The Valley Fair Mall is similar to many other malls that I have been to whether they have been in different cities within California, other states or even other countries. Almost all malls follow a simple rule. Give the consumer multiple options on buying clothes, shoes, accessories, electronics, gadgets and even furniture. Malls offer a safe environment for shoppers to browse the items that stores have on display. Now what these malls do not disclose is how these “options” are set up.
I’ll admit, after leaving our last class I left feeling like my conventional beliefs were challenged. I sat in class thinking that I can’t believe that I didn’t see most of this stuff before. Where I see a mall just attempting to be ascetically pleasing is just hidden symbolism separating the rich from the poor, the young from the old and the thin to the plus sized.
For better or worse I can easily comprehend why a business such as a mall and its tenants would cater to a particular demographic: for profit. Before arriving at the mall for our assignment, I was fully aware that the mall is set up for women. Most of the stores cater to women. That statement is easily proven by looking at directory for the Valley Fair Mall and seeing how many more stores there are for women than for men. Obviously looking at the statistics for the city of San Jose, one can take a closer look and see that the mall is set up for the minority of San Jose’s residents, rich white women.
I’ll admit, I initially failed to see some of the symbolic aspects of the mall. I had trouble connecting the architecture of the mall to Greek temples and the western idea of heaven. I think I kind of take that stuff for granted. Although, when I go to an older mall such as the Valco mall in Cupertino, I am more likely to notice that those things are missing. I also didn’t notice that mannequins were depicting leisure activities. I was able to see that with few exceptions, most mannequins were displaying small sizes of clothes that only a small percentage of people are able to fit into. Even the stores that were supposed to be the exception to the “standard” size mannequin did not accurately display the size of clothes in comparison to the average patron of that particular store.
Another area of the mall that I never thought about, but once it was revealed to me, I was amazed that I hadn’t notice it before. That is the structure of the mall. Through all the discussions in class, this was the one area I did not have an immediate rational objection. For example, the mall is a loop structure with hidden exits that keep people inside for a longer period of time. Las Vegas casinos have a similar tactic by hiding the hotel elevators behind the casino floor and exits are not clearly visible when attempting to navigate through a confusing casino floor. Another area I found interesting about the structure of the mall was the separation of class from the first and second floor. How the first floor has marble flooring with large columns with almost all of the designer labels on the first floor. In contrast, the second floor is carpeted shorter in height with a lower ceiling level. The second floor houses stores that cater to middle to low income people and if you happen to be young and plus sized than most likely you shop on the second floor.
Uncovering this new knowledge of consumer manipulation makes me look at malls and other consumer driven institutions differently. Although challenging conventional wisdom can be difficult, the facts are undeniable.
