An ordinary Sunday
The past few decades have seen a fundamental change in how europeans spend their Sundays, me as one of those. Historically the traditional Sunday was spent between visits to the church and visit to the family. The steady decline of both religious as well as family values has made both these activites more and more impopular in the course of the years, leaving a large boring gap into our Sundays. It was indeed quite exciting to see which activity managed to fill this increasingly large void into our lives. After some uncertainties I am now very confident in stating beyond all doubts that this gap has been filled by a family visit to the IKEA.
More widespread and definitely more attended than the Catholic church, more colorful and vivid than my grandparents living room, attractive, cheerful and cheap, the IKEA stores offer european middle class the kind of low threshold entertainment and easy fulfillment that they were missing.
I have to admit that I am also a religiously regular visitor, for many reasons. The IKEA store is very close to my house, a very nice 15min foot stroll, I am fond of the Swedish meatball and I truly appreciate how IKEA designers are able to capture as well as to create latest trends.
So far this is all fluffy good feeling harmless entertainment, scratching the surface into the more cinical side of the social development it is almost impossible to point out that spending the Sunday in such a way only delivers us, a house full of cheap junk, bad quality furniture and the very bad feeling that we are all there because we do not have more imagination or enough money to afford real quality stuff.
Knowing that all the people that are standing in the queue at the highway exit to get to the IKEA shop eventually will buy the same stuff that I do, does not really contribute to the feeling of being unique and different. I guess these are the drawbacks of true globalization and of polarization of society between higher classes and lower classes. I leave it to your imagination to determine which of the two classes is the IKEA customer.
Am I going to rebel against the system and set myself to the task of finding an alternative Sunday activity? I do not know it is indeed quite difficult. Does any of you have suggestions?
More widespread and definitely more attended than the Catholic church, more colorful and vivid than my grandparents living room, attractive, cheerful and cheap, the IKEA stores offer european middle class the kind of low threshold entertainment and easy fulfillment that they were missing.
I have to admit that I am also a religiously regular visitor, for many reasons. The IKEA store is very close to my house, a very nice 15min foot stroll, I am fond of the Swedish meatball and I truly appreciate how IKEA designers are able to capture as well as to create latest trends.
So far this is all fluffy good feeling harmless entertainment, scratching the surface into the more cinical side of the social development it is almost impossible to point out that spending the Sunday in such a way only delivers us, a house full of cheap junk, bad quality furniture and the very bad feeling that we are all there because we do not have more imagination or enough money to afford real quality stuff.
Knowing that all the people that are standing in the queue at the highway exit to get to the IKEA shop eventually will buy the same stuff that I do, does not really contribute to the feeling of being unique and different. I guess these are the drawbacks of true globalization and of polarization of society between higher classes and lower classes. I leave it to your imagination to determine which of the two classes is the IKEA customer.
Am I going to rebel against the system and set myself to the task of finding an alternative Sunday activity? I do not know it is indeed quite difficult. Does any of you have suggestions?
Comments
Post a Comment