Woodland Mall Awakening

Mall will never be the same place for me ever again. After doing the reading and watching the movie, I see the different faults and the elements that were talked about. For this weekend, I was able to take a trip to Woodland Mall and from the start, before I got into the building; I was able to notice something. There were multiple entrances to the mall. An individual could enter the mall from any door that they chose and wanted. I felt that this was trying to point out that the mall was welcoming everyone from everywhere. It did not matter where you came, the mall was welcoming. Pahl talked about how he was delighted to find a parking spot near the entrance. Maybe the malls purposely have multiple entrances so that the people feel “delighted” when they park near an entrance. This idea is pretty genius, makes the consumers happy and satisfied even before they enter the mall.  As I walked in through the double doors, the first thing I noticed was the lights. It was bright, now I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed it before but it was bright. Woodland Mall has this center where it is even brighter and there is Starbucks. What better way to warm up from this cold Michigan weather in the bright light and delicious hot coffee. I probably could have sat there with my friends for the whole day because it was that comfortable, in the mall!  Then as I was thinking in that bright center in the mall, I thought about Pahl. The Mall of America had an amusement park in the center and Woodland has a Starbucks. I probably could have spent the whole week at the Mall of America. The mall seems like a fun place to be and hang out. Knowing that we had a mission in mind and a post to upload, we went through the mall. I entered JC Penny and saw something about the way that the things were set up. First, the glass cases where it holds jewelry and accessories, it was bright. What might seem like a normal necklace, the bright light made it seem something out of the ordinary.  Another thing I noticed was that the aisles or the space between the clothes was very narrow. This only allowed one person at a time to look at the item. I believe this is so that the person is not interfered by outer influence and the decision to buy the item. Is it me or does the mall smell like heaven. When you get near the food court, you can smell the delicious food and when you walk into the different shops, you smell the perfume and the different fragrances. The mall is appealing to all five senses. In a mall you see the bright lights, hear the waters of the fountains, smell the food and fragrances fell the items, and eat the foods from the food court. Mall acts as one of the very few things that appeal to all the five senses. Maybe that is the reason why we come so often and can’t seem to stop coming. During my trip to the mall, I had actually planned to buy a pair of pants but chose not to. It made me feel like I was giving into the empire. I then thought about whether I really needed the pants or not but I really didn’t. I do have a pair of black pants but I just wanted another pair and I don’t know what made me think that I needed another pair. At that moment, I was scared that I was turning into the people that the big companies wanted. I was basically Rheanne, I wanted to buy something for no apparent reason. The mall competes for my loyalty like a church. Churches want people to come to the worships while the mall wants people to come and buy. I was ashamed of myself because I felt like I was putting more of an importance on buying than God. This trip to the mall helped me self evaluate me and what I put as more important. These ads may not seem to affect us but they do affect us in a way that we can’t detect it on our radar. There is a reason why these different companies bring in so many talented individuals to help create ads. In the movie persuader, the airline company, Song, was going overboard. They did not want people to just buy but to give their loyalty. What we might see as some simple ad and designs, the advertisers see it as a complex way of luring us into their trap. It’s amazing how I just slightly skim the top of consumerism and how much aware I become of my surroundings.