Anniversaries and Overhauls
Two stories in today's news caught my eye. The first is a local piece about an overhaul of one of the giant downtown mall/theater complexes, The Metreon.
When I moved to San Francisco in early 2000, the Metreon had just been built. It was big and dark and full of neon guts. The Metreon was built by Sony, who seemed to want to capitalize on all of the Internet Millionaire Buzz that was happening around the Bay Area. High tech, high prices, high energy.
Cut to 2009. With Bay Area housing prices stalled at best, falling in most places, and many people losing their jobs, the Metreon has become a monolithic eyesore, a memory of, not so much a better time, but a more self-absorbed one.
The article talks about the Westfield Group's recent purchase and planned remodel of the building. While I don't advocate spending on unnecessary projects during tough times, the Westfield people seem to be doing okay... financially speaking. Therefore, I'm all for the upgrade! More open spaces, more light, more community area for lounging and connecting to friends.
The reason this story really hit home, though, was because I remember when The Metreon was the place to be, all new and shiny. Thing is, I never really saw the draw. I didn't like the neon or the darkness, especially since Yerba Buena park was right there. It always seemed a bit of a sin against nature to close the people off from the sunlight into a dark, albeit technologically neat, cave. So, a decade later, they will start construction on The Metreon as I envisioned it. I should really write these things down when I think of them.
The second story is that of the Barbie doll's 50th anniversary. There are many new articles online about Barbie's 50th birthday bash. While I did play with Barbie's as a child, and very much enjoyed the imaginative play her world helped me create, I do still see a flaw in the whole concept.
The main reason for my insistence on ruining Barbie's party is that I don't and won't ever look like Barbie. Some people go to great lengths to reinvent themselves into a living Barbie, by way of some extreme decision making (don't get my started on psychoanalyzing this one).
For myself in the matter of Media Blitz + Larger Than Average Rear End = Twelve Year Old With Battered Self-Esteem, I remember the exact moment in which I held my Barbie up while facing the mirror. We looked nothing alike. And in that moment, I had the crushing realization that my breasts, burgeoning though they were, would never look like Barbie's. At the time, it was heart-breaking. She was who I thought I would grow up to be. An all American Girl, fun-loving and successful. And, I assumed, these things were all based upon her natural, beachy good looks. (Remember, I was 12 years old; this was a logical conclusion for me.)
So, I remain torn on the celebration of an icon's 50th. She's a real bitch with a bad attitude, but I can't seem to shun her because of the fun times we shared several decades ago. A toxic friendship from my past of which I'm reminded every 10 years or so.
When I moved to San Francisco in early 2000, the Metreon had just been built. It was big and dark and full of neon guts. The Metreon was built by Sony, who seemed to want to capitalize on all of the Internet Millionaire Buzz that was happening around the Bay Area. High tech, high prices, high energy.
Cut to 2009. With Bay Area housing prices stalled at best, falling in most places, and many people losing their jobs, the Metreon has become a monolithic eyesore, a memory of, not so much a better time, but a more self-absorbed one.
The article talks about the Westfield Group's recent purchase and planned remodel of the building. While I don't advocate spending on unnecessary projects during tough times, the Westfield people seem to be doing okay... financially speaking. Therefore, I'm all for the upgrade! More open spaces, more light, more community area for lounging and connecting to friends.
The reason this story really hit home, though, was because I remember when The Metreon was the place to be, all new and shiny. Thing is, I never really saw the draw. I didn't like the neon or the darkness, especially since Yerba Buena park was right there. It always seemed a bit of a sin against nature to close the people off from the sunlight into a dark, albeit technologically neat, cave. So, a decade later, they will start construction on The Metreon as I envisioned it. I should really write these things down when I think of them.
The second story is that of the Barbie doll's 50th anniversary. There are many new articles online about Barbie's 50th birthday bash. While I did play with Barbie's as a child, and very much enjoyed the imaginative play her world helped me create, I do still see a flaw in the whole concept.
The main reason for my insistence on ruining Barbie's party is that I don't and won't ever look like Barbie. Some people go to great lengths to reinvent themselves into a living Barbie, by way of some extreme decision making (don't get my started on psychoanalyzing this one).
For myself in the matter of Media Blitz + Larger Than Average Rear End = Twelve Year Old With Battered Self-Esteem, I remember the exact moment in which I held my Barbie up while facing the mirror. We looked nothing alike. And in that moment, I had the crushing realization that my breasts, burgeoning though they were, would never look like Barbie's. At the time, it was heart-breaking. She was who I thought I would grow up to be. An all American Girl, fun-loving and successful. And, I assumed, these things were all based upon her natural, beachy good looks. (Remember, I was 12 years old; this was a logical conclusion for me.)
So, I remain torn on the celebration of an icon's 50th. She's a real bitch with a bad attitude, but I can't seem to shun her because of the fun times we shared several decades ago. A toxic friendship from my past of which I'm reminded every 10 years or so.
posted by Bert at 12:46 PM
1 Comments:
Heh, I just blogged about Barbie today too on Shoplifting With Permission. I dunno. I know she's all wrong, but I still love Barbie. Her bizarre body shape never bothered me. By the time my best friend and I were old enough to notice her boobs, we were old enough to comment sarcastically (mimicking adults i'm sure) about how unrealistic she was and what a bad image she was to present to young impressionable girls like us.
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