I've noticed something the other day. I was watching TV and an ad came on for The Family Guy or something like that and they mentioned Bed Bath & Beyond (a shop that has recently opened in Chch in one or maybe two locations). Now it never occurred to me that this was actually an American or multinational chain of shops until I saw this ad. In Christchurch up until maybe the last 5 years as far as I know all the shops have been New Zealand shops, or at least Australian. Of course the fast food chains were an exception, but we never even had Starbucks here back 5 years ago!
I think it's really sad. I know there are probably some shops that I just haven't realised weren't New Zealand owned and operated but in general I feel we got by without having American chains here. Now we have Borders in Christchurch which I suppose is a cool shop, but we didn't need it. We always had Whitcoulls that you could go for for normal books, or there are a few places in town like Scorpio books where you could get rarer ones, and order things in. Clothing wise I personally thought it was great that we didn't have American or international shops. It made it exciting and special when you went overseas and bought stuff, but at the same time the stuff you could already buy here was great anyway. We had enough choice and options etc. Now we've got things like Levi shops opening and stuff like that.
I know this isn't a big issue and I'm not depressed about it or anything, I just think it is a wee bit sad.
:-) M
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
5 comments:
You should be depressed about it!
It is the beginning of the end of the free thinking, independent world we thought we lived in. The Generation Y'ers all wear the same clothes, eat the same food, listen to the same "radio friendly" music, and like the same stuff. It's easy to fit in and control your environment when you look and talk exactly like it. The time of the individual is no more. At least for 95% of the world.
The Generation Next will have grown up in a global culture where there is nothing special about international shops, nor international communities. If we were meant to have our heads f*cked by the opening up of the entire world to us then there would be no such thing as the sea.
My soap box is breaking, and we need a revolution.
I think people have forgotten to celebrate differences.
This is really sad. I also think that it's sad what happens to the starving millions in Africa, people in Iraq and Palestine, and that some animals are becoming extinct, water levels are rising, the Amazon rainforest is being destroyed, and eventually (if we don't blow ourselves up first) the earth will be swallowed by the sun.
And it always rains in Auckland, which is also a calamity.
On the bright side, it is Friday!!!!
And if all we can do is care, I think it's great that we are caring - it's better than nothing, and I think people forget that. Like if NZ was being bombed, and some random guy in Holland actually cared and was a bit upset about it, I'd feel better knowing that we weren't so alone. Better than if noone cared.
I do have a tendency to put my head in the sand though, and probably will end up living in some little country house where I can pretend the world's problems don't exist, and just deal with those of me, my family and friends and my community.
But you do have to start somewhere, and as long as I care about the bigger problems that I can't solve then I think that's the important thing. I think a world of heartless human beings would be the saddest thing.
yeah and Kirsty and I are going out tonight! Woo! And she's going to look like such a slut!
Well you are going to look like such a Ho.
I believe life would be better if we all pimped our friends! :-D
See how classy I look in my lovely profile pic, well I'll be looking nothing like that tonight!
Post a Comment