Today I went out to the mall and browsed around for a few hours. I had a few random things to buy, and I spent most of my time browsing electronics sections and stores (games, cameras, etc.). Whenever I’m in malls, I’m struck by the feeling of “suburbia” and what I once remarked to Johnson as “the celebration of idolatry”.
Not that I think capitalism and being a consumer is necessarily idolatrous, but think about it – the mall strikes me as celebrating two things:
- Stuff as your hope for fulfillment and satisfaction.
- Beauty, glamour, sensuality & sex as your hope (for what I mentioned above).
#1 might be obvious, since most people are quick demonize consumerism and materialism in our culture. But I think #2 is slightly more subtle and overlooked. Some examples of how #2 gets played out:
- Guys & girls walking around the mall, displaying their affection publicly (e.g. holding hands, etc.)
- Girls of varying ages and types in all sorts of dress, ranging from trendy to sensual to intentionally provocative
- Stores, displays, and ad photography preaching the silent message that visual beauty and physical appeal is the only thing we all recognize as giving a person value
Some of the lies that are being told to us as a direct result are that “you won’t be happy unless you find a boy/girl-friend to meet your desires, too.” Or, “I won’t be happy (or worth it) unless a guy sees me as attractive, and so I’ve got to do what I can to make that happen and catch that guy’s eye.” Or, “you won’t be happy or be satisfied unless you find that perfect object of your desires – ‘perfect’, meaning flawless, flashy, and totally self-serving (for you).”
So yes, that’s what I think about some of the time when I’m walking around in the mall. I don’t believe those lies – but part of me wants to. Except, I don’t really.
Total Rip-Off (Paulman's blog) 
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August 13, 2009 at 1:10 AM
Mindy
Hmm, I feel the same way, Paulman. Sometimes I really really hate shopping because there’s just way too much and when you think about it, most often than not you really don’t need that shirt; it’s just nice to have more variety when you look inside your closet in the morning. You look at people in 3rd world countries and they’re perfectly happy with what we would view as a tiny wardrobe. Also, we shouldn’t be storing up treasures on earth, right?
As to #2, it always amuses me that people want to be “unique” or “original” yet when you look at them, they sorta look all the same. Of course I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to look nice… I often wonder though who’s behind creating the sexified trends and lies of today. It’s also slightly amusing that people follow them so easily without giving so much as a second thought… like sheep… which of course I can be guilty of as well 😛
Complicated world we live in.
August 13, 2009 at 5:37 AM
Johnson
where do arcades and playing ITG fit in this mall-world?
August 13, 2009 at 11:31 PM
Paulman
Heh heh. Well… I didn’t have those things in mind when I wrote this post 😛 You could argue that every desire is prone to becoming an idol, though (lol).
August 16, 2009 at 1:55 AM
Tabitha
i wonder if there’s a difference between the way guys view malls and the way girls view malls. i don’t necessarily need to buy anything when i go to a mall, but i like window shopping. sometimes i do it with friends but when i have the “deep” urges, i go alone and spend a couple hours there. i like trying things on and seeing what’s out there. does it make me feel like i need to dress more like to world and/or earn money to purchase these goods? sometimes i suppose. but there’s also something great about praising God for gifting me with a body that i am satisfied with. this isn’t because there aren’t pounds i want to lose or that i look pretty by the world’s standards, rather i know my position in Christ and who He has made me to be before the Father. i don’t know, i don’t think shopping is evil haha. and yes, i do like holding my boyfriend’s hand in the mall.
August 16, 2009 at 7:35 PM
Paulman
Yah, definitely guys (on average) will view everything, including malls, differently from girls. But my thoughts were more about how the mall is an example of how our inner idolatry gets played out when we go to the mall. And how our tendencies to make certain things/ideals our idols gets preyed upon and worked up when we go the mall.
But I don’t think enjoying the mall is impossible or must be sacrificed to avoid idols. I actually quite enjoyed playing around with the Nikon D5000 and Batman: Arkham Asylum on PS3. Best part was I didn’t spend any money on those items 😀
August 19, 2009 at 1:43 PM
Jill
Jacqui & I saw a girl walking around wearing her bathing suit at Metrotown and we were like, “Is that even acceptable???”
Honestly, I think our whole North American culture is over-sexualized and I guess one sees that play out in our malls and in fashion trends and advertisements. I wonder how much worse it can get.
August 24, 2009 at 3:22 AM
Paulman
Oh yeah Jill, and shirts are not dresses, either. Not that I’ve seen a case of that or “tights are not pants” at the mall. At least not in memory.