Jasper Mall (2020)

“Jasper Mall” chronicles a year in the life of a dying shopping mall, its patrons, and its tenants. There’s no denying retro malls are having a moment. Between the setting of the new season of “Stranger Things” and the countless videos of dead mall tours gathering millions of plays on YouTube, the mystique of the “mall” is everywhere. “Jasper Mall” peels back the curtain on this nostalgic reflection to show the reality of the American mall, complete with shuttering stores, elderly mall-walkers, an optimistic mall manager, a series of community events designed to increase foot traffic, muzak echoing through empty corridors, and the constant threat of impending closure that hovers over so many malls in the 21st century. It’s a community on the brink of disappearance, and yet around every corner, there exists a strange beauty and a new kind of Americana that reflects the unique, touching, and frequently hilarious realities of the shopping mall in the internet age.