“Jasper Mall” (2020): Socio-Anthropology and Aesthetics of the Declining Mall

Abstract

The article examines the phenomenon of the shopping mall in a state of decline as a socio-cultural entity, focusing on its portrayal in visual media. It uses the documentary film “Jasper Mall” (directed by Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb, 2020) as supporting material. This film adopts characteristics from amateur urban exploration footage popularized online in the 2000s, encouraging viewers to contemplate representation issues. The article delves into the historical context of mass mall design in U.S. suburbs, exploring the psychogeography of both operational and declining malls. It contrasts the pseudo-collective space of a functioning mall, which inadvertently fosters customer isolation, with the more socially conducive environment of a declining mall. The complex emotions elicited in declining malls foster social connections. These experiences manifest in film, amateur videos, music, and visual culture. The article investigates gothic motifs in the aesthetics of declining malls and the interplay between urban exploration subcultures and electronic music subgenres like vaporwave and mallsoft. It concludes with insights and hypotheses about the mall’s social and emotional impact on American consumers and its potential future
transformations.