The New Religious Image of Urban America, Second Edition: The Shopping Mall as Ceremonial Center

4. Mall as Sacred Time

Mall as Sacred Time Johan Huizinga, the Dutch historian of culture, has said, "The play-mood isoneof rapture and enthusiasm, and issacred or festivein accordance with the occasion."' Whileshopping malls are not carbon copies of New Year's Eve, Mardi Gras, or Octoberfest, a definite air of festivity and frolic may be found in them. Their atmosphere resembles a combination carnivalmidway and resort boardwalk.Somehavecompared the flavor of malls toa form of Disneyland. Onedoesfind the gaiety and abandon of an amusement park, especiallyat certain seasons of the year. The total impact of color, music, smell, and entertaining sounds is inescapable and inviting. Festival Marketplace Mall promoters and their advertisements, without hesitation , usesuchlanguageas"shoppingasfun,""Festival Marketplace " (James Rouse), and "recreational retailing" (Robert Brindle), aswaystodescribe theappeal of the mallexperience. One recent article in The Baltimore Sun Magazine devoted a good deal of space to malls under the title "The Allure of Shopping"and quoted Scott Ditch, vice-president for corporate -public affairs for the Rouse Company. He said "(Our) shopping centers are patterned after ancient European marketplaces , where meat vendors and jugglers worked side by ~ i d e . " ~ James Rouse himself summarizes this aspect of the mall 96 The New Religious Image of Urban America FANEUIL HALL MARKFI'PWCE, W o n Mimes,jugglers, and magicians perform for a crowd. The carnival atmosphere provided here is integral to the popularity of malls. Courtesy, Rouse Co. The New Religious Image of Urban Amdca 97 98 . The New Religious Image of Urban America when he says that "shopping is increasingly entertainment and a competitor with other entertainment choices. In a circumstance of delight, it gratifiesa need that might otherwise be met by a trip to New York, or a weekend at the beach."3 In fact, nothing illustrates better the'hoie than" natureof the contemporary mall than the invitations you find in many public relations brochures distributed by mall offices. This "more than" means that the mall is not only a convenient and well-functioning placeof business;it is also a good and entertaining place. A few examples: "Meet me at White Flint forFun, Fashion, Dining, Shopping, and a Great Day." "The People ride the buses, take the subways, walk the streets of the city to the center of celebration at the Gallery." "We're a new kind of country. You can dress it up, size it up, serve it up, charm it up, play it up. We do it right." "It's in the variety, of course. Century City Shopping Center gives you theworld. You'll discover thesingingflowerman and jelly beans in a jar." Even the names of shops in the mall have a sense of levity and playfulnessabout them. Apart from theestablished family names of the chain department stores that serve as anchors, you find shops and stores almost making light of themselves with their names. Many of thesesmallshops alsobelong to national chains and are frequently found in theshopping malls. BodyTalk, The Underworld, Up's andDown's, FigureFair, and Hit or Miss areexamples of names for stores dealingwith women's apparel. Men who are interested in shopping for clothing willdiscover Pants' Pocket, Denim Den, Chess King, and His Store. The Wild Pair, Bootlegger, Athlete's Foot, and Footlocker are names of shoe stores while such signs as The New Religious Image of Urban America - 99 Keep in Touch, Mac the Knife, Wicks and Sticks, Tees for Two, and In the Bag hang above specialty gift shops. Businessesspecializing in gourmet food are known as Chez Frommage, The Candy Bar, and A La Mode. Finally, those shops which concentrate in personal care and services go by such catchy handles as Your Father's Mustache and Tender Sender. And on it goes. There is a party-like, low-threat, delightful quality to these names. They contribute to fun and fantasy and the relaxed environment of the mall. Even granted theseductive natureof the language, theaverage person does not conclude thabthe mall's intention is to manipulateand toexploit us. Festivity is more than the mall's urge to accommodate. In many cases, it itself is the main event in the center ring. Natu~e of Play Both Johan Huizinga and Roger Calloishave affirmed that aspirit of play isessential to aculture. Callois haswritten one - . of the most important studies on the place of play in human experience. His book, Man, Play, and Games, contains two broad categories of play. The first is paidia-childlike activity characterized...