Looking at the Frames

The mall tends to bore me.  I rarely go, so at least there is usually something novel when I do.  I will admit that malls usually do have a pleasant atmosphere.  However I do not feel the sense of community with the aggregate of consumers surrounding me, as some seem to.  Shopping for me is not so much a social outing as a militaristic mission.  Whether it is food, clothes, or an item from a specific store, I like to determine what I need, formulate a plan to get it, execute the plan, and get out.  Perhaps this mindset deprives me of the joy so many people find in shopping, but it seems to work for me.  I have a hard time "just looking" most of the time.  Unless there is something I am already interested in, and am actively searching for, I feel like I am wasting my time.

I have never people watched as many seem fond of doing.  It has always seemed almost a rude prying into other's lives.  If I can find a nice place to sit, and have nowhere to go, I can close my eyes and let the hubbub around me to slur together into a meaningless bubbling. In this moment I can find peace, but it does not last.  The peace does not last when I am surrounded by people I do not know, in a place I do not know.  My mind keeps spiking and telling me I should be aware.  This is not to say that going to the mall is an overly traumatizing event.  But whenever I am there I cannot fully relax, it is like a small itch that does not go away until I leave.  I  am not sure what makes me feel this way.  Maybe the pseudo-religious atmosphere bothers me as the tries to become more than it should be.

I did not buy anything when I went to the mall. This was mainly due to the fact that I didn't need anything.  I noticed the brands trying to draw me into a "relationship" with them through their fancy slogans, art in the stores and even those working there trying to make me feel welcome.  I also noticed that when I realized what they were doing, it broke the spell.  It made it appear to be the thin veneer that it was. Although I was disoriented by their schemes of design and advertising, their reorientations did not capture my imagination like they planned.  I realize that I have been caught up in it before, and bought things I don't need or even necessarily want.  However when you enter that place with a light, planning on seeing just what is going on, it not nearly as easy to be fooled.

Woodland Mall

     This weekend, a couple of my friends and I decided to go to the mall to look around. None of us really planned to make any purchases or came with much money, but it was a slow day, and we had little else to do. Not to mention that I had this assignment to complete. We decided to go to the Woodland mall, because it was the closest to campus. When we were inside, I decided to browse the Apple store, because who doesn’t like to do that. The inside of Apple stores features several tables of devices for people to test-drive. This seemed to be a major draw for the potential buyers among whom I browsed. The ability to use one—actually hold one in their hands—makes it much more difficult to leave the store without one. It occurred to me that the chains that fastened Apple’s devices to the table were actually quite symbolic. I don’t think it would be too extreme to say that as soon as a Browser touches one of the devices on display, he immediately connects at least a small part of his identity to the product. This intellectual bondage is symbolized by the chain.

     In this way, Apple has figured out what Clotaire Rapaille would refer to as the necessary marketing “code” for triggering a Browser’s interest in the prospect of pleasure. Smart phones and laptops are luxurious and fun to use, so Apple has said “why not let them!” But all those sleek smart phones and laptops and geniuses have a slightly different agenda; they’re all saying one specific thing. And that is “iWorship.” Apple is a systematic religion, and, as the John Pahl reading explained, exalting consumerism as the meaning of one’s life is a mutation of a good thing: religion (p. 69).

More Than What We See

John Jung

1/14/13

DCM

More Than What We See

          On a Saturday morning, my friends and I decided to walk to Woodland Mall to look around and I needed to get some lotions for my dry skin. The weather was really cold outside so walking to the mall was devastating, but as soon as we got it the weather was really warm just how Jon Pahl stated in his book, Shopping Malls and Other Sacred Spaces: Putting God into Place, how it was a "climate-controlled indoor shopping centers." Almost gave me the feeling of being at home and excitement and curiosity started to feel up inside me like entering a castle. You would never know what to expect to see or come out. I kept in mind that I had to observe around the mall, for different signs that the video Persuaders and the book talked about. 

          The first thing I see as soon as I enter the mall is a huge hallway leading to the center of the mall. On the floor there are white tiles, as if it was giving an illusion of "Stairway to Heaven," and in the middle there are huge four pillars, as if it was a sacred temple. There are also trees inside the mall and everything is really bright as if nothing can go wrong. I personally love shopping for my clothes so I would come to the mall quite frequently, but never have I ever before noticed such things in the mall. That's when I realized how I am so accustomed to this things that I don't even realize what's inside the mall.

