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WE WENT TO A SHOPPING MALL, AND LAUGHED AT ALL THE SHOPPERS
ITEM: Photographer Michael Galinsky has published a book of photos of American shopping malls circa 1989 – complete with trendy teenagers.
This pretty much sums up why I look back on my teenage years with horror and revulsion. Every Friday and Saturday night, all the cool kids would cruise the local mall and hang out.
I hated mall culture. I thought it was superficial bullshit for people who cared more about being popular and fashionable and trendy – and more importantly, being seen doing it – than they did about anything important.
This was, of course, because I was unpopular, unfashionable and the polar opposite of cool. Also, I had no car and no money, so I couldn’t really get to the mall to hang out even if I wanted to.
But I didn’t, really. I was happier staying home, reading books and listening to my Rush, Pink Floyd, ELO and Black Sabbath records. My idea of a great Friday night? Staying up late writing stories, eating Doritos with picante sauce and watching Benny Hill and Night Flight on UHF.
I’ve long since gotten over my aversion to shopping malls, mainly out of necessity – Hong Kong is lousy with them, as is pretty much every major city in Asia that I travel to, but they do usually serve as giant multilevel convenience stores. They’re also usually where the CD stores and good English-language bookstores are. So I use them when I need them.
On the other hand, it’s kind of a drag seeing mall culture being exported to every corner of the planet. I can see the appeal in developing markets, in terms of job creation and boosting the local economy (assuming malls accomplish both). But I’ve also seen the tradeoffs. Here in HK, locally run businesses are being pushed out of the arcades in favor of mall chain stores that can afford the exorbitant commercial rent. And many of the chain stores just happen to be owned by the same three or four HK conglomerates who also just happen to own the property.
This is progress?
Mojo Nixon had a point.
A bunch of malarky,
This is dF
This pretty much sums up why I look back on my teenage years with horror and revulsion. Every Friday and Saturday night, all the cool kids would cruise the local mall and hang out.
I hated mall culture. I thought it was superficial bullshit for people who cared more about being popular and fashionable and trendy – and more importantly, being seen doing it – than they did about anything important.
This was, of course, because I was unpopular, unfashionable and the polar opposite of cool. Also, I had no car and no money, so I couldn’t really get to the mall to hang out even if I wanted to.
But I didn’t, really. I was happier staying home, reading books and listening to my Rush, Pink Floyd, ELO and Black Sabbath records. My idea of a great Friday night? Staying up late writing stories, eating Doritos with picante sauce and watching Benny Hill and Night Flight on UHF.
I’ve long since gotten over my aversion to shopping malls, mainly out of necessity – Hong Kong is lousy with them, as is pretty much every major city in Asia that I travel to, but they do usually serve as giant multilevel convenience stores. They’re also usually where the CD stores and good English-language bookstores are. So I use them when I need them.
On the other hand, it’s kind of a drag seeing mall culture being exported to every corner of the planet. I can see the appeal in developing markets, in terms of job creation and boosting the local economy (assuming malls accomplish both). But I’ve also seen the tradeoffs. Here in HK, locally run businesses are being pushed out of the arcades in favor of mall chain stores that can afford the exorbitant commercial rent. And many of the chain stores just happen to be owned by the same three or four HK conglomerates who also just happen to own the property.
This is progress?
Mojo Nixon had a point.
A bunch of malarky,
This is dF