en vogue charity

Well. I just spent the last hour lounging on the couch with my glass of Cabernet whilst watching "The Big Give" in a mixed state of horror and fascination. I was aghast enough that part of my brain demanded that I get up and turn the TV off, but ultimately, I was curious enough (and tired enough) to just veg there and ride that ride out to the end to see what it was all about.

"The Big Give" is Oprah's latest venture in which she has made a game show out of charity. Ten contestants were selected to participate, and are run through weekly tests whereby they must address a person or case in need. They are judged on their execution, and one contestant is eliminated each week. Unknown to the contestants, the last person remaining, the winner, will receive one million dollars. Now, I'm normally a somewhat passive fan of Oprah's. She, of course lives in a world that 99.999% of us will never come close to occupying or understanding (e.g., who among us can afford *any* of the great items in her "What I love" section from her magazine?), and she has made a business out of being a "good" person. That's certainly several moral steps up from making a business of exposing fake(ish) love triangles and airing "My baby's father had an affair with my best friend's mother" to milk the worst of human curiosity in a Jerry Springer ilk. So that's a move in the positive direction.

But she's made a business of charity, right or wrong as that may be. Eh. Pros are that with her considerable popularity, there is the potential of encouraging enough of us with resources to get up off our bums and couches to try to make a real difference in the world. Cons are that, well, she's made a BUSINESS of it. It's entertainment and the reality of charity is cheapened with that spin on it. And this latest show is the ugliest side of that. There are winners and losers here, and contestants are judged on how creatively and how effectively they "give."

When did charity become a contest? It's like the worst of High School social competition gone haywire. It's the worst of PC, gone right over the edge. "I give X dollars a month to such and such charities online to pay for the guilt I sometimes feel for being born into a world of privilege, so I have paid my debt." (A little cynical I am, you THINK?)

The blatant product placement/advertising that was evident throughout the whole show made me nauseous. How could they (they = big corporation) pass this opportunity up? Here's a chance for an "OPRAH" endorsement for the price of oh, $50,000.00, given, noless, to an injured serviceman! Look how great we are!!! Mere pennies for these companies, and all gift-wrapped under the guise of Oprah's generosity. A totally strong business decision.

I don't know what to make of this. It all seems so horribly phony. Yet, part of my brain woodpeckers me into wondering: do phony intentions even matter if ultimately, charity is taking place? This is obviously a case in which charity is made to be "en vogue" within the guise of entertainment. So if good works are being done, and if more are being inspired, should I care under what pretenses this occurs?

I'm just left with a nasty taste in my mouth. Oh Oprah. You have so much money and I believed so much in your potential. To make a reality show out of being a good person just makes me want to weep. This is just too much.