Jane Fonda was just another in a long list of Oprah guests this season who come on the show and talk about how much they've learned in life. Linda Evans, Ali MacGraw, Jenny McCarthy, Terry McMillan; all of these women have impressed Oprah with their ability to look at the big picture and realize what's important.
Of course, seeing that big picture is a lot easier when you have a big pile of money to prop you up, so that you can get the best view. So it's easy for Oprah to say, when she had an "aha moment" because of something Fonda said, "What if our entire culture rested on, 'how do I become more whole?' Wouldn't this be a different world?"
It'd be great. But in the world right now, "becoming whole" doesn't help me pay the rent. So that's where I'm going to put my focus.
I barely took any notes for this episode. There was more talk about sexual abuse. Fonda said she'd never had intimacy in any of her relationships, but now she does with her new "lover," Richard. Barf. Fonda mentioned that she got her dog (some small, ugly thing) because she saw Streisand singing to her dog on Oprah a few years back, and she liked the dog. Whatever season that was, let me just say how grateful I am that I was not "watching Oprah" back then.
Oprah plugged the big Yosemite episode, which airs Friday, saying that she went on that road trip because, "not enough black people go camping." Fonda gave Oprah a high five on that one. Is that allowed?
Fonda gave Oprah a lot of praise during the episode, and at one point said, "I follow you closely." Well, that makes two of us, Jane.
Fonda likes to fly fish, and she dances every day with her "lover." Fonda and I would have nothing in common at all.
I couldn't really get into this episode, because I just don't care about Jane Fonda. But at the end, Oprah had Fonda look at pictures of her co-stars, and say the first thing that came to mind. When Dolly Parton's picture showed up, I realized that I had completely forgotten about 9 to 5. I worship that movie, and because of it, Jane Fonda can do no wrong in my book.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Tomorrow: The Sound of Music reunion! That's a legitimate exclamation point there, not a sarcastic one. I am seriously excited about this.
For some reason I've always been drawn to a Jane Fonda interview, because on the surface she seems like a strong, intelligent and 'together' woman and I expect her to have something inspirational to say and share, but she has made a career out of presenting herself this way when underneath she was, at least in the past, very insecure, passive and pathetic. I find her constant repetition of the same mistakes in relationships and bad life choices to be a real downer and I always come away from her interviews as extremely disappointed that it took her so long to finally learn something from her errors so late in life. Sad.
ReplyDeleteI've felt guilty and somewhat evil ever since posting this nasty comment. I've returned because I just felt the need to clarify that it bothers me that around the time Jane released her autobiography she was put on this pedestal as some kind of inspiraional figure by morning TV shows and Oprah, but really it's a rather depressing life story. I suppose it's a don't-make-the-same-mistakes-I-did kind of book, and that's no reason for idolisation.
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