The Mall as the Capitalist Utopia?

Personally, I do find shopping malls a depressing place. I assume this primarily because, as the article suggests, their ideal demographic is a white upper middle class mother. Among the colors, smells, and sounds, it is clearly not the place for a male born in the late ‘70s. The life they promise is certainly not one I would buy into. Nothing about the mall appeals to me; and my wife does not even bother to ask anymore.

This is not to say that shopping malls are not a necessary evil. In fact, one could trace my fashion history using the mall directory. From J.C. Penny, Eddie Bauer, The Gap, Express for Men, and now to whichever store may have a sale, I adapted to the expectations of a male my age. I saw tastes acclimate to the assumptions of retail marketing rather than the true wants and desires of my peers and me. Moreover, as a youth, our local mall was a place to escape and ultimately interact with your peers. For my generation’s parents, the mall served as a break as well. Now that the mall serves no social or image function, I no longer need it.

While I agree with the article’s assumption that malls should not be regarded as a community’s center, they do have value. Warts and all, they continue serve as a common destination for America’s teens. Unfortunately, this is incongruent with ultimate goal—to perpetuate the myth of material utopia and make a profit. Both price points and mall security serve to shoo our youth away, and want them back when they can become lifelong consumers. The fact remains that the options for American youth are limited due to a variety of factors.

The article certainly paints a dreary landscape for suburban America. Yet, as educators looking to tap into popular culture as a learning instrument, the mall as a setting provides a wealth of resources. Immediate applications can have students placing historical figures in contemporary situations. Teachers can also facilitate real-world applications involving society’s portrayal of age, race, class, and gender.

I immediately thought of the 1987 film, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, in considering the mall as a backdrop for historical discussion. Students could consider the thoughts and actions of history’s heroes and villains in today’s society. This would allow for direct association with the world outside of the classroom. Would, for example, Founding Fathers such as Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson be content with our present condition? Would they think the shopping mall serves the same function as a center of community than the tavern did in revolutionary America? Moreover, would Alexander Hamilton, as the father of American School of Economics, find value in the mall as part of his vision for the countries self-sufficiency? A Socratic discussion could follow these central questions.

As the shopping mall purports to reflect the ideals of a capitalist economy, the article asks if consumers have a say in the creation of the ideology itself. Teachers who wish to better understand the importance of the inclusion of popular culture in the classroom must consider the weight of this question. A study of the mall as truth vs. myth could uncover students’ own perspectives about values on which a community is based. What does, for example, the layout/design of Sears’ tell us about the role of women as mothers and wives. Is the mall truly indicative of our community’s principles? Is there an expectation to live up to these ideals? What might it take to achieve this? What is lost if this fantasy isn’t achieved?

Truly, the inclusion of the students' own landscapes into the classroom provides common ground on which to investigate the accuracy of the retail world's vision of utopia.