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Hyperreality In The Mall

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SPATIALITY The Mall becomes a ‘utopia’ where time and space evaporate (Goss 1993) and creating the civic miracle of heightened safety, excessive cleanliness as well as a well-mannered populace, a process similar to Malcolm Voyce’s (2007) idea of ‘spatial purification’. The aesthetically laid sparkling Italian marble floor leaves a sense of slight consciousness with regard to the clinical and pristine nature of the surroundings. Perhaps, the wafting music of the grand piano (blocked from view by a crowd of onlookers surrounding the pianist) is meant to work as an antidote for the induced anxiety. The material and non-material presence of the mall forms its spatial representation and the conjured “image” plays a crucial role in determining the intended audience. Here, Baudrillard's (1994) notion of simulacra can be seen as a description of hyperreality. Hyperreality refers to a hypothetical construct that is a simulation of something which never really existed but is taken to be authentic. In contemporary consumer societies, malls can be seen as just another hyperreal "warehouse of cultural scenarios" (Appadaurai). …show more content…

They are designed to create more of an inclusive shopping experience where one can find anything from bargain deals on daily groceries at Big Bazaar to exquisite limited edition porcelain figurines at Lladró. It can almost be believed that malls can provide an equalizing space. The ‘equalizing’ nature of this space should be approached with caution; it is neither ‘natural’ nor ‘equal’. On the contrary, most malls become reflective of the socio-political landscape it exists within, and performs this sociality by becoming a site of reproduction of these same relational

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