Malls: still don't like 'em, but I understand...

For everyday naturalists like myself, the very notion of a “mall” seems like a slap in the face – a capitalist concentration of Junkspace contributing to an increasingly materialistic, detached, car-dependent society that expresses its dissatisfaction with its own current state by supplementing reality with mind-numbing entertainment. But boy, is it enticing. I’ve never been one to frequent a mall (and I don’t intend to be), but Crawford’s and Jameson’s descriptions of mall development alongside the spatial, psychological and sociological implications has softened my viewpoint a bit – I get it now. While I retain a disheartened position on the fact that our country’s global identity lies in a structure of this sort when surely we have something more to offer (that is “distinctively American” as well), I now better understand the phenomena. I mean, from a business standpoint, who could pass up an investment with a risk of < 1% over a 25 year period (Crawford, 8)? You won’t find a beta like that anywhere near the stock market!

Will I be visiting a mall in the near future? Likely not. But if I ever need a place to “suspend space, time and reality” (Crawford, 18), then I know where to find it.

But who knows, I may just find myself there one day soon. After all, anything can happen when we are talking about a mall…