How to create an icon of pop culture? : a study based on the Internet biography of Oprah Winfrey

Klaudia Drzewiecka

How to create an icon of pop culture?

: a study based on the Internet

biography of Oprah Winfrey

Kultura i Polityka : zeszyty naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Europejskiej im. ks. Józefa Tischnera w Krakowie nr 10, 88-109

H O W T O CREATE AN ICON OF POP C U L T U R E ?-

A STUDY BASED ON THE INTERNET BIOGRAPHY

OF OPRAH W IN FR E Y

Abstract

By discovering th e u n iq u en ess of ea c h lite ra ry genre, people c a n b e tte r m e n ­ tally co m p re h e n d a n d a p p re c ia te w h a t th ey read . The overall goal of th is p a p e r is to u n co v er an d stress som e c h a ra c te ristic featu res of cre a tin g a n icon of p o p ­ u la r c u ltu re in th e v irtu a l w o rld of th e I n te rn e t b io g ra p h y o f O p ra h Winfrey. B ea rin g in m in d th e fu n c tio n a l aspects of lan g u ag e w e sh o u ld briefly o u tlin e th e linguistic, sociological a n d c u ltu ra l aspects im plied th o u g h n o t plainly expressed in th e o nline b io g rap h ies of th e A m erican icon m en tio n ed . The available sources u sed in this p re se n ta tio n a re w eb pages fo u n d w ith th e use of v ario u s se a rc h e n ­ gines. The analysis of th e collected d a ta is b a sed on 15 o n lin e b io g rap h ies ta k en fro m w eb sites hav in g re c o rd p o p u la rity ratin g s. W atching how a b io g ra p h y of O p rah W infrey is enjoying its p o p u la rity th ro u g h h u n d re d s of celeb rity p o rta ls c a n tell us a g re a t deal n o t only a b o u t how pow erful th e fu n ctio n al aspects of th e la n g u ag e a re b u t a b o u t how m u ch th e w o rld ’s c u ltu re is chan g in g . N eedless to s a y th e stu d y also covers h o w th e lin g u istic u n its a re c o m b in e d to la u n c h th e icon a n d c re a te h e r o n lin e reality.

Keywords

biography, pop cu ltu re, icon of pop c u ltu re

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1. Introduction

W atching how a b io g rap h y of O p rah W infrey is enjoying its p o p u ­ larity th ro u g h h u n d red s of celebrity p o rtals can tell us a g re a t deal not only ab o u t how pow erful th e functional aspects of th e language are but

+ K laudia D rzew iecka - a g ra d u a te of U niversity of S ilesia a n d U niversity o f E co n o m ics in

K atow ice. S he w o rk s o n g en re analysis w ith special a tte n tio n to d isco u rse analysis. H e r re s e a rc h a d ress es issues in tex t type, re g is te r a n d style re la tin g to rh e to ric u p ta k e a n d th e d esig n of ESR I n p a rticu la r, th e analy sis of d e sc rip tio n s of o n lin e p ro d u c ts fro m v a rio u s b ra n c h e s o f industry.

ab o u t how m u ch th e w o rld ’s c u ltu re is ch an g in g . H ow d id com plex societies develop? W hat cau sed th e m to chan ge o r collapse? W hat can p a s t societies tell us a b o u t o u r society a n d its fu tu re? In th e m o d e rn e ra th e p ath w a y to arriv in g a t a n an sw er begins w ith a key w o rd - th e In tern e t. It w o rk s as a collossal cy b ersp ace in fra s tru c tu re eq u ip p ed w ith info rm atio n w ith in re a c h in ju s t a few clicks of c o m p u ter m ouse. The overall goal of this p a p e r is to u n cov er a n d stress som e c h a ra c te r­ istic fe a tu re s of c re a tin g a n ico n of p o p u la r c u ltu re in th e v irtu a l w o rld of th e In te rn e t b io g rap h y of O p rah W infrey1. B earin g in m in d th e fu n c tio n al asp ects of la n g u ag e w e sh o u ld briefly o u tlin e th e lin ­ g u istic2, sociological a n d c u ltu ra l aspects im plied th o u g h n o t plainly expressed in th e online b io g rap h ies of th e A m erican icon m entioned.

1.2. Notion of biography and the Internet

W hen read in g a w ritte n o r p rin te d w o rk fo rm ed of pages, p e rh a p s one of th e m o st re m a rk ab le o rg an s in th e h u m a n body, th e b ra in n o t only collects d a ta o r facts b u t also h o u ses vivid a n d fo n d m em o ries (L in d g ren a n d B ym e 1971: 182-185). O u r v ig orous a n d d e term in e d attem p ts aim ed at b ro ad en in g know ledge com m ence w ith read in g the first w ord s of a book, article, w eb page. The m ass re a d e r is in terested in th e in fo rm atio n given in th e p ie ce of w ritte n w ork, he o r she does n o t d ire c t his o r h e r m in d to w a rd th e cam ouflaged focus existing b e ­ n e a th th e su rfa c e w h ic h a p p e a rs to b e th e w riter. H as th e re ce iv er ever th o u g h t w h ile read in g , w hy th e a u th o rs w rite? „To ask w hy w e w rite is also to ask w hy w e r e a d ” (S aran g i a n d C o u lth ard 2000: 1-28), th e re is no single answ er. People w rite b eca u se th ey have m any r e a ­ sons, b u t n o w ad ay s if y ou h av e a goo d re a s o n fo r w ritin g you can have a fa r-re ac h in g a n d p o w erfu l im p a c t on sh ap in g to d a y ’s society. S ta rtin g w ith c u n e ifo rm s c r ip t3 c irc a 3000 BC a n d en d in g w ith so ­ p h istic ate d tech no lo g ical advances, in n o vations in co m p u te r science,

1 The available so u rc es u se d in th is p re s e n ta tio n a re w eb p a g es fou n d w ith th e u se of v ario u s s e a rc h engines. In p a rtic u la r th e r e s e a rc h p ro c e ss w as c o n d u cted b y th e u se of sev e ral In te rn e t p a g es a n d s e a rc h engines: w w w .g o o g le .c o m ,w w w .y a h o o .co m ,w w w .b io g rap h y .co m . The an aly ­ sis of th e c o llected d a ta is b a s e d o n 15 o n lin e b io g ra p h ie s ta k e n fro m w e b sites h av in g re c o rd p o p u la rity ra tin g s.

2 The stu d y also covers h o w th e lin g u istic u n its a r e c o m b in e d to la u n c h th e ic o n a n d c re a te h e r o n lin e reality. We h av e u se d th e tex t a n aly ze r tool fo rm w w w .textanalyser.com to a n aly ze th e m o st freq u en tly o c c u rrin g lexem es in b io g rap h ie s. The m a te ria l ex am in ed c o n ta in s q u o ted ex­ a m p les fo rm th e a n aly zed b io g rap h ies.

