We got the impression the mall was very busy through the '80s and '90s. There is something simple and poetic about the plight of middle class America, and this puts it into portrait form. Sometimes overlooked is the overbuilding factor that the pace of mall growth was never sustainable, and populations could not realistically support the sheer number of malls built in their communities. Another feature but can't say what about just yet! The mall also has a food court with a variety of options, as well as a movie theater. What keeps you inspired to make work in Alabama and in Birmingham? [4], Towards the end of the film, more shops including Subway, Grady's Sandwich Shop, Robin's Nest Flowers & Gifts and Jewelry Doctor all close or move. The filmmakers don't even give key data like where this mall is even located. [3] As a result, foot traffic has declined and the parking lot is often barren. One charter school in Birmingham is giving some young people skills needed to address that problem. In the 90s Toys R Us was a retail powerhouse then the internet happened. Hours including holiday hours and Black Friday information. Whether youre looking for a new outfit, a new book, or just a place to walk around, the Jasper Mall is a great option. Note: This article may feature affiliate links, and purchases made may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Brett and I both went to Almeda and Baybrook malls in Houston, Texas. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Stay up to date on new open call deadlines, film releases, filmmaker interviews, career and film funding opportunities, and . Forest Fair Mall opened in 1988 with four anchors and 200 stores. They really looked out of place. By | March 10, 2023 | 0 . Nice slice of life documentary of a dying mall, but could use more context. Fewer young people want to work in trade jobs than ever before, and thats left a hole in the job market. I didnt know how there were regulars. Instead of expanding those key moments a little more to fit the overall narrative of the shopping center creeping closer to its own demise. Target will be out of business by 2022. is jasper mall in alabama still open May 21, 2021 For better or worse, malls were and in many places still are, a central gathering place for a town, a place where people meet, couples go on dates, kids get their first jobs, someone opens a business they've always . But that property at least has been redeveloped. The movie theater in particular was where all the major first-run movies played; I saw all the big blockbusters of the era there, like the original Star Wars movies, Superman (the Christopher Reeves version) Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. But even by the mid-80s, the mall was getting long in the tooth. Aces Adventures visited the mall after the documentary aired on Netflix just to see what it was like: Jasper Mall is an indoor shopping mall located outside of Birmingham, Alabama. Thomason: Some of the same ones Brett listed, plus "Marjoe," "American Movie," "F for Fake," "Crumb" and "Hands on a Hardbody.". Our business was started in 1973 in our family's hometown, Fayette, AL. And many local and independent shops have better selection of items than mall stores. Robin's Nest. Jasper Mall offers such straightforward Middle America vibes that anyone who's never left the big city they grew up in might find this pretty alien. The mall was built in 1977 and underwent a $8 million renovation in 2014. To add onto the mess, the shopping center itself sits in a predominately rural mountainous forest area with barely any locals due to the location's violent tornado patterns and borderline economic poverty problems. Currently there is one anchor store, Belk, and about ten smaller stores. Home; News; Sports; Extras; Walker Magazine; Subscribe; Residents of Walker and surrounding counties used to flock to the Jasper Mall for their weekly shopping trips. He thinks moving out into a more-trafficked area will allow his business to thriveit appears that he's right (as of this month, it seems that he's still open in his new location). The filming and editing of this documentary stood out. Material on this site is provided for education, criticism, commentary, cultural reporting, entertainment, historical reference, and news reporting/analysis. In an ironic twist of fate, Amazon Prime picked up the documentary Jasper Mall, which explores the phenomenon of a once-bustling mall in Jasper, Alabama, now slowly fading into obscurity. Only 21 Sears stores remain on the mainland, with two more in Puerto Rico. Smaller malls in the area are all but empty or closed. And like the best documentaries, it doesn't make any judgement calls about the people whose lives you're witnessing. But with the rise of online shopping, many indoor malls have suffered. That moment felt awkwardly staged reenactment as they look like they secretly have no clue why they agreed to meet there rather than at home texting. Gov. Race relations doesn't really connect with the overall mall narrative at all. 90 were here. So when I began watching this documentary, it brought me back to a time and place in my youth who's memory put a big smile on my face. Almost looks like if Joe Exotic sobered up. document.write ("'> But we can still revel in the nostalgia! Theres no denying retro malls are having a moment. Yes, it did happen over the course of a few days. When I see a mall thats kind of barely hanging on or thats not what it once was, I reflect a little bit on the fact theres probably similar stories in all of them. Don't forget to write a review about your visit at Belk in Jasper Mall and rate this store . Click Here to Book Direct. Lowest Rate Guarantee! He's our guide and he only gets more interesting as he reveals how he came to work at the mall. Belk in Jasper Mall shopping details. Although this movie did capture somewhat of a year in the life of a dying mall with its patrons & employees. I kinda like the petrifying nostalgia feel, those visuals give. What impact do you hope your documentary has on people who watch it? Seriously, you don't need to live in NY and LA to make films, especially now. HBCUs capitalize on growing interest by adding sport options, Increasing popularity of Alabamas Pinhoti Trail sparks economic opportunity, Rocky start for Alabama school choice bill, Any school can get you a diploma. Jasper, Alabama's mall is not too far off from this unfortunate fate and is struggling to keep its doors open for the dwindling populace who still walk its hallowed halls, despite the problematic convenience of online . Birmingham, Alabama-based filmmakers Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcom, the directorsbehind the season six finale, Jasper Mall, answer questions about filmmaking in the South. The Jasper Mall is a great place to shop for all your needs. As it turns out, the types of malls Gruen envisioned those more thoughtfully integrated into their communities have proven to be the most successful malls over the long haul, though retail and entertainment are more profitable and therefore largely prioritized over mixed-use purposes. It is a meditative, sensitive, and