't want to be your hero. I want to be your brother. You know, I want to be your family member. I want to be your equal. And if you start seeing things as they are, like as the divine sees it...who will celebrate the women who swept this floor as much as any artist because she is an artist too. We're all artists. If you guys start doing that, it will change.
Tom: Celebrity should be celebrated. We should celebrate you and others for your talent. For your gift. ... [However,] when we put people on a pedestal, [we get] in the way of our authentic selves.
Oprah: But look at what we did as a culture. First, there was celebrating people because they did something or had an achievement. And now, this culture celebrates people for doing absolutely nothing.
Tom: Yes. ... The irony is we call it "reality TV." It's anything but reality.
Oprah: But aren't we a part of it?
Tom: Oh, my gosh, yes.
Oprah: Aren't we the feeder system? Everybody who's watching it? We're the feeder system. You can see how it reflects us, and we reflect it.
Tom: The audience—you guys have all the power. You see, you have to stop elevating us. I don't want to be your hero. I want to be your brother. You know, I want to be your family member. I want to be your equal. And if you start seeing things as they are, like as the divine sees it...who will celebrate the women who swept this floor as much as any artist because she is an artist too. We're all artists. If you guys start doing that, it will change.
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