          While I started to observer the mall more closely, I started to get sick in my stomach. I started to realize how much I was lured into different shops just by looking at the signs even though I didn't need anything in the shops. Some of the example signs said, "Ask about the 7's for EXTRA SAVINGS!" This sign especially brought me curiosity toward the shop, and another I realized was that they were using the number 7. In the book Rahl talks states that mall, "disorient us, by using natural and religious symbols and spatial patterns in an enclosed indoor setting, and then reorient us toward one or another of the purveyors of goods." This sign matched exactly what he said, and using the number seven represented the day of God's rest.   

  

      From today's experience I have a whole different perspective on things that are on the malls. As if I was blind from love, I didn't realize this signs were all disorienting us. Some things that I bought were face lotion and facial wash from Macy's, and the reason I bought them were because I needed them for my acne and dry skin from the weather, nothing special. 

Trip to the Mall

On the trip to Woodland Mall this weekend, I remembered how John Pahl describes malls as "disorienting." The "enclosed indoor setting" is full of signs, colors, and sights to distract you and grab your attention.  Like in The Persuaders movie, I would agree that the mall is cluttered; there is so much surrounding you, you do not even know what to look at. Not only are the storefronts crowded next to each other, but the stands in the middle of the walkway take up every available space, so you are always looking at something new. As if it is a religion, the mall competes for consumers’ loyalty. By portraying joyful or suave picture of people, it promises that you will look better and feel good about yourself if you buy that brand. The mall offers to provide for all your needs: stylish clothes, delicious food, and of course, the essential accessories. Chairs and couches invite you to sit and rest, so you can stay as long as you would like.

I noticed the vegetation like Pahl talked about: there were trees in vases or green bushes on top of dividing walls. Most of the plants were fake though, which only added to the uneasy, surreal feeling of the shopping place. I did not see any water in this particular mall but I definitely saw lights. Neon signs were very prominent, sometimes within the store as well. I even noticed that some shelves/ tables had lights on the surface as a backdrop for the clothes that were on top. Looking at the many stores and signs, I thought about the Persuaders movie and wondered how much thought and careful planning was put into the design and setup in order to capture people’s attention. The only thing I purchased was food, because my friend and I had planned to eat dinner there. 

Mall Trip

In visiting the mall after watching the Persuaders and reading John Pahl, I noticed new things. I’ve worked at The Gap for several years so I know how most clothing stores work. Visiting my work after watching the Persuaders, I noticed some of the ideals that the Gap tries to associate with their clothing. The Gap has been around forever so they advertise and sell their products by creating the idea that these clothes are reliable, all-American clothes. Working there, I know that this isn’t true. The clothing is over-priced, rips easily, and never made in America.

A newer trend that I’ve noticed in younger stores than the Gap is overwhelming the costumer with myriads of clothing, which aren’t organized into any meaningful order. Forever 21, H&M, and Rue 21 all have this method of confusing customers. There is not possible way to walk into these stores looking for something specific without bumping into twenty other items of clothing that you at least want to try on.

The only thing I purchased during this trip to the mall was a polish change at a nail salon. The main reason I didn’t buy anything else is because I was focused on studying the mall, not looking for clothing or other things. Also I had just purchased a pair of loafers from Salvation Army so I wasn’t looking to buy anything else.

One way I saw the mall functioning as a church or belief-system was the facade that the stores are just looking out for your best interest. They just want to sell you the best product at the best price. Victoria Secret and other stores had signs advertising deals where you have to spend more to save more. They don’t care if you go into debt “saving” money. They just want you to buy their product. 

Visiting the woodland mall after reading the John Pahl reading and watching the Persuaders was interesting. The first few things I concentrated on as I walked through the mall were the spiritual elements, water, light, trees, and music, which Pahl mentioned in the reading. The lighting in Macy’s were similar to the lighting described by Pahl; representing energy by shedding bright light. What was interesting was that products directly off the side of the passageways were beamed with much brighter light which drew the attention of even a “just passing by” customers. Similar light were used in the Apple store as well. The lighting made the atmosphere which was bright and energetic.

One interesting thing I noticed in the Apple store though was that the workers in the Apple store were all wearing the same cloths, each possessing some kind of a communication device attached to their ears. This reminded me of the agents in the movie Matrix. The three agents communicated with each other through the same communication device in their ears which they used to keep control of the matrix and to keep/trap people in the matrix. The Apple workers also used the ear pieces to communicate to each other to occupy each and every customer’s mind in the store and to advertise their products, which could also explain why there are so many people in the Apple store all the time.

