3 Sep 2003 @ 10:51, by Craig Lang
I had a fascinating experience this weekend as I took a few moments and just people-watched.
Some of my wife's family, including my six-year-old niece, were in Minneapolis to spend the Labor Day weekend with us. For her, it was the last hurrah before she starts school, so we spent the weekend seeing the sights. One venue was the renaissance festival, and another was Camp Snoopy at the Mall of America. In both places it was very interesting to observe the people who were there. There was a completely different flow to the energy of the two places.
I have noted that each of the few times I've been to the MoA, I have felt an overpowering sense of commercialism. It is the frenetic pace of both people and money that characterize 21st century society - all under one roof. Yet I found that in both places, it was interesting to watch the people, how they acted, their body language, and how they seemed to feel.
The Renaissance Festival was very interesting, and alot of fun. While there, I felt the wonderful atmosphere of fastasy - just plain fun. No one was there for any purpose other than to - just for a while - live in another era. Many of the people I observed wore period-costume, at least to a degree. There was the sense of creativity there that was a delight to behold.
Later that day, we were at the Mall of America so that several of the family could do a couple of rides at Camp Snoopy (the indoor amusement park at the center of the mall). I took the occasion to again observe the people, how they walked and conversed, and how they seemed to feel. There, I noted the fast paced, cosmopolitan atmosphere.
Everything I saw and felt while at the MoA was in stark contrast to what I had observed earlier. Instead of the free-flowing creativity of the "Rennies", I observed a sense of conformity. While both places seemed about equally as crowded, the MoA seemed to have more of a crowded feel to it. This was the 21st century in its archetypal form - stores, lights, and the immediacy we associate with urban America.
To me, The contrast spoke volumes about why our civilization is in the situation it is in at the present time, and why we sometimes need to escape to an earlier time and lighthearted fantasy - even if just for a few hours.
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