3 The Living Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary o f the English Language, The E n g lish L an g u ag e In stitu te of A m erica, C hicago 1971, s. 246.

w ritin g h as p e rsiste d . H ow ever, c o n te m p o ra ry w o rld h as „slightly” chan ged its im age. No m a tte r w h a t tech n iq ue you apply one attrib u te is fixed - w ritin g is an act of d ocum enting. A lthough, different w riters u se d iffe re n t fo rm s of tra n s m ittin g th e ir w o rk s th e te x t itself does n o t tran sfo rm . The know ledge acq u ired fro m o u tstan d in g a rtistry of w ritten w o rd serves as a m eans of conveying ideas isibly constituting a g re a t p ro p o rtio n of th e angles c o n te n t eq u ated w ith cu ltu re. In th e 2 1 st c e n tu ry th o u g h ts, ideas, co n cep ts, h ypotheses, view p o in ts, a tti­ tudes, im ages etc. could b e freely u n e a rth e d by th e em erg en ce of th e In tern et.

In 1973 DARPA4 established a re se a rc h p ro g ra m to g en era te „com ­ m u n ic a tio n p r o to c o ls ” w h ic h u n q u e s tio n a b ly w o u ld lic e n se n e t­ w o rk ed co m p u ters to sh a re a n d exchange in fo rm atio n acro ss linked n etw o rk s. This p o in t in tim e h as c h a n g e d th e w h o le so cieties a n d th e ir access to know ledge, ed u catio n , a n d w isdom . Fifty y ears la te r th e In te rn e t links m o re th a n 100 co u n tries a n d it has flo u rish ed into a vast in terco n tin en ta l facility (C rystal 2001: 224, 242). S u ch p o w er­ ful au th o rity to exch an g e d a ta h as re su lte d in th e c re a tio n of m an y new, v irtu al societies along w ith lifestyles, custom s a n d p re d o m in a n t­ ly cu ltu res. R em arkably, th e Web em p o w ere d in d ividu als to c o n tro l th e ir info rm atio n , a n d to m ake in fo rm atio n p u b lic w ith o u t strin g e n t lim its. A p art fro m p h o to g ra p h s, p ic tu re s, an im atio n s, b a n n e rs w eb p ag es c o n ta in letters, w o rd s, sen ten ces, p a ra g ra p h s , texts c o n s titu t­ ing, la rg e r fo rm s - g e n re s (G rzen ia 2008: 150-178). It m ay b e a s ­ su m ed th a t th e In te rn e t serves as a so u rce of m a teria ls w h ich a p p e a r to have specific c h a ra c te ristic s in th e linguistic context. U ndeniably, th e c e n tra l ta sk of fu tu re a n d o rien ted linguistics is th e developm ent of m any new w eb genres. In th e long ru n , this ta sk w ill en su re th e d e ­ velopm ent of co m p u ter - oriented, m o d ern reality, using specific types of texts c re a te d by w eb developers a t any tim e. Presum ably, recen tly developed new g en res can b e invented a n d m o reo v er identified on th e basis of ag reed set of rules. All th e texts con stitu te se p a ra te categories of d isco u rse applying to every single k ind of h u m a n activity su ch as culture, religion, m edicine, sport, politics, business a n d m ultiplicity of others.

A b ro a d ex p lan atio n of th e te rm ‘b io g rap h y ’ is p ro v id ed in A Dic- tionajy of Literary Terms. It p o in ts th a t it is: „an a c c o u n t of a p e rso n ’s life (...) th e history of p a rtic u la r m en’s lives” (C uddon 1977: 78). To be

4 DARPA - The D efense A dvanced R e se arc h P ro jects Agency, a m ilita ry ag en cy estab lish ed b y th e U nited S ta te s D e p a rtm e n t of D efense in e arly 1970's in th e USA, it c o n d u c ts re s e ra c h in d a ta tra n s m is s io n technologies; w w w .defense.gov.

m o re p recise an In te rn e t b io g rap h y is of co u rse a n acc o u n t of so m e­ o n e ’s life w ritte n by a n o th e r p e rso n a n d av ailab le in a n o n lin e v e r­ sion. The E nglish te rm „biography” (The Living Webster Encyclopedic Dic­ tionary of the English Language 1971: 97) is co m p o sed of tw o elem ents. B oth o rig in ated fro m Greek: bios m eaning ‘th e m ode of life’ a n d graph- ia derived fro m graphein m ean in g „to w rite ”. Thus, th e te rm „in tern et” (New Oxford American Dictionary 2009) w as in v en ted in th e late 20th cen tu ry a n d consists also of tw o elem ents. The first elem en t is „in ter” m e an in g „m utual, re c ip ro c a l”, w h ile th e seco n d elem en t „n et” fo rm „netw ork” m eaning „a system of in terco n n ected m achines, co m puters etc. ” H aving p o rtra y e d th e history of th e g en re w e can d ra w one g en ­ era l conclusion: a u th o rs have b een w ritin g b io g rap h ies ab o u t figures w ho m ake an im p ressio n on societies, w ho affect th e c u ltu re of p a r ­ tic u la r perio d , w ho a re fam ous icons.

1.2.1. Characteristic types of biographies

We c o u ld c a rry on w ith giving m o re d efin itio n s fo rm d iffere n t so u rces, b u t th e re is n o t en o u g h sco p e fo r th a t. It is very c ru c ia l to em p h asize th a t som e so u rces like The Living Webster Encyclopedic Dic­ tionary o f the English language co n sid er b io g rap h y as a la rg e r „form of nonfictional literatu re, th e subject of w h ich is th e life of an individu­ a l”. A nother highly im p o rta n t issue is to p re se n t b asic types of b io g ra­ ph ies p a tte rn s existing in E nglish. O ne classification is b a se d on th e c rite ria p ro p o sed by The New Encyclopedia Britannica (1993: 186-187). T he list is b a sed on th e objectivity of a p p ro a c h th e exam ples reco g ­ nized by b io g rap h e rs c a n n o t be tre a te d as m odel sta n d ard izatio n s of classification sin ce no sta n d a rd classification of life w ritin g h as b een estab lish ed yet. B asing on th e classification developed by an A m eri­ can b io g ra p h e r Clifford (Leksykon Terminów Literackich 1972: 42-53) w e disting uish five categ o ries of biographies.

