The men gathered together on comftorable chairs, chatting in the middle of the mall actually reminded me of my church back home. I am assuming that at least some of those men were taking a moment to sit and relax while their wives shopped (that's what my dad does, anyhow). But anyways, at my church we have "work days" a few mornings a month. Women of the church gather in the basement in order to make quilts, diapers, health kits, and school kits for an organization called Lutheran World Relief while they talk with one another. Meanwhile, many of their husbands gather in the parlor to sit and talk and do Bible studies. For lunch, everyone gathers together for a potluck meal before going home. I've found work days to be very enjoyable, productive, and social. These men reminded me of the men sitting and talking in the parlor while their wives worked together, or in this case, shopped together. The mall has become a place of 'work' for the women and a place of fellowship and socialization for their husbands. (That's not to say that men never shop, this is just one observation I had today.) I found it interesting, as I had never thought of the mall in that way before.
My photo of the play area is interesting to me for two reasons. The first reason for my interest is because I come from a very small town with a practically non-existent mall (it literally has 2 places to eat, if you count ice cream as food) and it doesn't have any play areas, let alone a play area made of food! The second reason is because as I looked at it today, it reminded me of a church nursery. It's a place to enertain your kids so that hopefully you'll be able to stay at the mall a few hours longer. It made me wonder, how long will it be before the mall provides someone to watch your kids, like in church, so that you can even more fully focus on your shopping experience?
Nice observations, Katie. I have to say, the playground at Woodland Mall made of food-shaped objects has always stuck me as completely bizarre. "Honey, go climb on that waffle for a while ... and watch out for the pad of butter!"
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to consider how both the mall and church attempt to fill similar social roles, making them, to a certain extent, competition for one another.