Woodland Mall

I'm personally not a big fan of malls because I find online shopping more convenient and usually cheaper. When I do go, I find myself not paying attention to anything else other than my phone or ipod while I follow my companions around. But this time, I left them in my pocket and “explored” Woodland mall. The mall did seem like a church, especially those newly renovated mega churches with bright lightings, glossy tiles and very welcoming people. I didn't know what to do, so I just walked into the apple store and immediately a guy with a blue t-shirt approached me. He asked how I was doing and if I was looking for something particular. I told the guy I was just looking around and he lead me to the latest iPad mini and began talking about the specifics and the reasons why it was awesome. I realized that this guy seemed like those new comer's ushers at church who don't tell new comers to “believe God” right away the same way the guy didn't say “buy the iPad” the moment we met. Instead, the two asks about their guests and gradually talked them into why the iPad or faith was awesome. Both had the same way of approaching with their “products”. Another similarity is that although the mall seems secularized, according to Loy in Jon Pahl's reading, both the modern world and church have the “identical future-oriented hope...[just as the] sixteenth-century Protestants trusted in grace to get them to heaven; modern capitalists trust in the market to get them prosperity” (68). 
Something that I have not noticed before was the amount of advertisements posted all around the mall. From the Persuaders, the question asking about the amount of advertisements and what it would seem like if somethingelse replaced them struck me. So I paid particular attention to the ads as I eye shopped the many stores. Very quickly, I was surprised by how much room ads took up at each store and I couldn't imagine what the area would look like without ads. And really, these ads may be helpful in that “they show you what's out there” as one of our classmates stated, but it can also be harmful in seducing the consumers to buy their products which are on “sale”. Most people react to sale advertisements by thinking, “I need to buy something because it's cheaper” when really you don't need them and the advertisers are still making good profit. Pahl also writes that, “Their(the malls') primary damage is to the human heart and mind. But of course these negative features of malls are all maksed by their promises of prosperity” (67). I ended up leaving Woodland mall without buying anything as usual, but I did have a whole different experience.