Oprah Winfrey The American Dream Analysis

In relationships between men and women, the genders have always bore the weight of societal expectation. It is never just two people, but a man – the weight of supposed masculinity, of harshness and of protection – and a woman – femininity, enduring patience and care for the man she is with. The fantasies that are omnipresent in our society have an overpowering influence on these relationships and often results in unsatisfactory lives for both parties involved, and in unhealthy family dynamics. The expectations usually fall on the woman to carry the weight of the relationship and maintain a healthy marriage, while men become increasingly apathetic and hyper masculine. Additionally, this manifests itself in pornographic fantasies. Such illusions …show more content…
In the 21st century, women are increasingly redefining the Dream without men as an essential part of it. Women like Oprah exemplify this. Oprah Winfrey was born in poverty, spending her childhood and early teens being sexually abused. However, in a combination of hard work and talent, she now holds a net worth of $3 billion dollars as the CEO of her own television network. Through years of work, she launched her television show at thirty two years old. In this narrative, the fantasy of the American Dream held true, and Oprah holds an authoritative role in her own life. In contrast to women of the 1950s, she is not subordinate to the Dream of a man, rather she is essential to her own Dream. Similarly, author J.K Rowling grew from a single woman living on state benefits with a child to the first author billionaire within five years. Following her mother’s death and experience with clinical depression, she overcame and achieved this Dream as an independent woman. These women redefine the Dream in that they do not take it for materialism solely. Through her show, Oprah promotes philanthropy and donates millions of dollars to charity. She has also launched a school for leadership for girls in South Africa. J.K. Rowling has revoked her title as billionaire down to millionaire in large part due to her charitable deeds, as well as dedicating the full profits of certain books to charity. Consequently, such fantasies are powerful enough to allow women to redefine their

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