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Originally Posted by Master Live 013 |
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Yes, attention spans are shorter but there are still things that "stick". For example, that Depp/Heard trial had "its moment in the sun". And that was mainly about domestic violence (in no way, shape or form I'm trying to minimize domestic violence), not a double murder.
In general, nowadays duration of focus might be shorter, but the intensity can be much higher. Just the true-crime aspect of the OJ saga would be a behemoth (if we stipulate that they bungle the investigation as bad as they did in 1995 and not whatever improvements in procedure have occurred since). The amount of people that would literally descend over there to try to "solve" this would be unlike anything we have ever seen.
The amount of podcasts alone would rival large economies GDPs 
And imagine how the Mark Fuhrman twist would explode in today's scene. Plus the whole MAGA/liberal thingy doing their thing.
My problem trying to imagining it fully is that I didn't grow up during OJ's football career and then his transition as a movie star (I'm not even sure if "star" is the correct qualifier). Like, taking into context how different everything is today, how big of a figure was he really? Tom Brady big? LeBron big? Smaller as in Mike Trout big?
And I guess his movie career was more like John Cena's (but not as big as The Rock's?)? But outside of the Naked Gun I don't remember him in anything.
Plus there are conflicting reports of how "beloved" or like he actually was. Was he beloved like Shaq or The Rock? Or something more guarded as in Derek Jeter?
Google says that 96% of US households have a TV in this era. Let's say it was 99% in 1995, but Google also says that 97% of people in the US have cellphones. Not every particular member of a household in 1995 necessarily had a TV, but that is more likely with cellphones. The reach is more granular, more atomized.
Whatever, there are so many angles to this, and yes, this OJ saga has occupied some head space for me. One of those things that captured the imagination of a generation, like the JFK assassination (that's right, I compared it ), the sinking of the Titanic, Tupac & Biggie, Jimmy Hoffa or the Lindbergh Baby thingy.
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I was 22-23 during the OJ saga. Too young to remember his playing career (he retired in 1979), but he was omnipresent in TV commercials, even in Canada.
I'd say Shaq is the closest modern equivalent.
- Both had spectacular college careers, becoming well-known early on even to casual fans
- Both had iconic playing careers, but short of GOAT status (Shaq was better, a top 3-5 all-time center whereas OJ was a top 10 all-time RB)
- Both were consciously non-activists and had crossover appeal to white audiences; genial, somewhat goofy personas
- Both stayed in the public spotlight after their careers (commercials, broadcasting, dabbling in acting, etc.), but weren't really A-list celebs
- Both were distinctive-enough personas that most non-sports fans (like my mom) would know who OJ and Shaq were
Unless you were there, it's difficult to describe how much oxygen it consumed over the 16 months between the Bronco "chase" and the verdict. It was the crossover moment between traditional "hard" news and reality TV, tabloid TV, pundit panels, 24/7 coverage. The networks (particularly CNN) realized how much money there was to be made by continuously talking about the same salacious subject matter, over and over and over. More people watched the trial verdict live than any Super Bowl, before or since. (The numbers are comparable with the Apollo 11 moon landing, at least in the US.) It was inescapable.