When we were in Edmonton, Bohdana, Joost and I visited West Edmonton Mall – North America’s largest shopping and entertainment complex. I’ve been before, but had forgotten how extraordinary, and banal, it is.
I could go on about the mall’s call to play, including the amusement park, the waterpark and the ice-skating rink, or I could talk about watching the penguins and performing sea lions. I could tell you about strolling Europa Boulevard like an indoor flâneur, “getting a taste of New Orleans” on Bourbon Street without ever worrying about hurricanes, or stopping in Chinatown for fresh sushi, salad rolls and Chinese steamed buns. I could describe the African Room or the Truck Room at the Fantasyland Hotel, and I could even tell you what I think about the physical proximity of the mall’s liquor store, casino, loan services and police station.
But I don’t want to forget to mention the Marketplace Chapel and wonder about churches in malls. Founded by Rev. Nelson Wolf upon returning from two years in Africa, and “being amazed in his heart at the material bounty, he asked God, ‘How can the Church make You known in this place?’” Affiliated with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, but “sensitive to every expression of worship” and advocating “unity between Christians of diversified backgrounds”, the Marketplace Chapel “brings Jesus to the Market” and serves the spiritual needs of around 25,000 mall employees and 400,000 weekly visitors.
But really what struck me was that the mall is a place for children and families who are first-and-foremost consumers. The administration seems to take its customers seriously, if we consider the Kids Board of Directors that meets bi-monthly to “ensure existing and new attractions appeal to kids, that they are fun, safe and exciting.” But far more interesting is KidTropolis, the mall’s new family attraction that (re)creates the real world:
“Kids real-play as doctors, shoppers, tradespeople, journalists, firemen and more, in a kid-sized city designed, tailored and built just for them. Each job site (pavilion) is like a movie set, with costumes, props and supervised activities that help kids learn about the real world while playing. Events and activities change constantly with relevance to their world. KidTropolis is a theme park attraction for young families where entertainment is education. Average visits include 3-hours of interaction with sponsoring brands…”
Um, what’s this about education and brands, you ask? Well, according to their sponsorship opportunities page, companies should become more involved in the everyday lives of families and communities in order to build brands and brand loyalty:
“Be charitable – sponsor kids and families who can’t afford to visit KidTropolis.”
“KidTropolis is a perfect venue for sample days, customer surveys and focus groups.”
“KidTropolis is your showroom featuring a new generation of digital technologies for a new generation of lifetime customers.”
So, KidTropolis is where kids learn to become better consumers and families pay to be sold things? So much for the place “where imagination rules”.
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Roland Barthes once wrote “All the toys one commonly sees are essentially a microcosm of the adult world; they are all reduced copies of human objects as if in the eyes of the public the child was , all told, nothing but a smaller man [sic], a homunculus to whom must be supplied objects of his own size’ (Mythologies, p. 53).
For some reason , this quote reminds me of Chancay dolls…
Interesting to see that kidtropolis.ca now points to dead space, as do the other links in this blow, and I could not find it in an internet archive website I usually use.
You do realise that Kidtropolis has huge overhead costs. The place is 50,000 square feet of the most expensive retail space in Edmonton, ie West Edmonton Mall. The staffing costs are enormous and the only way to keep the price point down is to have corporate sponsors foot the bill.
Think about the internet. It’s supposedly this great tool for the freedom of ideas but the only free sites with anything of value are ad supported. Same thing with Kidtropolis. It’s not like the kids are actually being sold products by our corporate sponsors.
If you want to bitchabout indoctrinating young consumers go look at the American education system where kids are forced to read Pepsi branded text books.
-Anonymous Kidtropolis employee