• O bjective b io g rap h y - p re se n ts a n acc o u n t of so m eo n e’s life w rit­ ten on th e basis of g ath ered pieces of inform ation, as m any as possible, th e a u th o r avoids in te rp re ta tio n a n d com m ents, p o rtray s th e sto ry of so m eo n e’s life in chro no lo g ical order;

• H istorical b io g rap h y - p resen ts a n acc o u n t of so m eo n e’s life w rit­ te n on th e b asis of evidences a n d facts, th e a u th o r does n o t use any fictional elem ents o r psychological sp eculations. The te ch n iq u e u sed applies selected events b ased on facts in ch ro n o lo gical order;

• A rtistic b io g rap h y - p resen ts an acc o u n t of so m eo n e’s life w ritten on th e basis of evidences a n d facts, th e a u th o r uses th e linguistic rich ­ ness of la n g u ag e th ro u g h m e an s of ex p ressio n . The lin g u istic fo rm

m ay cover dialogues, m onologues etc b u t th e text m u st b e relev an t to a u th en tic do cu m en ts o r o th e r b io g rap h ical sources;

• N a r r a tiv e b io g ra p h y - p r e s e n ts a n a c c o u n t of s o m e o n e ’s life w ritte n on th e b a sis of ex am in ed d o cu m en ts. It c a n b e d e p ic te d e.g in th e fo r’ i of a d ia lo g u e , ta k in g i7 to a c c o u n t im p e rm iss ib ility of fiction:

• F ictio n alized b io g ra o h y - p re s e n ts a n a c c o u n t of so m e o n e ’s life w ritte n on th e b asis of evidences a n d facts, b u t does go into details w h e th e r th ey a re accu rate, reliable, au th en tic. The m aterials a re em ­ b od ied in seco n d -h an d new s. If b io g rap h y has som e gaps th ey can be m eticulously filled in w ith fictional elem ents.

C o m p ared w ith ‘C lifford’s classification, The New Encyclopedia Bri­ tannica recognizes th e follow ing types of biographies:

• S ta n d a rd b iography - th e category depicts so m eon e’s life in a very faithful w ay rela tin g to th e m a in stre a m of b io g rap h ical literatu re;

• In form ative b io g rap h y - th e category is very objective in its form , facts a re p re se n te d in chro n o lo gical order;

• C ritical b io g rap h y - th e categ o ry em ploys a sch o larly form , facts a re p re se n te d in chro n o lo g ical o rd e r w ith th e a rt of selection a n d a r ­ ran gem en t;

• In terp re tativ e b io g rap h y - th e category involves subjective fo rm of w riting, facts a re reorganized, b u t th e au th o r does n ot crea te new m a ­ terials. The evidences a re g u id ed a n d m a n ip u lated by th e a u th o r w ith in terp retatio n ;

• F ictionalized - th e categ o ry involves th e invention, in te rp re ta tio n of evidences. S e c o n d a ry s o u rc e s a re re q u ire d to estab lish th e b io ­ g ra p h ic a l sch em e of w riting;

• F ictio n p re s e n te d as b io g ra p h y - th e categ o ry c re a te s a fictio n al fig u re a n d p re s e n ts th e c o u rse of life w h ic h fo rm s a n o u trig h t fic­ tio n.

The m ajority form s of h isto ric know ledge a n d th e p ic tu re of th o se tim es w e know is b ecau se of m o n u m en tal sculptures, an cien t tem ples, d eco ra te d pottery, re m a rk ab le artifacts a n d arch aeo lo g ical disco v er­ ies. Above all, b io g rap h ies a re o ne of th e b est so u rces reflecting th e m a n n ers of th e p a rtic u la r perio d . The fabled, fabulous, influential fig­ ures, as dep icted in th e sh o rt d escrip tio n of th e genre, a re all subjects of b io g ra p h ie s u su ally re s tric te d to lead in g p o litical, c u ltu ra l, re li­ gious elite a n d fam ous celebrities. In co n te m p o ra ry w o rld of th e In ­ te rn e t era, th e Web w rite rs striv e to p o rtra y so m eo n e’s life th ro u g h th e c o m p u ter screen.

2. Oprah Winfrey as an Icon

O ne could choose any n u m b e r of icons as em b lem atic re p re s e n ta ­ tions of th e values a n d sta n d a rd s em bedded in p o p u la r culture. O prah W infrey’s statu s as an icon guides th ro u g h discussions of VIPs, p o w ­ e r c o rre la tio n , g e n d e r roles, sen su ality a n d sexiness. Above all, th e ro le of e n te rta in m e n t as th e sta n d a rd of m o d e rn lifestyle. The m odel of analyzing th e so cio -cu ltu ral crea tio n of an icon in th e In te rn e t b i­ o g rap h ie s w h ich h as b e e n ch o sen as th e b asis fo r th is discu ssio n is generally b ased on th e w o rk of M ary F. R ogers Barbie Culture. Rogers claim s th a t th e cu ltu re of th e m o m en t is th e cu ltu re of th e West fo rm ­ ing its rich e n v iro n m en t fo r su ch fabrications’ as B arbie, it p ro m o tes qualities, sta n d ard s, opinions due to w h ich so m eth in g - a doll can b e ­ com e a n icon (R ogers 2003: 1-42). A ccording to th e The Cambridge English Dictionary w e u se th e te rm „icon” in referen c e to a p e rso n re ­ g a rd e d as a sym bol o r represen tative, in o u r re se a rc h p ro cess O p rah W infrey rep resen ts m any sym bols. As opposed to Jim F o rest’s th eo lo ­ gy ab o u t an icon exp ressed in th e fo rm of a p ain tin g o r p o rtray in g a holy figure (F o rest 2008: 11-17). F u rth e rm o re th e re s e a rc h p ro cess does n o t re fe r th e te rm „icon” to co m p u tin g a n d its ro le as a sym bol o r g rap h ic re p re se n ta tio n on th e com puter, video screen. We also opt n o t to tre a t th e icon as G rzegorczykow a (1995: 2 6 -76) states „a sign w h o se fo rm d irectly reflects th e th in g it signifies” fo rm th e linguistic ap p ro ach .

A lm ost every h u m a n being d ream s of a life ow erflew w ith p ro sp e r­ ity, luxury th a t fears destitution. Is it possible to have a w o rld w ith o u t im pecu n io usn ess o r n ever ending penu ry? I t’s a d re a m as old as h u ­ manity. S om e m ay ask: is it possible to have a w o rld w ith o u t culture? Is it tru e th a t a w o rld c a n n o t m a in ta in its existence w ith o u t suffering th e sam e w ay as it c a n n o t m a in ta in its ex isten ce w ith o u t cu ltu re? T h ere can b e m any questions asked a n d m any an sw ers found. Panem et circenses w ro te Juvenal circa 100 AD (E d g ar & Sedw ick 2008: 54-56, 134). This co n cep tu al u n it com posed of th re e w o rd s w as good enough to p la c a te th e m asses d u rin g b a rb aric, vicious g lad iato rs co n tests oc­ cu rrin g live in th e coliseum . S om e th e o retician s p ro cla im th a t this a n ­ cien t m e ta p h o r ind icates th e genesis of m ass cu ltu re ju s t like th e B ib­ lical sto ry of c re a tio n . S ociologists in v estig ate th e im p a c t of m ed ia icons on society, how p eo ple a re identifying w ith th e m a n d how far- re a c h in g is th e ir im age. F o r th e p u rp o s e of th is re s e a rc h p a p e r w e h av e googled th e n am e „O prah W infrey” a n d w e w e re n o t ta k e n by s u rp ris e to fin d o u t th e co lo ssal n u m b e r of e n trie s view ed: c irc a

