Malls R Us (review)

The central premise of this documentary is that people crave community, and that community that best finds expression in public spaces. It examines the mall as a response to those needs, and—despite visionaries' repeated attempts to cast the mall as the town square of the late-twentieth century—finds it wanting: an institution driven by the imperatives of commerce rather than community.

Public space has taken different forms in different eras. For 19th century German-Americans, it was often the local biergarten, and others gathered, met friends, traded news and gossiped in the local town square. Dedicated non-drinkers had temperance societies and most everyone had church or other religiously oriented activities. Urban dwellers spent time on their front porches or sitting on their stairs.

The rise of the automobile and the suburbs erased much public space, and air conditioning reduced the appeal of the porch and front steps in warm weather. While churches remain and taverns still provide a place to meet, the neighborhood, the town square and most other traditional spaces open to public interaction have declined. Yet, the desire for community – a sense of belonging—continues. Into this void came the mall. More than a place to buy merchandise, the shopping mall became a place to go—a destination. While strip malls initially took advantage of American's new mobility, it was the larger, fully-enclosed shopping center of the 1950s that gave rise to the commercial and sociological phenomenon explored in Malls R Us.

Malls were originally part of a utopian vision by socialist Victor Gruen, who longed for the teeming plazas and inviting cafes of his native Europe. Noted science-fiction author Ray Bradbury was captivated by the potential of malls to recreate and yet overcome the limitations of urban centers. He appears in Malls R Us, clearly longing for the small city of his youth and hoping for a futuristic community that would be created by the mall. Excepting a whiff of nostalgia, all such hopes have been cruelly disappointed. Malls quickly became temples of consumption with little relation to ideas of community or social space. They have also—for most Americans and, increasingly, most citizens of the world—become a fact of life, like death or taxes. Malls are so ubiquitous that people see them as natural phenomena like rain or snow.

As Malls R Us illustrates, all these utopian hopes have run aground on the harsh commercial reality that malls are built to make money. Ironically, malls economically endanger, and often not destroy, the unique collections of independently owned small shops that once gave communities a sense of identity. Their sheer size often inspires a type of awe that one usually associates with religion. This documentary makes very effective use of interviews with a theologian who discusses how religious symbols inevitably become part of the design of shopping malls.

Yet, at the end of the day, it is money, be it cash or credit card, and not the search for transcendence that pushes mall construction. It is much like worshipping the golden calf with ample free parking thrown in. Of course, when the mall no longer shows the requisite profits, often because of a newer ("better") mall having been built in the area, it is simply closed. In fact, there is an entire website, deadmalls.com, dedicated to the seemingly countless malls that have closed. A look at this site can give a shock even to those cynical about these temples of retail.

What makes the film so fascinating is how it takes a commonplace institution and leads the viewer to reflect on its deeper meaning. If malls can be seen as temples of consumption, then the shoppers within are akin to worshippers. They seek not just things to purchase but something more intangible. As citizens once gathered in town squares, people now congregate in "their" mall. Unlike their ancestors, they seek out not the necessities of life but bargains, new styles – in brief, a chance to consume in an attempt to give meaning and...