The “New Norma”l is not normal. Berlin is feeling the psychological impact of the Coronavirus. Although the German capital has not been as hard hit compared to other regions of the country, the effects cut across the city.
Stores have opened, yet people continue to stay away. The retail experience is almost a prozac nightmare. Cordoned off areas of stores, lines to enter, no dressing rooms, mandatory wearing of face masks.
Berlin partially lifted the lockdown. On Saturday I decided to go go to the KuDamm, the city’s main shopping area, to see the results of the reopening. The department store KaDeWe had it fist day of sale on the 25th. I ventured in, curious. Shopping in the “New Normal” written for an episode of “Black Mirror”. As with other stores I checked last week, people stayed away.
The city has eased the lockdown but shoppers are staying away from malls. Demand has dissolved. The “New Normal” for the short term means less consumption.
What makes it hard to buy? The constant reminders of the Coronavirus. A Mood killer!
My second feature on the “NEW NORMAL” in Berlin. Normally bustling plazas and streets, now eerie silence. At Easter the city is usually teeming with tourists. This season all resembles a set from the television series “Black Mirror”. While riding around on my bike taking pictures, I could only shake my head.
While going around taking images of Berlin in stand still I remembered the 1959 film “The World, The Flesh, and The Devil”. A 1959 starring Harry Belafonte roaming an empty post apocalyptic New York City landscape. While the German Capital is not quite in that setting the urban atmosphere has an eerie feel. As if waiting for something to happen or not to happen. How long can this last? The “New Normal” is unreal.