9,060,0009. If th e re is any d o u b t ab o u t th e extent of O p ra h ’s in d u stry exposure in A m erican cu ltu re a n d a ro u n d th e w orld, th e statistics are overw helm ing. The am o u n ts of en tries fo und lead to several co n clu ­ sions a n d p ro v e how influential O p rah is, re g a rd e d as a sym bolic re p ­ resen tativ e of p o p u la r culture. The c u ltu re of th e 2 0 th cen tu ry is d e ­ fined by K loskow ska (1980: 4 -156) as a cu ltu re engaged in co m m erce so com m ercial cu ltu re b ased on th e g ro u n d s of p o p u la r taste. W infrey h as b eco m e th e tra d e m a rk fo r th e A m erican m e d ia in d u stry of all th e se fam ily-oriented en terp rises, b u t even m ore, sh e has b ecom e an icon. In h e r ico n ic statu s, w h a t lin g u istic th e m es o r issues does she rep re sen t? Am ong m an y possibilities, h e re a re th re e sam p le su gg es­ tions:

2.1. Oprah Winfrey as an icon of media ubiquity

T h ere is no do u b t th a t she can b e p o rtra y e d as a sym bol of u b iq u i­ ty. N ow adays it n eed s to b e re m e m b e re d th a t w h en you a re u b iq u i­ tous, o m n ip resen t you a re popular. E d g ar a n d Sedgw ick m en tio n th a t th e adjectives „m ass” a n d „ p o p u la r” a re stro n g ly d e te rm in e d by th e te rm s „cu ltu re”, „m edia”. This m u tu al relatio n sh ip is strongly asso ci­ a ted w ith m ass m ed ia „each d ep en d s on th e o th e r in an in tim ate col­ la b o ra tio n ” (S h u k er 1994: 4).

The d a ta an aly zed confirm s th a t in p o p u la r c u ltu re lexem es like „show, talk show, m edia, television” a re all im p o rta n t p a r t of existing as an icon in th e w o rld of m ass m arketing. By publicizing on th e la rg ­ est m ed ia ch an n e ls, feasibly m u lti-ex p o sure to th e O p ra h ’s figure is m axim ized. As th e m ass lau n ch in g suggests th e larg est au d ien ce p o s­ sible is req u ire d a n d th e b est w ay to achieve it is th e use of th e In te r­ net. P opularity is ce n tra l asp ect of p o p u la r cu ltu re a n d th e linguistic fo rm w h ich p o rtray s its p o w e r is th e n o u n „a sh o w ” m ean in g „a sp ec­ tacle o r display of som ething, typically an im pressive one o r a public e n te rta in m e n t, in p a r tic u la r a p ro g ra m on television o r ra d io ” (The Oxford English Dictionary 2009). The idea is to e n te rta in th e p u b lic by ap pealing to th e p eople a n d b ro ad c a stin g a good show.

W infrey’s p ro fe ssio n in c lu d es w o rk in g in „a telev isio n o r rad io show in w h ich vario u s to pics a re d iscussed inform ally a n d listeners, view ers, o r th e stu d io a u d ien ce a re invited to p a rtic ip a te in th e d is­ cussion” (The Oxford English Dictionary 2009). The results show th a t o u r online icon m u st be co nstan tly in th e cen tre of attentio n , w ith o u t this m ed iu m of m o d e rn b ro ad ca stin g W infrey could n o t re a c h h e r b ro a d audience. Thus, o ne m ay say it is b ecau se of h e r pro fessio n of being a ta lk sh o w host, new s anchor. H o w ev er th e p h ra s e „talk sh o w ” c o n ­

ta in s th e in fo rm atio n co n n ec ted w ith th e values of b ein g th e s ta r of th e silver screen.

O th er m o st p o p u la r w o rd s am ong th e to p w o rd s analysed a re „a host, a reporter, an a n c h o r”. All th e item s refer to th e m ain m eans of m ass co m m u n icatio n like television, u sed for tra n sm ittin g so u n d a n d visual im ages on screens. Furtherm ore „a host” together w ith „an anchor, a re p o rte r” express th e act of speaking on b eh alf of som eo n e in a fig­ urative sense chiefly used for rep resenting form s th a t a re derived from life of an artist, w o rk of art. W infrey is a n em cee of a television p r o ­ g ra m w ho p erfo rm s a n d e n te rtain s o th e r p eo p le as guests o r th e p u b ­ lic as a m a ster of cerem onies. S he is th e ce n tra l h ead of th e show, a t­ te n tio n is focused on h e r as being th e ho st in ch arg e of p erfo rm an ces. O ur c o n tem p o rary w o rld is rap id ly developing. It follows th a t th e p a c e of scientific, technological, social p ro g ress ten d s to be speeding up continuously. W infrey is fo rced to live in th e w o rld of m edia, after all she could no t have b een such an iconic figure w ith o u t th e existence of m edia. In th e 1920s w e have w itn essed th e first g rad u al signs of th e rise of n atio n a l rad io netw orks, m ass a n d w ide circu latio n of new sp a­ p ers (Fairclough 1995: 44-48). Today, 90 years later, th e scope of th e te rm „m ed ia” also covers high-definition, d ig ital television, a n d th e w ireless, in te rn a tio n a l In tern et. In p ractice, th e te rm „m edia” acts as a collective noun, it can tak e e ith e r a sin g u la r o r a p lu ra l verb (for ex­ am ple „staff”). In th e collective sense th e lexem e „m edia” covers such sp h e re s as: th e p ress, rad io , televisio n a n d th e In te rn e t all to g e th e r collectively (The Oxford English Dictionary 2009). A lthough it m u st be ad m itte d th a t th e w o rd „m edia” is d erived fro m L atin p lu ra l fo rm of medium a n d ta k in g into a c c o u n t th e tra d itio n a l view it sh o u ld b e re ­ g a rd e d as a p lu ra l n o u n a n d th e re fo re b e u sed w ith a p lu ra l ra th e r th a n a sin g u la r verb. In reality it is acceptable in s ta n d a rd E nglish for th e n o u n „m ed ia” to ta k e e ith e r a sin g u la r o r a p lu ra l verb. S trictly speaking, o u r analysis p rov e th a t a u th o rs use „m edia” w ith a sin g u la r verb m o re frequently. M oreover „m edia” is u sed as a m ass n o u n „the m e d ia ” e.g „the m ed ia w as o v erre ac tin g ” (The Oxford English Dictionary 2009).