I also noticed that there were trees grown in the Starbucks café area and in some resting spots in the mall. Pahl suggests that growing things represent the human desire to experience growth and new life. Although I do agree with this statement, I felt like the trees made me more comfortable isolated from all the marketing that is going around me. Like mentioned in class before, the more plugged in we are, the more unplugged we want to be. Because there are so many advertisements and the mall had materialized environment, I felt more unplugged and distant from it when I was surrounded by trees and plants. I felt like people find rest in nature since we did come from the nature.

The things I noticed in the mall after watching the Persuaders was the use of languages on some of the exterior of many stores which drew me into the store. The sign “SALE! UP TO %50 OFF!” or “BUY ONE GET ONE FREE” always seems to get people’s attention. As one of the experts who studied language in advertisement said, the careful choices of language in the advertisement of products and news articles can drastically affect the people who are confronted with it. Signs that stores put out was one of the main things that always gets my attention. I visited at least five stores because if the signs put out by the stores.

Another element I noticed in the mall from the Persuaders is the human desire to belong and be accepted in a group. I visited a hat store because of the sign sale sign put out by the store. However, I saw people purchasing the hats because they liked the sports team which was on the hat. As mentioned in the movie the Persuaders about people wanting to be a part of the “Saturn Family,” people in the hat store wanted to only buy hats with certain team’s logo on it. The want to belong in a team and become a part of the team affected largely on which hat product a customer purchased. The design of other team’s hats didn’t matter. For many, it only has to be a Lakers hat or the Michigan State hat.

The sense of belonging also exists in other stores was well. Personally, I realized that I have only bought Adidas or Nike shoes. I don’t buy from GAP and all my V-necks are from American Eagle. Like myself, I was able to notice that although there are many stores selling similar products, people choose to go to certain stores for the sake of the brand.

The hands on experience of visiting the woodland mall made me realize many faults in how people shop for products and how people are getting manipulated by the advertisement and the spiritual surrounding that the mall portrays. 

Woodland Mall

Going to the Woodland Mall was both an endeavor and an ordeal. It was quiet out when I walked in, and immediately was introduced by the noisy music from the stores, the waxed marble flooring, and the middle-aged women brushing past with their name-plated brands clutched in their fists. Macy's was especially kitschy, gaudy, and all the workers wore their best heels and dangly earrings, ready to show me the path to the clothing rack that was most appeasing to me. I looked at the advertising concepts that the store offered. "50-75% off!" on a red tag glacially swooped its way across the store.

Being from a small town in Texas, I'm not used to big city complications; when I was a child I wandered off from my mother in a shopping mall and the whole building had to shut down just to find me, who was oblivious of ever roaming off. Malls have always been a memory of crying mothers trying to find their children and shopping racks as unintentional, fun places to stow away. This weekend, I honestly got lost trying to find my way out - I knew where I parked my car and I knew where I came in. Regardless, after 15 minutes of going in circles, I embarrassingly asked a man at an information desk to point me the way. This reminds me of being in a mega church, with completely no idea which parking lot your car is in or where to sit. I left being exhausted by the amount of energy given to simply trying to find someone I knew to answer questions. There was only the lull of celebrity-driven culture, and the movement to be more if you have more. It was reflected in Paul's assertion on page 71 that, "Malls communicate the 'spirit' of the market through a comm formula. They disorient us by using natural and religious symbols and spatial patterns in an enclosed indoor setting, and then reorient us toward one or another of the purveyors of goods."

You R Us

During my trip to the mall, the most striking element was its busyness. Everyone was constantly moving unless pondering some object for sale in which case your pause is excusable and the sin of stopping is forgiven. Even as I tried to take an occasional photo from my phone I got suspicious looks from people wondering why I would be taking photos of a mall.  In this way I could relate to the liberation that Jon Pahl referred to when he finally walked out of the mall and the noise ceased.
    Inside the mall I could see the work of advertisers that took similar approaches to marketing as the people on “The Persuaders” did.

This photo of a wall demonstrates the appeal to improving yourself. By saying that you will teach others with this product, the product thus makes you the better person.

In “The Persuaders” they mentioned marketing a “code” for every object. This car is meant to be displayed as a big and dominant in order to attract its male buyers. Also the  antlers in the male clothing section is meant to play on the outdoors as a masculine trait and thus appeal to men shopping in that store.

These two photos demonstrate the noise that the mall produced in order to confuse and disorientate to shopper. Everywhere you looked there would be signs for advertising, even right in front of the escalator you take to find new products.

This sign demonstrates what “The Persuaders” refer to as an appeal to belong. These marketers are trying to persuade people that buying from their store makes you a part of a group.

