Mini Critique #2: Atmospherics
In recent decades, stores, malls, restaurants, and all kinds of businesses have learned to manipulate customers’ five senses by utilizing the techniques of atmospherics, in order to push customers to spend their money impulsively and emotionally; therefore, businesses can make more profit. According to what Douglas Rushkoff argues in his book, Coercion, the floor plan, temperature, lighting, sounds, smells, and other elements are all designed to create a “consuming atmosphere”; coercive atmospherics works in a way that does not acknowledge us as humans, but rather as brains with five senses. In order to connect this concept with my everyday life, I recalled my experience at one restaurant, Palisade, which utilizes the techniques of atmospherics thoroughly to increase their profit. Palisade is a fancy American restaurant that serves fresh seafood and high-quality steak in an…