The last b a sic lexical u n it th a t obviously n eeds to b e d iscu ssed is th e n o u n „ c a re e r”. For th e p u rp o se of th is re se a rc h it o u ght to b e d e­ p ic ted w ith a n o th e r lexeme, w h ich have ju s t b een d iscussed in p a rtic ­ u la r „m edia”. B etw een th e tw o te rm s „m edia” a n d „ ca reer” lies a plain a n d visible lay er of m ediation. No one sh o u ld arg u e th a t O p ra h ’s b ril­ lia n t c a re e r has b e e n c a rv e d o u t th ro u g h m e d ia ex p an sio n . In th e g la m o ro u s w o rld of celeb rities „ c a re e r’ is in d isp en sab le, a n d ab so ­ lutely desirable. In th e sense of p o p u la r cu ltu re w e use th e w o rd to re ­

fe r to th e c o u rse of life to g e th e r w ith th e p e rs o n ’s o ccu p a tio n , life stages, rem a rk ab le p erio d s of th a t p erso n ’s life. The ad v en t of m edia co m m u n ica tio n has largely in fluenced th e access to m ass aud ien ce. „ C are er” is b a s e d on L atin w o rd carrus m e an in g „w heeled v eh icle”. You can re a c h th e larg e a u d ien ce w h en you have th e rig h t m ean s to do it. The origins of th e w o rd „ c a re e r” a re ro o ted in th e 16th cen tu ry you w e re th e m a ste r of th e w o rld if you h a d a w h eeled vehicle like h o rse a n d c a rt w h ich could tra n s p o rt th in g s to places o r help at ru ra l w o rk s {The Oxford English Dictionary 2009).

Table 1. Top words and their frequency of occurrence, source - lexemes found in the Internet biographies 96 Word Occurrences a show 144 a talk show 44 a host 41 television 39 an anchor 20 media 18 a career 12 a reporter 10

The a u th o rs of all 15 b io g rap h ies u se th e te rm s w h ich all apply to p o p u la r cu ltu re. The aim of m ass co m m u n icatio n is to re a c h th e la rg ­ est au d ien ce possible, n o tw ith stan d in g , m ass co m m u n icatio n has r e ­ sulted in c reatin g m ass societies strongly susceptible to th e im p act of m o d e rn innovations nam ely th e In tern et. The high frequency of usage of all th e w o rd s co n n ec ted w ith m ass m edia, p o p u la r cu ltu re proves th a t th e ico n ic O p rah W infrey m u st b e d isplayed on th e screen , a n d m u st b e existing in th e cyberspace a n d th e re fo re sh e is read ily reco g ­ nized. To som e extent all th e m ed ia lexem es view som e k in d of ad v er­ tising to em phasize how prestigious, distinguished th e figure of O prah is. H ow far-reac h in g is h e r im ag e a n d u b iq u ito u s am on g th e TV, r a ­ dio, a n d w eb netw ork.

2.2. Oprah Winfrey as an icon of distinction

The function of discourse in sociological studies is based on em pirical q u alities of actu al, re a l ex perien ces of a specific so cial class, gro u p . The c u ltu re of th e m o m en t is som ew ay in c o rp o ra te d in O p ra h ’s life story. The su b ject of th e b io g rap h y is its a u th o r w ho reflects O p ra h ’s life th ro u g h th e sp ectru m of distinctive attribu tes of m oral values of an av erage A frican A m erican fam ily a n d th e ir c u ltu ral stereotypes n o ted in th e social m em ory (E d g ar a n d S edgw ick 2008: 86-125). This type of b io g rap h y has m u ch to offer for th e m o d e rn re a d e r a n d sociologist. The a u th o r is n o t developing th e figu re of O p rah , he is q u ite in s tru ­ m ental in shaping the overall idea of a person. The biographies exam ined co n tain cu ltu ral d ata defining a large seg m en t of th e p op u lation , th e ir am b itio n s, fan ta sies, a n d goals. The a u th o r refers to se c o n d -h a n d sources websites, books, interviews, an d all th e suppressed details being u sed fall in w ith th e b ro a d th e m e w h ich he w ishes to convey. S ociol­ ogists a re in te re ste d in th e fu n ctio n in g of h u m a n society, th ey study so cial p ro b lem s, to clarify, th ey d esig n o v erall sch em es of b eh av io r applied to a given culture. They look at th e social m odels of behavior and social tren d s. N ow adays th e excellence th a t sets a p erso n a p a rt fro m o th ers is stron g ly desired, ju s t like th e p erso n ality of O p rah Winfrey. She is a p erfect rep resen tativ e of a w o m an w ho is brilliant, p e rsp ic a ­ cious, discern ing a m odel of omnia praeclara rara (D ubinski 2005: 426).

The m ost frequent types of w ords describing psychical features, such as personality, found in th e exam ined m a teria l a re descriptive a n d de- scrip tiv e-ev aluativ e lexem es. Adjectives d escrib in g c h a ra c te r den o te O p ra h ’s in tellig en ce, h e r n a tu ra l ability to a c q u ire k n o w led g e a n d skills, they all refer to h e r ta le n t of being a ch arism atic talk show host.

Table 2. Top words and their frequency of occurrence, source - lexemes found in the Inter­ net biographies Word Occurrences gifted 4 excellent 3 smart 2 quick-witted 1 talented 1

The authors of O p rah ’s biographies prefer to use expressions ch arac­ teristic of m oral values in o rder to show how sympathetic, kind and loyal she is to w ard s o th e r people. Those adjectives crea te a sym bol of good­ ness revealing O p rah as th e v irtu e of high m o ral stan d ard s, a k in d of m o ral excellence w h ich is an exam ple to follow for m an y people. An exam ple w h ich is in th e m in o rity of c o n tem p o rary social behaviors.

Table 3. Top words and their frequency of occurrence, source - lexemes found in the Inter­ net biographies

honest 1

devoted 1

warm-hearted 1

W hile it is tru e th a t term s associated w ith intellectual capacity an d reasoning are not so frequent, they cannot be omitted. The reason for this is th e fact th a t an av erage In te rn e t u se r co n sid ers O p ra h ’s p sychical possibilities a n d virtues as m orally d esirab le in a person . R ationality as co m m o n sense, astu ten ess as th e ability to acc u rately u n d e rs ta n d a b stra c t o r acad em ic m atters, situ atio n s an d tu rn th is to o n e’s ad v an ­ tage. B esides h e r artistic flair expressed in lexem es „gifted, ta le n te d ” p ro v es th a t sh e is a n ex am p le of „the s o m e th in g ” w h ich is sp ecial. Those adjectives a ttra c t th e atten tio n of hypothetical fans, read e rs etc.

The creation of an icon is mostly discussed via adjectives. Nonetheless th e excellence, g reatn ess, p re e m in e n c e is stro n g ly n u m ero u sly d em ­ o n stra te d in th e p ro p e rtie s of th e adjective in th e ir su p erlativ e form .