unsettling portrait of a mall that is dying in Alabama. JASPER, Ala. David Gifford, a preacher from Hamilton, Alabama (population: 6,800), drives nearly an hour to Jasper (population: 14,000) to shop at the JCPenney at the mall here in the northern . Numerous plans for redevelopment have come and gone; the latest was proposed a few months ago. One such example is the filmmaker's request in telling a teen couple's story about the struggles of starting an interracial relationship in the deep south. This documentary directed by Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb didn't really give much of any educational, scientific or historical value for the audience to look over. The Jasper Mall is a shopping mall located in Jasper, Alabama. The movie was so unexpected to me. [1], Jasper Mall often revolves around Mike McClelland, a former zookeeper, who serves as the mall's superintendent and works in a security and caretaking role. The mall opened on August 8, 1981. The film will premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival on January 24th, 2020. After filming for a year at the malls patrons, tenants, and employees, the store closed its doors permanently on July 31, 2020. Maybe the movie should have focus on that, rather than wasting film footage on the manager/security guard's Mike McClelland romanticizing his past job as a Tiger King type zookeeper. Others propose that economics were a major factor. The Jasper Mall is located in the heart of the city, just a few blocks from the train station. Truth be hold; the filmmakers only gave the viewer a few glimpses that something was a bit off about the Jasper mall. WBHM's Andrew Yeager spoke with Thomason. It lost its two primary anchor stores, Kmart and J.C. Penney, in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Jasper Mall is a time capsule for the future, where one day we will look back and say "remember when we used to go to the mall?" Malls were where you met your first love, where you went on your first date, where you met your best friends, where you made so many memories, and they're going away because American culture has changed. The 350,000-square foot mall was designed to hold about 35 or so stores. ", Jasper Mall opened in August 1981. So, lets get into exactly what Jasper Mall is and how it came to be where it is today. I surmise the internet killed the mall experience, but the kids and adults are missing the human contact in the end that we had. The documentary provides a good picture of the current state of the American middle class. The city was home to notable residents such as actors Michael Rooker, George Lindsey, and Polly Holliday, as well as Tallulah Bankhead, a stage and screen star who lived there briefly. It will not be possible to verify your ticket today, but knowing that you will be able to do so in the future is a huge advantage. is jasper mall in alabama still open. The mall is largely vacant today and mostly abandoned, yet amazingly, was still open for foot traffic as of 2018. In 2007, the last enclosed mall in the United States was completed, marking the first time in over 50 years that there had been no new enclosed malls constructed. Leaves you thinking about your mall days! WBHMs Andrew Yeager spoke with Thomason. A beautifully structured observational documentary. Jasper, AL 35501 205-221-2840 Follow us. The United States had 116,000 shopping malls in 2017, which is a slight increase over the previous year. Half way through I found my self wanting to take a road trip down to this mall just to purchase things from the people showcased. The doc's trailer is a poetic two-minute watch just by itself. There are stories and there are teenagers coming and going still. I really appreciated the thoughtful, evocative soundtrack as well. Kudos to the filmmakers. We want people to see humans. Kay Ivey replaced a Cabinet member who oversaw the state's award-winning prekindergarten program because of a teacher training book with language about inclusion and combatting structural racism, she said Thursday. The soundtrack was released on vinyl and cassette via the Alabama-based independent record label Earth Libraries. I turned it on depressed, after trying another "failed development" documentary too impressed with its own travelogue production values. I cannot find any information about movies jasper mall directed. Theres a lot of elderly people there. Filmmakers Bradford Thomas and Brett Whitcomb craft a genuinely engaging documentary by taking the viewer on a one-year journey of the mall and the people . ago I think it'll make a comeback, eventually. I would always get my mom to drop me off there for hours and I would watch a movie, eat pizza or if I had enough money eat at Lubys, play video games at Aladdins Castle, shop for CDs at Sam Goodie, walk around Radio Shack. Now that you know, have fun looking around! This was thoughtful and kind to us all. [3] Also chronicled are events hosted by the mall such as a carnival, visits from Santa Claus and an ensemble of singers. Its 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. This doc is admirable, sad, and hopeful. Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here. It was sold for $118 million less than the $118.78 million judgment against the Mall at Montgomery in Los Angeles, L.P. Overall the doc is really blunt and grim as it looks at a dying landscape something that many see in real life as the decline of the American mall is another change that all of us are dealing with. covers the mall itself, and interviews various individuals that work in all different types of positions within the mall, those who regularly visit the mall for different reasons, and business owners within the mall. So what does the future hold for malls and shopping centers, especially those that are currently vacant (assuming theyre not already demolished and the property redeveloped)? Jasper City Council approves agreement between city, Rural King for Jasper Mall location, Talladega woman killed in 2-vehicle crash, Arrest made in Tuscaloosa shooting; 1 injured, Senator Tuberville pushes for bill on institutional child abuse, Regional Airlines Dealing With Pilot Shortages, Homicide in Center Point, shooting in Birmingham believed to be connected. [10], On December 28, 2016, Sears Holdings announced that Kmart would be closing as part of a plan to close 30 Sears and Kmart stores nationwide. The film offers a cross section of people who work there and shop there as well as efforts (generally not successful) to increase foot traffic. The documentary is available for free through Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Vudu, and PLEX. Unfortunately, at that point the total number of malls didnt simply plateau, and building rates didnt merely decline. Sure, internet commerce has hurt malls across the country, but are there shopping areas in Jasper that are prospering, such as downtown or the area where the jewelry repair shop moved to? For one year it follows the local mall in Jasper, Alabama and how it declines and grows less and less with stores closing and chains going out of business.

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