As with most modern capitalist products, malling is easily an archetypal escapist practice. It offers a retreat, no matter how fleeting and artificial, to people living in dire conditions. It appears that going to parks to relax is no longer enough. The stresses of modern living have consequently formed these new needs to satisfy.

Love ‘em all

The modern mall has likewise been touted as the new center of localities today. From it, many high-rise condominiums have risen with the promise of putting all of modern man’s needs, such as shelter, dining, and leisure, under one roof. It has replaced the plaza, which used to flank the church and the town hall, as a town’s nucleus. The malls of today have gone beyond offering the customary trades like food and clothing. One can go to a mall to hear mass, view art exhibits, get a perm, buy a book, go to school, even breast feed one’s baby. Indeed, one can go to a mall to undergo minor surgery such as liposuction.

And the change is not literal alone. It also implies a shift in the prevailing value system. What used to be a largely theocratic social order has been transformed to a communal reverence toward consumerism, a culture that emphasizes the power of money in acquiring goods and services. In so doing, these malls are strategically placed where volumes of people predictably amass, such as routes of public transportation systems. They have stopped being mere optional conveniences. The goal is to make them vital.

Weary from walking all day, he decides it is time to go. And as he steps outside, his body quickly notices the sharp change in temperature. At once, black noxious fumes from a passing dump truck block his vision, offend his nostrils. At once, he feels beads of sweat form on his back. He walks a few distance and hails a decrepit jeepney. He squeezes in between an overly made up mall employee and a middle-aged man in rags. He craves for the elbow room he earlier had but for now he knows he has this harshness to confront. The jeepney speeds through, and the proud mall lights get dimmer by the second until they are completely out of sight. Philippine Collegian/posted by Bulatlat

Reference
Rolando Tolentino, Kulturang Mall, Anvil Publishing, 2004.

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