Malls: The Religious Hub of the Market

Yesterday, a friend and I made our “pilgrimage” to Woodland Mall. Upon driving into the parking lot, the sights seem to conflict—the walls and outside of the building are bland and aesthetically unappealing, but the parking lots are filled with cars and people who, by their presence, all seem to be saying the opposite of the outer walls. Then we walk inside and begin to notice many details we passed by so many times in the past.

The interior of the mall is bright, flushed with “natural” light provided not by windows, but by skylights in the heights of the ceiling. The plants, however fake, look real and give the mall an organic and “home-y” feeling. These are both things that Pahl pointed out in his writing; things that I hadn't consciously observed before. Another thing I noticed this time, was the different music playing throughout the mall. In the corridors, the food court, and other central spaces (not in stores) there was classical music playing. As you entered the stores, the music changed to pop and hip hop. My hypothesis for this is, the classical music tries to make people feel classy and get them to stay in the mall by making them feel at home. The more popular and upbeat music is meant to drive sales. In addition, there were literally advertisements and sale signs everywhere. You’d be hard-pressed to walk past a store that didn't have some sort of bright colored sign vying for your attention. They told every mall-goer who glanced their way that they NEEDED to have this technology, this pair of shoes, or some other product.  Both Pahl and The Persuaders mentioned how advertisements work, in order to gain a purchase. But it’s more than that: they also try to gain buyer loyalty, and to fill a space in the consumer’s heart.

One last thing that resonated with me was in The Shopping Mall as “Stairway to Heaven,” Leading Nowhere he talks about students asking questions of people in the mall and getting stopped by security guards. A supposedly public place that isn't  really public. I found it funny, because a group of classmate from my high school and I went to the mall last year to conduct a survey. The questions were not biased towards God or Christianity (we never mentioned the words “God” or “Christian” or anything along those lines); they merely asked people their opinions on a couple issues. It was about 20 minutes into our endeavor when a security guard asked us to “refrain from soliciting prayer.” So we complied, left, and realized how a theoretically public place tried so hard to keep people from thinking critically about the world around them.