Table 4. Top words and frequency of usage, source - lexemes found in the Internet biogra­ phies Word Occurrences the best 16 the most 9 the highest 5 the wealthiest 4 the richest 3

The su p erlativ e fo rm of an adjective in d icates its h igh est d egree of th e quality th a t a given th in g o r a p e rso n possesses. It is m ainly used to em p h asize how g re a t so m eth in g is in positive o r negative aspect. W hen rea d in g th e b io g rap h ies w e a re stru c k by th e u sag e of th e s u ­ p e rla tiv e fo rm of th e ad jective „good”. The a u th o rs d istin g u ish th e p e rs o n of O p ra h fo rm o th e r p eo p le, c e le b ritie s by in d ic a tin g a n d stro n g ly em p h asizin g h e r ability of b ein g th e b est in ev erything she does. L et’s ta k e a closer look a t th e superlative of „many, m u c h ” p o in t­ ing o u t how g re a t th e given q u ality is w ith th e g re a tn e ss in a m o u n t a n d degree. In th e sam e w ay em p h asizin g th e m ajority of som ething as o ccu rrin g in th e g re a t n u m b e r e.g.

• „the rich e st w om en ”;

• „the h ig h est-rated p ro g ra m ”; • „cou ntry ’s w ealth iest w o m en”; • „the h ig h est-rated sh o w ”; • „m ost influential w o m en”;

• „Em m y A w ard for b est daytim e talk show h o st”; • „For th e b est su p p o rtin g a c tre ss”;

• „The m ost successful fem ale ta lk show h o st”.

As o pposed to c a rd in a l n u m b e r „one” w e follow very high freq u en ­ cy of u sage of th e o rd in al n u m b e r „the first” tak in g th e m ean in g „nev­ e r previously do n e o r o c c u rrin g ” (The Oxford English Dictionary 2009). W hat is m o re in d icating th e o rd e r in a sense „the e a rlie st”.

Table 5. Top words and frequency of usage, source - lexemes found in the Internet biographies

Word Occurrences

the first 37

L a te r a n d only a t th e b eg in n in g of th e 1970s, if w e a re ta lk in g of m a jo r m o v em en ts in m e d ia industry, cam e th e g re a t b o o m of ta lk show s. O p rah w as n o t one of m any objects w h ich w ere ap p ea rin g on TV, sh e an ch o re d for WTVF-TV statio n in N ashville, com ing before all o th e r A frican-A m erican new s ancho rs, she arriv e d to becom e th e first d ark -sk in n ed , fem ale p resen ter. Follow ing y ears of h e r c a re e r illu s­ tr a te O p rah as b ein g th e p io n e e r in h e r p ro fessio n al life, m o reo v e r she constantly holds to be forem ost in position, rank, im p o rtan ce. H er n atu ral, en tre p re n e u ria l flair leads h e r to coexist w ith everything co n ­ sid ered to b e th e first o cc u rren c e of som ething no tab le e.g.

• „The first fem ale A frican-A m erican new s a n c h o r”; • „The first b lack A frican-A m erican w o m an ”;

• „The first A frican-A m erican h o st”; • „The first w o m an in th e h isto ry ”; • „in its first o u tstan d in g d irectio n ”; • „H er first speaking p a r t”;

• „The first stro k e of good lu ck ”; • „first p la ce in th e ra tin g s”;

• „O prah’s first tim e ap p e a rin g as a n c h o r”.

The next item on th e list w h ich sh o u ld be d iscussed is th e re g u la r expression „one o f” d en oting a p a rtic u la r qu ality of a g ro u p of p eople having sim ilar ch ara cteristics (The Oxford English Dictionary 2009). The expression w orks as a p a tte rn , a kind of strin g for d escribing th e p a t­ te rn . The p h ra s e deals w ith O p ra h ’s excellence, fam e, re p u ta tio n in th e sp irit of th e p o p u la r cu ltu re icon being still evident.

Table 6. Top words and frequency of usage, source - lexemes found in the Internet biogra­ phies

100

Word Occurrences

one of 20

The authors direct th e read er tow ards icon’s rarity, h er quality of being ra re is distinguished very often thro u g h th e p h rase „one o f” O prah has p a rtic u la r value reco g n ized as o u t of ordinary, u n u sual, u n iq u e e.g.

• „one of th e m o st successful (...)”; • „one of th e w ealth iest w o m en ”;

• „one of th e 100 m ost influential p eo p le”; • „one of th e m o st influential p eo p le ”; • „one of th e p a rtn e r s ”;

• „one of th e rich e st w o m en ”;

• „one of th e m o st resp ected a n d ad m ired pu b lic fig u res”; • „One of th e The M ost A dm ired W om en”.

It is one of th e aim s of th e a u th o rs of In te rn e t b io g rap h ies to p r e ­ se n t th e p erso n ’s life in its co u rse to g e th e r w ith th e p e rio d of tim e he, she lives in. In 1970’s th e g en era l utility The Boeing 747 e n tered co m ­ m e rc ia l serv ice fo r cu sto m ers of Pan A m erican Airw ays. It w as th e tim e w h en so m ething „new ” as th e w o rld ’s first „jumbo je t” w as tr e a t­ ed w ith deep, g en uin e ad m iratio n . O p rah w as flourishing to b e on top in h e r leading, d o m in an t p osition in TV industry. We u se th e adjective ‘to p ’ to fo rm o th e r co m p o u n d adjectives to describ e th e m ost fam ous,

sign ificant figures in a p a rtic u la r a re a of activity o r w o rk in hig h est degree, ra n k o r position.

Table 7. Top words and frequency of usage, source - lexemes found in the Internet biogra­ phies

Word Occurrences

top-rated 8

top-most 3

• „ to p -rate d sh o w ”;

• „top-rated daytim e talk sh o w ”; • „top-m ost a c tre ss”.

F or m o re th a n 20 years O p ra h ’s show s have b een co n sid ered to be th e m ost successful, reac h in g th e hig h est reco rd s of au d ien ce ratin g s in th e USA. S om e m iscellan eo u s exam ples „138 statio n s in th e USA b o u g h t th e O p ra h ’s talk show, th e show has b een sy n d icated to m o re th a n 50 co u n tries by King World, th e show ro se to n u m b e r one in th e ratin g s w ith in a m o n th ” (O prah 2012).

2.3. Oprah Winfrey as an icon of an inescapable power

O p ra h ’s life has offered a sh a re d p o in t of referen ce for m em b ers of A m erican society, she is n o t only w idely recognized, she in sp ires keen interest an d g reat dedication, if not obsession. B ut not necessarily about h e r beauty, body, h e r as a p hysical h u m a n being. The so rt of obsession or even addiction to h er cu rren t life, th e life of a prosperous celebrity and „a pow erful force in th e w o rld of day-tim e television in 2003”. She has b eco m e a p a r t of th e w o rld ’s cu ltu re. W hite arg u es th a t a sym bol is a th in g w h ic h h as go t v alu e o r m ean in g given by th o se w ho u se th e th in g . Taking into c o n s id e ra tio n th o s e tw o p o in ts of view w e m ay co m p are O p rah to th e real living h u m a n as being th e th in g a n d h av­ ing th e m o n etary value, a n d on th e o th e r side she can exist as a figure, so a kind of m ean in g w h ich is ap p lied to h e r by th e people in general.

