Shopping mall culture in Malaysia is ever growing, so much that one could hypothesise about the emergence of a subculture centered on the shopping mall. More and more mega mall projects are coming up as bigger portions of the population is urbanised. In this new urban jungle, identity and meaning can be purchased, for a price. Nothing new here. We’ve been doing this on North American soil ever since the collapse of the counter-culture, the rise to dominance of corporate individualism, and the explosion of depression, neurosis, and psychological dysfunction. The question must be asked, can you really purchase and wear your identity?
It used to be identity was to be found in the way we thought, the groups we were a part of, and the things we held dear. More and more, however, we exist in a monotonic world where our identity is provided by the things we display (cloths, watches, smart phones, stinky chemical scents), our thinking is remarkably conformist and identical, and we all belong to the same social group knowm as “the consumers.” It is a brave new world world where the pain of our shrinking sense of self can, we are told, be easily be mitigated and managed with the appropriate product purchase (booze, antidepressents, social phones) . But in case you haven’t realized, more product purchase doesn’t help. The anxiety and malaise continue to grow.