Australia Day is supposed to make us feel good about ourselves as a nation. This year, the scheduling of the four-part TV event Oprah's Ultimate Australian Adventure in the days leading up to Australia Day ensures there's every chance we will feel good about ourselves, but as individuals.
The National Australia Day Council stresses the communal aspect. 'On Australia Day we come together as a nation to celebrate what's great about Australia and being Australian.' It's all about nation-building. That's something we do together, for the good of all Australians, not just ourselves.
Winfrey has a message about Australia's greatness, but it reflects her philosophy of individualism. Australia is such a wonderful country because it helps her — and the 302 'ultimate fans' she brought with her from the US — to feel good as individuals.
To this end, Winfrey's rhetoric emphasises the strength of the welcome that she received. In one of the signature moments of her visit, she told her Melbourne audience: 'I've never had a welcome like this in my life. In my life. IN MY WHOLE LIFE. WOW!'
Over the years, Winfrey has made a name for herself as a promoter of self-help philosophies and schemes, many of them dubious. After she championed Australian TV talk show producer Rhonda Byrne's The Secret, it topped the bestseller lists.
The Secret's main idea is that people only need to visualise what they want in order to get it. A Salon critique branded it a 'massive, cross-promotional pyramid scheme'. It is largely based on New Thought theology, a form of the pentecostal Christian prosperity Gospel that encourages the personal attainment of material wellbeing through the power of positive thinking.
This month Winfrey has taken the step of moving from daytime network television to a dedicated channel on cable TV — the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN). In publicity surrounding the launch, she has stated some of her programming principles, which include a ban on asking hard questions.
She said that she wanted to create a channel without a trace of what she calls 'mean-spirited' programming. Scrutiny is perceived as a violation of the individual.
Winfrey's compulsory kindness explains the lack of critique and, it must be said, credibility in her Ultimate Australian Adventure. Many Australians who do not personally identify with her philosophy justify their support for her visit on the grounds that it could turn around the local tourist industry. By definition that is unprincipled.
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