Oprah, Meghan, Harry, Pseudo-Events, and a Quick Fix to Boredom
The article uses the 2021 Oprah with Meghan and Harry television special as a case study to discuss pseudo-events and news cycles, which are represented as an antidote to boredom despite their lack of newsworthiness. I trace back today’s pseudo-events to the beginnings of the Graphic Revolution, dur...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2022-12-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/19125 |
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| _version_ | 1841558307000549376 |
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| author | Łukasz Muniowski |
| author_facet | Łukasz Muniowski |
| author_sort | Łukasz Muniowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The article uses the 2021 Oprah with Meghan and Harry television special as a case study to discuss pseudo-events and news cycles, which are represented as an antidote to boredom despite their lack of newsworthiness. I trace back today’s pseudo-events to the beginnings of the Graphic Revolution, during which news was transformed into a commodity, and its entertaining value gained major significance. As a result, the figure of the entertaining newsman has become more important than the relayed story. In response to the fear of boredom, which grips mass society, instead of only reporting current events, the media started making news, that is producing pseudo-events, which are planned and marketed. In order to explain this process, I discuss Oprah, a talk show giant, as a human pseudo-event and the main reason that 49.1 million watched the special. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-36af012375ae4f4da594410f7d45a6ae |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-36af012375ae4f4da594410f7d45a6ae2025-01-06T09:08:19ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362022-12-0117410.4000/ejas.19125Oprah, Meghan, Harry, Pseudo-Events, and a Quick Fix to BoredomŁukasz MuniowskiThe article uses the 2021 Oprah with Meghan and Harry television special as a case study to discuss pseudo-events and news cycles, which are represented as an antidote to boredom despite their lack of newsworthiness. I trace back today’s pseudo-events to the beginnings of the Graphic Revolution, during which news was transformed into a commodity, and its entertaining value gained major significance. As a result, the figure of the entertaining newsman has become more important than the relayed story. In response to the fear of boredom, which grips mass society, instead of only reporting current events, the media started making news, that is producing pseudo-events, which are planned and marketed. In order to explain this process, I discuss Oprah, a talk show giant, as a human pseudo-event and the main reason that 49.1 million watched the special.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/19125celebrityOprah Winfreypseudo-eventsGraphic Revolution |
| spellingShingle | Łukasz Muniowski Oprah, Meghan, Harry, Pseudo-Events, and a Quick Fix to Boredom European Journal of American Studies celebrity Oprah Winfrey pseudo-events Graphic Revolution |
| title | Oprah, Meghan, Harry, Pseudo-Events, and a Quick Fix to Boredom |
| title_full | Oprah, Meghan, Harry, Pseudo-Events, and a Quick Fix to Boredom |
| title_fullStr | Oprah, Meghan, Harry, Pseudo-Events, and a Quick Fix to Boredom |
| title_full_unstemmed | Oprah, Meghan, Harry, Pseudo-Events, and a Quick Fix to Boredom |
| title_short | Oprah, Meghan, Harry, Pseudo-Events, and a Quick Fix to Boredom |
| title_sort | oprah meghan harry pseudo events and a quick fix to boredom |
| topic | celebrity Oprah Winfrey pseudo-events Graphic Revolution |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/19125 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT łukaszmuniowski oprahmeghanharrypseudoeventsandaquickfixtoboredom |