Today, Wednesday, May 25, 2011 is the day that Oprah airs her last show.  I have watched her show on and off quite a bit over the past 25 years.  I was only a little girl – 7 years old – when the show first began.  I recall her early shows being more controversial, maybe even more trashy than what she has on TV today.  Oprah has really changed over the course of her series.

Oprah has really played a role in my education about life and society.  Being a Catholic elementary school educated kid raised by a grandmother who didn’t speak English, I didn’t really have much exposure to topics such as homosexuality before I was old enough to read magazines like YM and Seventeen.  I learned a lot about black American culture through Oprah as well.  As a Canadian, my only exposure to black American history in school was a short reading comprehension piece on Harriet Tubman in Grade 4 or 5 until I took US History in Grade 11.  What I did hope for, however, was for Oprah to talk more about other ethnic-related topics (there was very little talk that I can recall about Asian or non-Anglo European Americans from what I recall) unrelated to food, arts or literature.

By the time I was in university and graduate school (probably the years I watched the show the most often), Oprah had mellowed out.  Though she still talked about tougher issues, the show’s format was no longer like Jerry Springer, where she reached out to the audience for their opinion.  She also had celebrities on more often and talked more about books, health and style.  While the topics were more frivolous, especially when she had movie stars on before a premiere, the less controversial topics were probably for the good, since it drew a larger audience that might not be comfortable watching heavier issues day in and day out.  I also thought some of the topics, including how to find well-fitting bras, informational.

Are there any issues that I would have liked her show to cover?  Sure.  Besides more diverse ethnic-related topics, I would have liked it if she expanded beyond plus sizes when it came to body image.  I understand why plus was more of an issue, of course, but if Oprah talked about height, then maybe the rest of the world/media would follow.  Same with vanity sizing.  After all, she’s able to make anything into a talked-about topic.

So what do I think people are going to do now that the show’s over?  I guess they can watch Ellen, who comes close.  However, Ellen isn’t and will never be Oprah, who was able to balance serious topics with celebrities without being over the top or tacky.  Without Oprah, there probably wouldn’t be shows like The View (which I don’t think is nearly as good), but only tacky, Jerry Springer-like shows and morning magazine/talk shows like Regis and Kelly.  Weekdays at 4 pm Eastern will just be a lot more boring.

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