JeffWigman

 

     Forest Fair Mall — Fairfield, Ohio.  The name of this suburban mall struck me as a reflection of the chronology of the American landscape.  For thousands of years America was filled with magnificent forests.  Later, an imported European population razed the forests for farming.  These farmers brought with them a festival culture.  Their harvest festivals evolved into American country fairs, which they held in their crop fields ("Fairfield").  Soon after, the industrial revolution created a glut of products in the marketplace, and the spectacles of festival transformed and combined with sales messages to facilitate mass consumption.  Malls replaced the town squares, marketplaces, and fairs as the predominent public space, as shopping became the celebration life.  "Hooray, let's go to the forest ... fair ... mall."

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