Kids and Godzilla... A Review

When my professor said he wanted class to be at the movies I thought he was kidding. When I got the email for directions to a movie theater I knew he wasn’t kidding. He didn’t tell us what movie, only the time and place.

As we showed up, one by one, afraid and slightly excited, the professor told us the movie. “We’ll be studying Godzilla.” You could only imagine the surprise that held our faces. I mean, Godzilla just came out yesterday. It was labeled a must see just from the trailers. I grew up with Godzilla, watching it almost every night when I was a kid. I had a inflatable Godzilla punching bag for gods sake.

“Now, don’t get too excited, because after we’ll discuss the use of setting and character relationships in the food court.”

And instantly our mood dropped. Class work…on a field trip? Who does that kind of thing? Anyway, long story short, we saw the movie and let me tell you it blew me away. It wasn’t just a monster movie, it was a monster VS flying alien things and one was prego movie. The visuals were stunning, and Godzilla, if I can say this, actually looked real. They didn’t focus on the humans running away from Godzilla; instead they focused on the monsters themselves.

After the movie, and the round- table discussion about the movie, we wanted to walk around. I have never been to this mall before, neither has the roommate. As we walked, feeling like kids in a candy store, we were amazed at how much one can actually fit into a mall.

There were the usual stores, Macys, Dillard’s and Penny’s, but a handful of other store. Of other expansive stores that looked like one had to pay to get in. As we walked, by now the group had dissipated among the other mall- walkers, the roommate said something along the lines of, “I wonder how it would be to be a child in a third world country looking at the toys American kids have.”

I couldn’t help but wonder that as well. We grew up with motorized cars and blocks and green army men. Barbie dolls and little baby dolls. We played dress up with real dress up clothes. We had toy stores at our disposal and what do other kids have?

Now, I’m not an expert on this, but I’m sure they don’t have the toys we had. Maybe they do and maybe I’m not paying any attention to things like this. Maybe because I haven’t played with a toy since I was a kid and forgot to pay attention to their migrating ways.

I wondered another thing though, as we walked past Hollister with the workers waiting at the door like vultures, why is everything so damn expansive?

Why do we always feel like we need pointless shit at the mall? Do I really need the Sony headphones that come in blue, grey or red?

Yes.