打造消费天堂: 百货公司与近代上海城市文化

Taking ""consumerism"" as the core concept, it discusses the meaning of mall in modern China, and how the capitalist enterprise organization spreads modern consumerism via the new consuming experience. The most distinct difference of the mall and the traditional shop lies in the scale. The mall is very big, which usually takes up the whole block. And it has so many products that can cover every need of our life. And its operation principle is to pursue the maximum of profits by have the most of transactions. Besides, the mall is more than a collecting and distributing center of humans and objects, but also a space to observe the social relations and power. Because of its complex components of the industry in the class, nationality and gender, we can break many set boundaries and re-discuss the cultural connotation of the Shanghai city.