I recently watched Jasper Mall, a 2020 documentary film (directed by Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcombabout) about a dying mall in Jasper, Alabama.
Jasper Mall originally opened in 1981, but recently lost two of it's popular stores, K-Mart and JCPenney. Due to this, the amount of people who visit Jasper Mall has decreased drastically . Once a popular destination for families and teens, this mall is now closer to a ghost town, with a close-to-empty parking lot.
The documentary features interviews and footage with the remaining store owners, who talk about their lives and how the mall has changed. There are still a few loyal mall walkers, domino players, and a mall Santa Claus who are featured in this documentary. This film has a slow pace and dreary tone, which reflects the spirit of this barren mall. Although I found the subject matter to be depressing, Jasper Mall is a compelling portrait of these dying businesses and the people whose lives are intertwined with them.