Let us co n sid er how th e life of O p rah W infrey p o rtray s th e lifelong, u to p ia n d re a m of beco m in g a ro le m o d el a n d being fabulously rich. The q uestion arises how does th e icon of p o p cu ltu re affect co n tem p o ­ ra ry so cieties a n d th e ir w ay of p erceiv in g th e e n v iro n m en t th ey live in? T here is no d o u b t th a t A m erica has go m any c u ltu ra l icons an ex­ am ple is th e figure of M ichael Jack so n o r M arlin M onroe. The fact of

102

b e c o m in g fam o u s does n o t m ak e th e p e rs o n a n icon. It c o u ld b e view ed, to som e extent, as a n extrem ely im p o rta n t fa c to r lead in g to h aving a m ass a p p e a l to p eo p le of all ages. The In te rn e t b io g rap h y serves as a n en o rm o u s cu ltu ral force illu stratin g th e ch arism atic d is­ tin c tiv en ess, in d iv id u ality of p a r tic u la r c u ltu re . O p ra h is a p e rs o n w h ic h is a re p re s e n ta tiv e of specific c u ltu re - th e c u ltu re of Afro- A m ericans in h ab itin g th e te rrito rie s of th e USA. O p rah to g e th er w ith m any o th e r celebrities has given rise to th e nearly sim u ltan eo us em er­ gence of th e In te rn e t biography.

T h orstein B un d e Veblen’s w riting s stress how fatal, d isastro u s th e p r o d u c tio n fo r p ro fit is. E v en th o u g h O p r a h ’s c a p a c ity to affect stro n g ly th e em otion s o r in tellect of h e r au d ien ce, it is clearly seen th a t h e r figure is aim in g at yielding su b sta n tia l profit. Velben’s c o n ­ spicuo u s co n su m p tio n proves th a t you a re w h a t you have - m ateria l g o o ds im p re ss o th e rs. P eo p le te n d to d is p a s s io n a te ly c o lle c t a n d w eigh th e ir goods.

The icon of consum erism , m aterialism m akes use of ow nership, an d considers m ateria l possessions as m o re valuable th a n sp iritu al values. All exam ined bio g rap hies p rove th a t th e adjective „own” is ineluctable since it reflects to all th e th in gs th e icon possesses. M aterial goods an d th e icon’s life a re closely in terrela ted . This idea is all ab o u t th e so m e­ th in g w h ich belongs o r relates to th e p erso n u n d e r co n sideration.

Looking how constantly is grow ing O prah’s financial em pire w e draw con clusion th a t pro g ress, success a re th e h ig hest values in life. O p rah ow ns h e r em pire, everything sh e h as is h e r own, to su ch extent th a t it h as in c re ased to fo rm an em pire. The u sag e of th e w o rd p ic tu rin g th e h ig hest fin an cial statu s confirm s how p o w erfu l O p ra h ’s figure is. The lexem es „own, em p ire m ed ia m a g n a te ” evinces th e d o ctrin e of m a te ­ rialism . M any studies found th e p o em The Nature of Things,w ritten by R om an p o et L ucretius, as th e genesis of m ateria lism a n d its p h ilo so ­ phy. The following exam ples show how m u ch holds O p rah as an icon:

Table 8. Top words and their frequency of occurrence, source - lexemes found in the Inter­ net biographies

Word Occurrences

own 25

empire 10

• „own stu d io ”;

• „own p ro d u ctio n co m p an y ”;

• „own talk sh o w ”;

• „own book clu b ”;

• „own sch o o l”;

• „m edia em p ire ”;

• „talk show e m p ire ”;

• „m edia m a g n a te ”.

The lexical item s u sed in b io g rap h ies p rove th a t O p rah is a p erfect exam ple of how m a teria l goods give th e m ean s of g en eratin g th e self id e n tity e n h a n c in g in te rp e rs o n a l re la tio n sh ip s. T h ere is a link b e ­ tw een th e icon’s finan cial em p ire a n d h e r identity. She alw ays w an ts to re a c h th e top, gain pow er, money, larg e n o t to say th e biggest au d i­ ence. The to p w o rd s fo u n d re fe r to ability of co m pleting so m eth in g successfully in o rd e r to have som ething in o n e’s possession o r co n tro l by force. The force th a t is visible is O p ra h ’s ap titu d e w h ich allow s h e r to defeat every little b u m p on h e r road, a kind of act of assum ing w h at you w ant.

Table 9. Top words and their frequency of occurrence, source - lexemes found in the Inter­ net biographies Word Occurrences to achieve 6 to take over 3 to accomplish 3 to beat 2 to capture 2 to overcome 2 to pursue 1

In th is day a n d age sociologists a n d an th ro p o lo g ists affirm th a t c u ltu re can b e identified w ith re g a rd to qualitative an d descriptive a p ­ p ro ach . The qualitative p o in t of view depicts th e evaluation of individ­ u al com m unity. Consequently, w e distin g u ish b e tte r a n d w orse, low er

a n d upper, m o re o r less civilized ju d g m en ts. All th is can b e ap p lied to th e life of th e A m erica’s icon d escrib ed in th is paper. H er life in p a r ­ tic u la r w as extrem ely full of h ard sh ip to b ecom e in th e m iddle of h e r tw en ties q u ite w ealth y to jo in th e affluent a n d b eco m e a p a r t uf th e A m erican cream : O p rah W in c e y ro se fro n p o v erty a n d a tro u b le d y o u th to b ecom e th e m o st p o w erfu l a n d influential w o m an in telev i­ sion and, acco rd in g to Forbes M agazine, th e w o rld ’s m ost highly p aid e n te rta in e r ” (O p rah 2012). The analysis of th e m a te ria l dep icts th a t b eco m in g a n icon re q u ire s going fro m th e p o o r to th e rich . The r e ­ ceivers often strongly w ish, desire th e icon to com e th ro u g h th is state of being an average, n o rm al m e m b er of th e society a n d la ter becom e th e co m p o n en t of th e tycoon society N eedless to say O p rah has gone successfu lly th ro u g h th is ex trem ely difficult stag e full of o bstacles, b a rrie rs to evolve into m a tu re talk show host. As jo u rn alists describ e h e r „sh e w a s p o o r, b la c k ... a n d n o w s h e o w n s h e r o w n ta lk sh o w ”(O p rah 2012).

