“Coming soon,” the sign says.
“We have one of these in New York,” the other scholar brags.
Elitist braggadocio, for instance, is timeless.
Courtesy of Netflix
This supermarket, however, feels like outer space.
Hardly anything looks out of place or disturbed in any way.
There is hardly anyone around.
The aisles are wide and unobstructed.
The vibe is peaceful and relatively quiet.
Even the children seem well behaved.
The youngest is seen kissing a box of Velveeta Shells & Cheese.
It is, frankly, unlike any visit to the supermarket that you’ve experienced recently.
There are no empty shelves inWhite Noise.
No signs warning, “Limit 2 due to limited supply.”
No aisles log-jammed with stressed-out customers pushing oversized carts.
No hordes of Amazon and Instacart shoppers jockeying for that last carton of eggs.
No gruff security guard inspecting your receipt after checkout.
And oh, the prices!
Vivid signage sets the scene.
Tomatoes for 48 cents per pound!
Strawberries for just 55 cents!
Lettuce for 79 cents!
Its sliding doors might as well be pearly gates."
After I saw the movie, I wanted to live in it.
It was so beautiful."
In several scenes, the actors are wearing masks, and often wearing them improperly.
That part feels very real right now, three years into the COVID-19 era.
No glass shields at the register.
Not a single person wearing a mask.
That’s what I think when I come here.The supermarket is a waiting place.
It recharges us spiritually."
Back in the real world, our airborne blight is probably never going away.
And the people in the supermarket?
I can’t tell.
But if this is what the afterlife is like, then it’s nothing like real life.
