Wish Fulfillment

           This is Mary Beth and this is my post about wish fulfillment as a source of pleasure. Yet, I will also briefly touch upon "Cathedrals of Consumption," a term used in George Ritzer's book, Enchanting a Disenchanted World.
      This past weekend was parent's weekend at Wagner College. Since I had not seen my parents in over a month, I was very excited. I asked if there was anything particular they would like to do when they visited, since we had no plans set in stone for Friday afternoon. To my surprise they answered "We'd really like to visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, we've never been."
      In high school, my class took a trip to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, so I had already visited, yet, I never realized that it was something my parents had not had the opportunity to do. I had heard my parents speak of their ancestry and their curiosity throughout my many years of living at home, so I could only imagine their anticipation and desire they felt to actually visit the site that their ancestors had arrived at multiple centuries ago. Finally visiting the historical sites my parents had only imagined before, brought great pleasure to them. It was visible on their faces and in the interest they exhibited while we were there. They walked slowly around the exhibits, taking in their surroundings and piecing together the histories of their ancestors.
      Yet, while we were there, I found myself looking around and witnessing how consumer-savvy the historical sites had become. Around every corner there seemed to be a shop where visitors could buy hats, t-shirts, pens, ornaments, and anything else one could possibly imagine. It was a very hot Friday afternoon with temperatures well into the high 80's, and so my dad decided to go into one of the cafe's on Liberty Island to buy us water. He returned with very tiny $3.00 bottles of water, adorned with images of Lady Liberty. Another instance occurred at Ellis Island, when I noticed how the gift shops were strategically placed at the exits, and contained very cultural items, particularly, ethnic cookbooks. The cookbooks served as a means to "get in touch with one's origin," something most visitors desired after visiting a place associated so deeply with their heritage. At this point, I had no doubt in my mind that the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island had become what Ritzer considered "Cathedrals of Consumption." They were able to use their quasi-religious and sentimental hold on visitors to draw them in as consumers.
      It was intrinsically satisfying to see my parents fulfill their dream of one day visiting both Liberty and Ellis Island. They quite obviously took pleasure in the trip and now have their $3.00 plastic water bottles to show for it.