I find routines in life boring, so the other day I did something I’d never normally do. I took an hour or so alone and walked around every floor of the Mall of America and looked at each store and restaurant while observing the people who milled about during the noon hour. I’ve been there many times, but I’ve never paid attention, so I didn’t see what the Mall of America really is - a giant monument to emotional emptiness.
If you’ve been reading this blog you know that I am a big advocate of free enterprise and free markets. I believe these companies have every right to do what they are doing, but what I saw at THE MALL (what we in Minnesota call the MOA) left me feeling sad.
As I looked at each store, the products, the images, the colors, I asked myself two questions:
- Is this store interesting to me?
- What does this store sell?
I only found a few of the stores interesting enough to describe and I’ll share that with you in a moment, but first…
99% of the stores in THE MALL are meaningless to me. I realize 38-year-old males are not the demographic THE MALL is after, so that didn’t surprise me.
But this did surprise me:
When I looked closely, 90% of stores weren’t selling useful products. They were selling symbols - symbols of youth, health, beauty, sex, happiness, sophistication, and wealth. The next time you are in a mall, look closely and you’ll see what I mean. The products are secondary, it’s feelings they sell.
In the front door of Abercrombie and Fitch was a giant mural of several half naked teenage boys running across a grassy plain with their butt cracks showing. Now, I could show my butt crack too, and I don’t need $150.00 jeans to do it. But If I dressed that way, I think people would just feel sick. I know I would. No pair of jeans is going to make me look like the 18-year-old models in the mural. But I have to ask the question, does anyone want to see these boy’s butt cracks? Even teenage girls? There were a lot of young men roaming the halls, and I didn’t see one of them that looked remotely like the mural. I wondered how many of them bought into this nonsense. I assume if you (un)dressed like the boys in the mural, and went to THE MALL, you’d be arrested.
In many ways the stores aimed at females are even worse. I won’t get into details, but Victoria’s Secret doesn’t sell underwear.
We’ve been conditioned to need certain stuff to feel good about ourselves, but the stuff always falls short, because it isn’t what we really want. It is a Faustian bargain. As soon as you think you have IT, whatever IT is slips through your grasp, because IT’s someone else selling you a lie about yourself. That’s why consumerism can leave us feeling empty and cheated unless we go back for more. It’s a lot like Methamphetamine. People get hooked on it for a reason. And don’t kid yourself, none of us are above it.
The two stores I found redeeming were:
- The Apple Store. I played with the Air for a little bit and found the rest of the gadgets interesting. But I am probably biased. I suppose I felt different about The Apple Store because I’m a geek. But I do know they aren’t selling technology. They are selling style and sophistication. A lot of companies sell technology. Apple isn’t one of them. Technology is just the vehicle. We all know Apple products are the sexiest.
- A guy who looked like Grizzly Adams ran a gourmet doggy treat stand which was packed with customers even though the mall doesn’t allow pets. He stood out like a Hummer on Earth Day. And I know why he is so successful - he sells love - a little slice of love you can take home to your dog. I want to go back and interview this guy.
These two stores were also the busiest in the mall and that tells me something about customers. They aren’t as shallow as some marketers believe.
The trip left me feeling sad for our culture. But I have hope. If I can see the problem, so can you and many others, and it is just a matter of time before we evolve into a species which rises above needing a certain pair of underwear to feel complete. It won’t be tomorrow, but It’ll happen. Have faith.
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译文:
消费文化中的空虚情感
毫无变化的生活让我感到乏味，所以不久前的一天我做了一件我通常不会做的事。我花了大概一个小时左右的时间，在 美国购物中心 的每一层楼里走来走去，到处看看那些商店和餐馆，同时，观察那些在中午时候漫无目的游荡的人们。我去过那儿很多次了，但都不曾细心留意过，所以我不大清楚真正的美国购物中心是什么样子的。直到今天，才发觉它是人们情感空虚的巨大纪念堂。
如果你一直以来都在关注这个博客的话，你会发现我是个极力提倡自由企业制和自由市场制的人。我认为这些公司有权做他们正在做的事，但我在购物中心所看到的让我倍感伤心。
我一边逛商店，看琳琅满目的商品，色彩鲜艳的海报，一边不停问自己两个问题:
- 这间店有什么吸引我的东西吗？
- 这间店卖点什么呢？
我发现只有很少的几间店让我有足够的兴致去描述它们，我会马上与你们分享，但首先…
购物中心99%的店对我来说毫无意义。我意识到商业街所想吸引的人里边不包括38岁的男性。所以，那并不让我感到吃惊。
但下面这些的确让我感到惊讶:
当我更深入地去了解时，我发现90%的店不是在销售有用的商品，他们销售的是一种象征——年轻、健康、美丽、性感、快乐、复杂、有钱的标志。下次逛街时你近距离地观察就会清楚我指的是什么。商品是其次，他们销售的是一种感觉。
在阿伯克比龙与菲奇时装店门前，有一幅巨大的壁画。壁画里，几个半裸的十几岁的男孩奔跑在长满青草的原野上，裤子裂着缝，半露着屁股。现在，我也可以秀出我的屁股，而且没有价值150美元的牛仔裤我也能做到。但是如果我穿成那样子，我想有人会感到恶心的。我同样也会。没有一条牛仔裤让我穿起来像壁画里18岁的模特儿。但我想要问的是，有人想看这些男孩屁股上的裂缝吗？即使是那些青春少女？有很多年轻人闲逛在步行街上，但我没有看到任何一个像壁画里的那些男孩那样。我想知道有多少人会做出如此愚蠢的举动。我猜想如果你穿成壁画里那些男孩那样，走在商业街上，你会被逮捕的
那些以女性为目标的店在许多方面都很糟糕。我不想细说。但维多莉亚的秘密（著名的内衣厂商，译者注）不够专业，它们不卖内衣。
我们已经习惯于去拥有某些物品让自己感觉良好，但那些物品总是不达标，因为那不是我们真正想要的。这只不过是浮士德式的交易，一旦你认为你拥有它，不管是什么，你都抓不住，因为这只不过是别人卖给你的一个关于你自己的谎言。那就是为什么用户至上主义让我们感到空虚以及受骗（除非我们返回去购买更多的商品）。这非常像甲基苯丙胺（一种兴奋剂）人们因为某个理由而对它上瘾。不要再欺骗自己了，我们谁也逃不掉。
我发现有可取之处的两间店：
- 一是苹果店。我玩了一下一个飞机模型，发现其他的小装置非常有趣。但我也可能是存有偏见的。我认为我对苹果店感觉不同是因为我是个跟不上潮流的人，但我确实清楚它们不是在贩卖技术，他们销售的是风格与精密性。许多公司以技术为主，但苹果不是他们当中的一个。技术只是一种媒介，我们全知道苹果产品是最有个性的。
- 另外一间是一家美味狗食店。它是由一个看起来像格里斯里·亚当斯的小伙子开的。尽管步行街不允许带宠物，他的店里总是挤满了人。他是如此的引人注目，就像 ，我知道他为什么取得如此大的成功—他出售的是爱—一份你能够带回家的充满你的爱的狗食。我想折回去采访这个小伙子。
这两家店同时也是步行街上最热闹的两家。它们让我了解顾客——他们并不像有些商人所认为的那样肤浅。
这一次的逛街使我为我们的文化感到悲哀，但我仍存希望。如果我能发现问题所在，你和其他的许多人也可以。我们不需要名牌服装就可成为有深度的人，这只是时间问题。虽然不是近期就能做到，但将来我们一定能够做到。要有信心。
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