Add This Documentary About a Dying Alabama Mall to Your Queue

Do you remember a time when you did basically all of your holiday shopping in one place? My 90's kids know what I am talking about-- no holiday season was complete without a trip to the mall.

Indoor malls were IT when I was growing up, and my family would make annual pilgrimages to places like Brookwood Mall, Riverchase Galleria, and Century Plaza. The Galleria is still holding its own, but Brookwood Mall doesn't seem to be long for this world and Century Plaza is now a ghost town.

I guess indoor malls are a thing of the past. Lifestyle shopping centers like Midtown Village in Tuscaloosa or The Summit in Birmingham make it easier for shoppers to hit up just one store and then be on their respective ways, and I don't even have to explain the impact that online shopping has had on brick-and-mortar retailers.

If you, like me, are fascinated by dying malls, you have got to add this documentary to your queue. Jasper Mall examines a year in a dying mall in Jasper, Alabama, and it's available to stream now on Amazon Prime, YouTube, or Google Play.

Jasper Mall Trailer from Window Pictures on Vimeo.

The documentary shows what it's like to work in a dying mall, but it's also a reflection on the state of the American middle class. Are we no longer participating in 'shop-'til-you-drop' fun because we can't afford to do so? And what does that mean for retailers?

If you've got some free time this season, add Jasper Mall to your watch list.

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