The next best thing

I want to concentrate my discussion towards that the Bauman article. “Boredom is one complaint the consumer world has no room for and the consumer culture set out to eradicate it.” Reading on; “to alleviate boredom one needs money” (41). This explains more about consumption than Heilbroner’s social formation, specific behavioral and attitudinal characteristics ever could. I think then paralleling this to a New York Times Magazine article I read about I-phones will help emphasize my point. That article mentions how it isn’t about what’s new but what’s next. Once the I-phone came out people cared more about what the next thing will be than the I-phone itself.

Pretty much it comes down to why do we buy something? Why do we not buy something? It is these superficial forces which determine why a shopping center, a store or a product succeeds. It is also about the next best thing. In terms of shopping malls the next big thing, in terms of I-phones the next small thing.

This has me come to the conclusion that even though to us, [sophisticated designers] the un-architectural qualities of shopping malls seem important, in reality it is not, not even close. “The aesthetics of consumption now rules where the work ethic once ruled” (Bauman 32). Consumption is about aesthetics. It’s about being seen with the products you purchased. It’s about image. This idea of image is evident on multiply scales; from the tourist image of the developing Pearl River Delta cities, to the image of an individual company. DestiNY is no exception. It’s all about image and how it will not impact the environment and how it will be great for central New York.

It’s how DestiNY will be the next best thing.