Linh's 1st journal

JOURNAL #1
The Late Show with David Letterman Interview of Oprah Winfrey

This is the first time I have watched a complete American talk show. Actually I do not like talk shows in my country much; yet this one really attracts me due to the excitement of both Dave, the host and Oprah, the guest. One characteristic of American talk shows I notice is that people talk like they are chatting in a very natural way, which makes the shows very exciting to watch. Another is that the role of hosts is so decisive to the success of the shows that they are considered as well-known actors or actresses and their names become the names of the shows. While Vietnamese talk shows attract different types of viewers by content or current issues, American talk shows distinguished themselves partly by the manner of hosts.

One more cultural aspect from the talk show I find interesting is the concern of people with media personalities. The relationships between famous people in my culture is nothing special to some of us while much attention of the public is paid to the feud between Dave and Oprah. Interestingly, Dave and Oprah’s personal matter would become widespread after the talk show though it was as normal as millions of others’. If we watch all three parts of the show we will realize how much attention American people pay to the first-time-after-16-year meeting between these two famous television characters.

I had not thought that talk shows could be attractive TV programs until I watched this talk show. That hundreds of people came to watch and listen to two people talking seems to be a strange thing to people from many other cultures because they are usually interested in live music shows or game shows, which are more vivid and exciting. The producers of this show know how to attract viewers by the deliberate preparation of music, stage and other facilities.

On the whole, the show is very exciting and worth watching. After enjoying the show, I think much of my future time will be spent on watching American talk shows on TV!