Sooki lobe Oge: The Politics & Economics of Attention.
My mother understood the power of brevity and declining attention span long before I did. She always told me to avoid the need to shalaye because people have less time to listen to "dogo turenchi"(long grammar) because "sooki lobe oge." Although the woman seldom applies her rule to morning devotion, where she lays out her vision for her children and drops direct and indirect sub for all of us, I understood her point of view more as I studied fame/celebrities.
Economics of attention is not the only reasons advertiser spend a lot of money to capture people's focus, carefully selecting what they consider attractive or repulsive as their punch line. Sustaining attention and declining focus span is one reason I spend hours on class preparation. After I have settled on "the meat" of my lecture, my obsession is always with the presentation. How do I get people to see, hear, and focus in my classroom? How do I structure my lecture rhythm for a class of 2hrs without getting people to yawn and sleep on me? I have not fully mastered this, but I am constantly learning. One of my good friends once said I obsess too much about it. In her words, you are a scholar, not an entertainer. In a sense, she is right (a story for another day).
I laugh at people who say celebrity studies have no value. Or those who make questionable interpretive leaps about a subject that is deeper than they have focused on. They say celebrities don't win elections in Nigeria. Still, they continue to attract attention when put on the ballot paper for XYZ and other projects(ask your corporate organizations how much they pay endorsers, Ambassadors, and influencers, and your churches invite big-name artists). They say the choice of Nigerian artist Portable (Dr. Zeh) to lead the campaign is repulsive because of XYZ. Yet, the people who chose him are not stupid. It could be possible the purpose is to get you talking or that they know the people they want to appeal to don't wear suits and ties and all your other definitions of decency and respectability. it could be possible that people who will vote or ring elections don’t write long post like i do on social media and pontificate about political theories. None of these may be the answer, but it gives room to ponder. it is not about right or wrong it is understanding, motivation, choices, decision, intended outcomes or others
One rule I am trying to master as a budding scholar is to suspend judgment until I have exhausted all possible explanations. Even then, I don't always look for the answer in my research; sometimes, I seek comprehension. It is possibly one of the reasons Professor Saheed Aderinto cut off my recommendations from a paper he reviewed for me that year( now he is too busy to read. mentee don brekete, and he is a limited resource. I understand). I thought the man was crazy(please don't tag him). He said the direction for future research seems considerable and not recommendations. Who argues with a man with eight monographs(single-authored, edited volumes, and encyclopedia inclusive)? Not me!
In obedience to my mother's many saying Ololade Chapter one vs. two that Sooki loobe oge, I am ending this post.
Your celebrity scholar in training
Posted on Facebook on July 15, 2022
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