Critical Essay #3

In today's critical essay I will be talking about a cultural space of my choice. The cultural space I have chosen is a shopping mall located in Ortigas Centre, Mandaluyong called Shangri-La Plaza. I will be viewing this cultural space with the marxist approach in mind. Shangri-La Plaza opened on November 21, 1991 and is owned by the Kuok Group of Companies, who are also the owners of the chains of Shangri-La hotels and resorts. "Shang" as it is normally referred to contains around 300 shops and restaurants of various class levels but mainly leans towards the upscale. The main mall contains 6 floors of shops and restaurants and is the oldest part of the mall. The east wing, which was completed in 2013 contains 5 floors of high-end shops and restaurants and also serves as the podium for the residential One Shangri-La Place.

Though the crowd that frequents this mall is very diverse, there seems to be more people from the middle to upper class compared to the lower class. This is especially evident in the upscale east wing area which contains stores such as Gucci, Rolex, Omega etc. In the main mall a more varied crowd can be found as affordable stores could be found in this area such as Folded & Hung and Bench. It is also in the main mall that you can find the middle ground of the choices, shops such as Zara and Gap which are not that cheap but at the same time affordable. A couple of high end brands can still be found in the main mall such as Ralph Lauren and Rustan's department store which is a very upscale department store that carries multiple international brands in luxury. 

As for the restaurants the more expensive ones cane be found in the east wing while affordable ones are found in the main mall and sadly the ones considered "cheap" are located in the food court which can be found in the basement of the main mall. It is also visible what kinds of people frequent which area as those who look rich can be found in the upscale restaurants while regular workers and employees are found dining in the food court.

It sometimes saddens me to see how divided the classes are especially in shopping malls wherein the placements of the shops are deliberately made to cluster all people of the same class to a specific area as if to prevent theme from mingling with one another. The only area where this is not apparent is the cinema where everyone no matter the class will be in the same area enjoying the same amenities. Observing Shangri-La with the marxist approach has made me realize many things in this mall that I frequent often that I have never paid much mind to before.