My take on Oprah's "The Secret" show
I wrote a post for DotMoms on Oprah's recent "The Secret" shows. "The Secret" is purely good marketing, in my opinion, and not much more.
Am wondering if my post is going to stir up a mild controversy - as the first comment on the piece was how "The Secret" really is legitimately a secret. Ugh. Even Deepak Choprah dissed it on Bill Maher's show this week.
Here's an excerpt from the post:
"It was all good until I sat down one night to watch your show, which my DVR records faithfully each day while I slave away at the office. The show opened with an intriguing panel of people who claim to have The Secret to life. I must admit, I got a little nervous. After all, it was February, which means it was sweeps month and all of TV gets a little bit crazy during sweeps months (Meredith Grey even died for a moment on "Grey's Anatomy"! Crazy.)
...Oprah, my friend, this is so not a Secret. This is the basis for most religions. All self-help books. And a lot of "Dr. Phil" episodes. Remember him? The author's bio for "The Secret" even acknowledges that "the concepts could be found in almost every religion and field of human endeavor throughout history." Whether or not Ms. Bryne thinks it was a Secret, you, Oprah, must realize that it's not. At least half the "lightbulb moments" discussed on your show are based on this Secret...Just as I'm sure there were viewers reminded of the importance of the "power of positive thinking." Oh yeah, Oprah, that's what Norman Vincent Peale called it back in 1952 when he wrote his bestselling book on the very same subject."
