Not really... I just wanted a catchy title.
In most person's eyes, malls in America are those places where teens go to die morally and where suburban mothers shop for fashionable babies clothing for a hundred dollars a Binky. Apparently they're not even public domain. In John Fiske's "Shopping for Pleasure" he describes malls in south Africa as mini Nazi era Deutschlands. Where the mall cops search out those non consuming non buyers. Teens serve as the swing kids serve as the swing kids dancing in the streets, and the mall cops (complete with loaded hip straps) are the early SS troopers.
But this is south Africa. America is a less fulfilling experience. Mall cops ride around in officer Jim Dangle shorts on top of their segway scooters, and teenagers walk around in the regular bored fashion that shows that there is no where else to be.
These malls are often told to be the death of local businesses and the spite of originality. They take up public parks and are a mole on the face of the earth. Although, that's generally what "they" say. I like malls. When you are living in a generally rural dominated area it's hard to even find local business that can service you like a mall can. I can always just walk outside to find nature, but I live in my own little public park. Malls are just a place to stock up on the things that you could only find on the Internet. While getting off my ass to get some exercise at the exact same time.
Sure, most large cities don't need another mall. They could use a little nature to supply them some beauty, and they already have plenty of local business supplying them with the original sort of fashion and trends that urban America needs to feel original. It's hard to stand out in the city, but it's easy to stand out in the country. Even malls can do that.
I like malls