W ho w ould have ever th o u g h t th a t such p erso n could be th e symbol of glorification for millions of people aro u n d th e world. The icon’s career m u st m ove fo rw ard w ith o u t stopping h e r life, ch arm . H er resh aping, tra n s fo rm a tio n of life is p ic tu re d w ith th e u se of v erb s in d ic a tin g m ovem ent, a n act of chan g in g som eth in g in all sp h eres of h e r life.

Table 10. Top words and their frequency of occurrence, source - lexemes found in the Internet biographies Word Occurrences to become to inch ahead to take off to start to lead to to attract

O p rah has alw ays b een crea tin g h erself to b e a p erfect housew ife a n d a n ideal com panion. In o rd e r to do th a t one needs to b e co n sta n t­ ly on th e go b ein g able to show th e w ay to a d estin atio n by going in fro n t of som eo ne ju s t like sh e does d u rin g h e r talk shows.

3. Summary

The lan g u ag e u sed in o rd e r to d ep ict th e life of an icon of p o p u la r c u ltu re is cu ltu rew ide. It is w o rth y of critical reflection - th e u to p ian p ack ag e th e lan gu ag e item s deliver a re alm o st in cessan tly rem in ding us of th e p rin c ip le th a lan g u ag e sh ap es peor le a n d reflects people. W h atev er th e criticism s, lan g u ag e could no t exist w ith o u t cu ltu re an d th e o th e r way. B etw een th e tw o lies a cru cial layer of m ediation. The seem ing sim plicity of lang u age belies th e eno rm ously com plex ong o ­ ing o p eratio ns of th e m ind, people speak a n d talk, do things, w ork. In ­ te rn e t bio g rap h e rs depict th e ch ara c teristic sp irit of th e A m erican cul­ tu re in th e b io g rap h ies analyzed in th is paper. We have to u n d e rsta n d w hy so m any O p rah fans w atc h her, listen to h e r a n d w rite to her. B i­ o g rap h e rs a re co n c e rn ed ab o u t th e influence th e lan g u ag e has on th e read ers. Indeed, in tention ally en co d ed essence on o u r u n d erstan d in g a n d p e rso n a l life. The qu estio n arises - w hy do A m ericans love O p rah W infrey? W hen re ad in g th e In te rn e t b io g ra p h ie s w e a re faced w ith th is im age of how th e In te rn e t b io g rap h y sh ou ld look like. The vocab ­ u lary item s sh o u ld b e u sed in su ch a w ay so th e re a d e rs can im agine th e p e rso n no t only physically b u t also th e spirit, th e w ay of life. The a u th o r’s ta sk is to lead th e re a d e r th ro u g h th e icon’s u n u su a l life. The b io g ra p h ie s 5 sh o w th a t O p ra h is o n e of th e A m erican p eo p le, w as a sim ple ch ild of tw o te en ag e rs w ho could n o t cope w ith th e ir every­ day life. H ow does she to u c h a c h o rd w ith so m any people? It is b e ­ cause th e In te rn e t b io g rap h ers rep resen t,w ith th e use of lexical items, th e icon’s experience m any p eople y earn for. Every language serves as a very elastic m a teria l sto rin g a n d reflecting h isto rical experiences of com m un ity u sers in th e p ro cess they p a rtic ip a te in. The p ro cess p o s­ sesses its effect in th e form of a linguistic p o rtra it of th e w o rld defined by Tokarski as „a collection of reg u larities em b ed d ed in th e g ra m m a t­ ical c o rrela tio n s (inflection, w o rd -fo rm atio n , syntax) specific w ay of p erceiving th e w orld, its com ponents, hierarchy, a n d values accep ted by th e linguistic co m m u n ity ” (Kuligowski 2002: 5-8). The lan g u ag e of th e In te rn e t b io g rap h ies is in so m ew ay deeply ro o ted in th e life a n d c u ltu re of th e icon described.

Today, th e lan g u ag e of th e In te rn e t b io g rap h y does n o t only fu n c­ tio n as a d e liv e re r of e n te rta in m e n t b u t also as a c o m p e n sa tio n a l 5 In th e re s e a rc h p a p e r 15 b io g ra p h ie s w e re ex am in ed . E v ery b io g ra p h y w a s a n aly ze d on th e b asis of th e lin g u istic fe atu res o c c u rrin g in its co n ten ts. All b io g ra p h ie s a re divided in to sec­ tions: child h o o d , tee n a g e life, c areer, adolescence. A uthors u se d ifferen t titles fo r n a m in g th e p e ­ rio d s of O p ra h 's life, b u t b a sica lly th e tex t itself is a b o u t th e m en tio n e d p e rio d s. All p e rio d s a re in c h ro n o lo g ic a l fra m e w o rk fo r th e ev en ts o f ic o n s life. C h ro n o lo g ical o r d e r h e lp s to u n d e r ­ sta n d th e seq u en ce s of d a te s, ex p erien ce s tak in g p lac e in O p ra h 's life.

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so u rce of experiences, ch an ces to b ecom e a p a r t of alternative, differ­ ent, happier, a n d a sim p ler w orld. It is th e lan g u ag e th a t releases th e icon of p o p u la r c u ltu re into th e re a l w orld, a n d invites th e icon into th e In te rn e t u se rs’ eyes. The global com ing o u t of an icon is possible th a n k s to d elib erate o r som etim es acc id en tal lan g u ag e use.

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K lau d ia D rzew ieck a (ur. 1982) - a b s o lw e n tk a U n iw e rs y te tu Ś lą sk ie g o

w K ato w icach , gdzie u zy sk ała tytuł m a g is tra filologii angielskiej. D o k to ran tk a w Z akładzie Angielskiego Języka B iznesu US. Jej z a in tereso w an ia nau k o w e obej­ m u ją języki specjalistyczne: język b iznesu, język techniczno-inform atyczny, k o ­ m u n ik ację językow ą w In tern ec ie.

Streszczenie

Ja k stw orzyć ikonę popkultury? - b a d a n ie o p a rte n a pod staw ie internetow ych biografii O p rah W infrey

W powyższy! 11 artykule podjęto p ró b ę z b a d a n ia zjaw iska ikony p o p k u ltu ry n a przykładzie internetow ych biografii am erykańskiej gwiazdy O prah Winfrey. Celem artykułu jest p ró b a odpow iedzi n a pytanie: za p o m o cą jakich środków językowych m o ż n a w ykreow ać ikonę popkultury? O kreślenie m iejsca biografii w stru k tu rz e tek stu o ra z p rz e d staw ien ie pew nej h ie ra rc h ii czynników składających się n a jej w zo rzec u k a z u ją ch arak tery sty czn e cechy p o zw alające n a stw o rzen ie ikony p o ­ pkultury. P rzean alizo w an e biografie u ja w n ia ją w iele językow ych sposobów n a jej in teresu jąc e i efektow ne w ykreow anie.

Słowa kluczowe

biografia, k u ltu ra p o p u la rn a , ik o n a p o p k u ltu ry