Shopping malls and identity- The Malaysian Insider
June 28, 2010 - We are united by our love for shopping malls. After food and international football, malls seem to be a national obsession if you go by the teeming hordes in Mid Valley or 1U on any given day, and the press is nearly uncontrollable on weekends and public holidays.
So what is going on here? It’s not as if money is being given away or some world famous celebrity is hanging around or even that the deals are too incredible to be missed. Parking is a nightmare, body odour is everywhere and the offerings are practically the same everywhere. Why are our ideas of leisure, recreation and relaxation so intertwined with the shopping mall? We would rather lepak there than take in an art exhibition or a play or even a walk in the park, fresh air and the possibilities of romance notwithstanding.
It could be because of the free air conditioning and the variety at the food courts, or the modern curse of crass consumerism but the answer goes a little deeper, in my view. If you stop to think about it, malls are the only places that allow us to feel the true nature of multiculturalism that we talk about so often. Festive displays in concourses allow us to understand and marvel at the customs and pageantry of other communities, relish their food, and almost be a tourist in our own country.
Increasingly, we lead separate lives, divided by race, religion, the schools we send our children to, the jobs we choose for ourselves and the clothes we wear. Our sensitivities to “others” are growing, and because we don’t interact enough with them to know where to draw the line, it’s safer and more comfortable to fraternise only with people like us.
In this context, shopping malls are the perfect place to observe “others” without the possibility of giving offence. In the anonymity of the crowds, it’s perfectly acceptable to gawk at the clothes, mannerisms, accents and shopping preferences of those you would normally never have a conversation with. This explains why the more crowded a mall is the better it is to visit. Who are these people that eat pancakes for lunch or foreign women who sample perfume from under a veil or even grown men holding hands as they saunter about?
But malls are not only places to observe, they are also sites for personal experimentation and exploration. This is where we present our cosmopolitan selves, where we are not bound by the expectations of custom and tradition. Holding hands with a boy from a different race, wearing a wig for laughs, that first illicit drink or simply trying out mannerisms and phrases that seem cool on TV attract no censure in the mall. They are the places where under cover of the crowd, we try out change and observe its impact on others. As we look at people, we know they are looking at us too, and we get a sense of who we would like to be, of all the choices on display.
In a country with a relatively low population density and relatively high levels of conservatism, crowded places are particularly attractive. Even the simple act of buying groceries invites the possibility of a memorable experience, of reflecting on all the possible personas we could be.
So the next time you are in a mall and catch sight of a gaggle of teenagers with piercings, torn jeans held together by a miracle of faith, I-pod in the pocket and a sneer on the face, remember that these are the places where we can express ourselves with a freedom of choice hard to come by otherwise .
In the mall, we are all just individuals.
So what is going on here? It’s not as if money is being given away or some world famous celebrity is hanging around or even that the deals are too incredible to be missed. Parking is a nightmare, body odour is everywhere and the offerings are practically the same everywhere. Why are our ideas of leisure, recreation and relaxation so intertwined with the shopping mall? We would rather lepak there than take in an art exhibition or a play or even a walk in the park, fresh air and the possibilities of romance notwithstanding.
It could be because of the free air conditioning and the variety at the food courts, or the modern curse of crass consumerism but the answer goes a little deeper, in my view. If you stop to think about it, malls are the only places that allow us to feel the true nature of multiculturalism that we talk about so often. Festive displays in concourses allow us to understand and marvel at the customs and pageantry of other communities, relish their food, and almost be a tourist in our own country.
Increasingly, we lead separate lives, divided by race, religion, the schools we send our children to, the jobs we choose for ourselves and the clothes we wear. Our sensitivities to “others” are growing, and because we don’t interact enough with them to know where to draw the line, it’s safer and more comfortable to fraternise only with people like us.
In this context, shopping malls are the perfect place to observe “others” without the possibility of giving offence. In the anonymity of the crowds, it’s perfectly acceptable to gawk at the clothes, mannerisms, accents and shopping preferences of those you would normally never have a conversation with. This explains why the more crowded a mall is the better it is to visit. Who are these people that eat pancakes for lunch or foreign women who sample perfume from under a veil or even grown men holding hands as they saunter about?
But malls are not only places to observe, they are also sites for personal experimentation and exploration. This is where we present our cosmopolitan selves, where we are not bound by the expectations of custom and tradition. Holding hands with a boy from a different race, wearing a wig for laughs, that first illicit drink or simply trying out mannerisms and phrases that seem cool on TV attract no censure in the mall. They are the places where under cover of the crowd, we try out change and observe its impact on others. As we look at people, we know they are looking at us too, and we get a sense of who we would like to be, of all the choices on display.
In a country with a relatively low population density and relatively high levels of conservatism, crowded places are particularly attractive. Even the simple act of buying groceries invites the possibility of a memorable experience, of reflecting on all the possible personas we could be.
So the next time you are in a mall and catch sight of a gaggle of teenagers with piercings, torn jeans held together by a miracle of faith, I-pod in the pocket and a sneer on the face, remember that these are the places where we can express ourselves with a freedom of choice hard to come by otherwise .
In the mall, we are all just individuals.
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