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   Wednesday, September 04, 2002

DWARFED

Took a day-trip out to Niagara Falls yesterday -- visiting both the Canadian and American Falls, which creates that warm 1812 vibe from our side being so much better. I hadn't been there since I was about eleven or so but was easily reminded of why the Falls earns its 'Wonder of the World' title. Visiting the Falls gives you that great feeling of being dwarfed by nature, that swoon that comes from being deep in the woods or out on the sea. Niagara Falls is an epic sight, one that thrillingly reminds you of how small we truly are.

Unfortunately, a detour along Clifton Hill ("The street of fun at the Falls!") unpleasantly reminds you of how small we truly are. I remembered this neon-soaked strip of gift shops, spook houses and wax museums as a tacky yet fun mess, like eating a big wad of sticky cotton-candy. What I didn't expect to see was a giant Hard Rock Cafe, Planet Hollywood, Rainforest Cafe, Tommy Hilfiger and other corporate behemoths elbowing older haunts off the path.

The perfect symbol for this appeared on the decades-old giant statue of the Frankenstein monster looming over the funhouse named after him, one that now shares its lot with a massive Burger King. The fast-food chain has placed a giant plastic hamburger in the hand of the movie monster, whose angry expression, I guess, is now due to hunger. It's strange when you feel that a big, tacky movie promo has been defaced -- it's not as though it was art to begin with -- but I nevertheless vowed right then to never eat at Burger King again (an easy sacrifice, I admit).

This 'evolution' of Clifton Hill raises an odd question: has this innocently-goofy tourist trap been completely dwarfed by the ever-encroaching blight of Corporate America, or was this sort of tacky money-grubbing area always a natural breeding area for the Hard Rock and its ilk? And, either way, do the millions of tourists visiting daily care? Hopefully not, if they're too busy admiring the Falls.

Labels: Canada