Woodland Mall: The New Religion

When waking through Woodland Mall,Saturday evening, on my own, I felt like I was literally in Jon Pahl's third chapter of "The Shopping Mall as "Stairway to Heaven," Leading Nowhere. I felt as if I were a pilgrim, walking through a busy city for the first time. Everything grabbed my attention;the lighting, the sale signs, the fake plants, everything was strategically placed to grab the visitors attention. I decided to take a quick visit to my favorite store, Charlette Rousse. The giant sale sign on the window caught my eye before I even entered the store. A greeter, who just so happened to be my friend, told me of all the sales and deals around the store. I purposely did not bring any money, because I knew I would be tempted to buy something. Some signs I noticed were deceiving; a sign would read "30% OFF", with a small, hardly noticeable note, "with a purchase of $50 or more." I noticed how items were placed by the register ,so you could be possibly convinced to buy one last thing to complete your purchase. After leaving the store, I sat in the comfortable chairs by Barnes and Noble. Again, one small and strategically placed item to welcome visitors and make them feel comfortable. I noticed groups of friends, families, mothers with their babies, all types of people enjoying what Woodland Mall had in store (no pun intended.) I recalled past visits to the mall, when I was always asked for my e-mail address or if I wanted a store credit card. You try to deny but, the workers convince you oh so skillfully. You must have the will to say no. The entire mall has the same qualities as the ad industries, convincing, persuading, and making the consumers feel as if everything was something they needed. With so many ways to trap you, we do have to think of Pahl's question: have American believers made peace with the priority of market values in America.