February 28th, 2010 by Rachel | Tags: Anthropology, Shopping, Video | No Comments »
Humans, especially females, really have intimate relationships with malls. One Friday afternoon, I took a stroll at a mall to observe the cultural landscape of the mall – not just for fun, but also for my anthropology course assignment. I didn’t just gaze at people strolling through the stores, holding shopping bags, talking on cell phones, and looking at the clothes. I was out for “man on the street” interviews! I interviewed about 15 women who were walking through a department store, Nordstrom, and asked them, “Why are you at the mall today?” They all had very different responses. After interviewing them, I learned that the mall is more than a place to purchase items. It’s also an immense landscape for socializing, exercising, celebrating birthdays, getting a makeup job and admiring the products. I came across one woman who looked like she was geared up to exercise; yet, she said she was at the mall to exercise because the weather was too cold to do it outside. This really signified that there are no excuses to why people can’t exercise as the mall is an alternative location for cold-weather days. I came across two young women who looked like they were best friends, though one was a mother and the other was a daughter. They were celebrating the mother’s birthday by having her makeup done. Mall is a place for mothers and daughters to bond, thanks the wide offers of make up venues and clothing stores for women. One came just to meet up with friends for lunch. Malls have everything to offer! Aside from stores, there are massive food courts which not only serve food, but also are places for women to meet up with friends and sit down and chat. One female said that she was at the mall just to “window shop” and was not planning on buy anything. This comment showed that malls can also be considered a “museum” – a place to admire objects! Another said she came for a “feel good project!”
So, as I promised in the previous post on shopaholic, I bring you a little video clip of “woman on the street!”
EDITED 04/02/2016: (Video is no longer available.)
