We are living in an era where it has become very easy for people to gain prominence. The social media has provided a handy ladder in elevating individuals to prominence.
Even the si l l i e st o f indulgences have earned some people a way up into the echelons of public figures. We have seen individuals, whose mental state can be debated on days till end, being disguised as comedians, actors and as it has become commonly known nowadays, content creators.
The term content creator is one will surely cost us heavily if the trends are anything to go by. It is unfortunate that anyone who gets the privilege of standing in front of a camera to spill any sort of garbage is easily passing for a content creator.
Whether what they fathom is within the acceptable moral and ethical standards, people seem not to care. We have become a society so obsessed in creating the next big star without any due considerations.
As such, people of all ages, from varied backgrounds and with different social orientations are now in the bracket of entertainers. For others, the elevation has been so rapid such that they have earned recognition at higher levels.
One such character is the little boy from Mulanje District, Mahempe, who recently won the Best Content Creator Award in the Maso Awards. What was supposed to be his night of glory, turned out to be the moment which exposed everything that he should not be.
In his youthful excitement or call it skewed orientation, Mahempe thought the platform had presented itself for him to earn new followers by throwing a joke (was it even?) that eventually turned out to be his huge unmaking.
His inferences on the country’s President Peter Mutharika were not only misplaced, but also tasteless. The degree of his misdeed has muddied everything the Maso Awards meant to represent.
In the aftermath of the awards presentation, talk has shifted on the little Mahempe instead of the awards themselves. In normal circumstances, people were supposed to be providing their thoughts on the event.
Where they got things wrong, how it can be improved and applauding them where they got things right. Such events are a continuous learning circle. The feedback prov i d ed by di f f e rent stakeholders is as crucial to the organisers more than the event itself.
Well, in his thinking and poor grooming, Mahempe decided to twist things his own way. There are probably many people who until that night did not know who Mahempe is. So, imagine that sour clip being the first interface with his content.
And largely, his management is all to blame for this debacle. Red carpet events come with such flight that even the most matured personalities cringe. Having the lights and camera on you is no easy thing.
Ishmael Lawrence, the self-confessed manager for Mahempe, should ask himself serious questions his role as someone’s manager regarding the moment the 10-year-old was nominated for the award, he was supposed to start grooming the boy in readiness for the occasion.
The traction the Mahempe brand has lost because of that blur may take long to be regained. And maybe even forever. The work they have been doing in building that brand was wholesomely watered down during that crazy moment.
All this because the manager failed to do the smallest of tasks he was supposed to do as Mahempe’s caretaker. That should be a lesson to everyone overseeing brand images. The work goes beyond posing together in hotel corridors. It requires strategic thinking as well.
Mahempe took the creative family into an all-time low because of his mis-indulgence and sadly it is a debacle that could have been avoided