Mauled by Woodland Mall

It’s amazing how much a mall is like a church. The minute I step in from the cold winter rain, 3 ladies in beautiful clothes usher me in, inviting me to find join the service in the holy sanctuary. They seem to accept and welcome anyone from any religion, culture, or race. As I walk in towards the center of the mall, bright colors from all directions capture my attention. I take a deep breath and an aroma of creativity and ingenuity cover me. Everything I need is in here. I run from one store to another admiring all the different characters I can buy. I shoot a glance at a pair of basketball shoes and suddenly I find myself shooting up towards the rim like Michael Jordan and slamming the ball into the hoop. I look at a tuxedo and imagine myself stepping out of a black limousine, walking down a red carpet in Hollywood and basking in the white flashing lights. I get to choose who I’m going to be by buying what the mall offers me - this is paradise. After a while, my legs start aching from all the walking and I find a comfortable seat in the center of the mall and I start typing.

It’s amazing how different a mall is from a church. The minute I enter the mall, 3 manikins in scandalous clothing look down at me with cold, emotionless eyes trying to convince me to join their religion. As I walk in, I am appalled at the sight of people mindlessly walking from one store to another in search of ways to please their insatiable desires for more. Every window displays all the different indulgences they have and I am disgusted. The mall reeks of selfishness and greed. People don’t need anything in the mall; they’re only here to satisfy their “limitless desires for commodities” (80 Pahl). It seems the architects placed the sofas in the center so even while you’re resting you can look at everything. The store clerks act interested in me and ask how I’m doing and how they can help. But I know most of them don’t care how I really am doing. They just want to swipe my plastic card and the only reason they want to help is to make me feel guilty if I leave without repaying them for the help they’ve given. They’re all wearing a mask, trying to sell me their fabricated source of happiness. Nauseated by everything, I sit on a hard wooden chair by Starbucks and write all these things.

The first paragraph describes what my initial feelings were as I entered the mall and the second paragraph describes what my initial thoughts were as I entered the mall. My mind was in the right place but my emotions were still trapped by the “religion of the market” as John Pahl puts it (67). I left without buying anything, because I wanted to show the mall that they could never define who I was by trying to manipulate me into buying who I fantasized to be.

Woodland Mall Revelations

          On our trip to the mall down the street, I noticed some things about Woodland Mall and malls in general that I might never have seen prior to our discussions of modern advertisement in class.  The first thing noticed, or rather didn't notice, was the outside of the mall.  While the interior of malls are colorful and inviting, the outside of the mall was quite unremarkable.  The insides of malls are designed to feel more comfortable than the outside to make it feel as if entering the mall is better than leaving. Upon entering the mall, I was met with the irresistible smells of the food court.  It probably didn't help that we decided to go to the mall right at lunchtime but in any case, I was famished by the end of the seemingly endless line of food options.   To my dismay, we skipped over the food court to get to the main attractions.  While the decor of the mall itself was comfortable, it was almost entirely white.  This gave the colorful stores the effect of a juicy fruit hanging from the tree, deliciously shiny and red contrasting to the unimportant remainder of the branch.  Inside of the stores was a blend of colors, textures, and sounds.  The blaring hip-hop inside of the clothing stores made it feel like a party, where I could forget all of life's worries and just let loose.  Once you've made your selections, the checkout counters are efficient, making the sale before you have any time to think twice. All of these observations were consistent with the descriptions and functions outlined by the article The Shopping Mall as "Stairway to Heaven" and the documentary "The Persuaders."

          While I was not surprised by most of the advertising gimmicks I was seeing, one store struck me in particular.  We walked into a journey's so one of my friends could look at shoes.  She had it narrowed down to two different colored pairs of Tom's but she wasn't sure which color she wanted.  One of the employees came over and began his pitch of each shoe's qualities.  "Typical advertising." I thought to myself until the employee off-handedly mentioned that for every pair of Tom's that was sold, a pair of shoes would be donated to a kid in a third-world country so if she bought both pairs, it would really be like buying four pairs, two of which would go to a needy child.  He then continued to paint a picture of these children in Nicaragua that would be forever grateful of this thoughtful american consumer.  While I do support the policy that Tom's Shoes will help people with their profits, I was intrigued to see how this policy could be used to exploit the lackadaisically "concerned" american consumer's personal convictions.  In The Persuaders one of the top advertisement advisers in the world showed how the most powerful advertisements are the ones that people subconsciously resonate with.  Whether it was his intention or not, the Journeys employee was showing the hidden religious aspects of the Woodland Mall and other shopping malls across america.