Mall City

MALL CITY

It's where I want to be! 38,000+ views. 800+ comments.

The Song

Mall City recorded by The Rawtones, an art-punk band from New York City.

The Documentary

Began as a music video, evolved into an NYU film project and found new life as a documentary.

The Legacy

Rebuilt from the original footage, the definative cut of the film lives on to delight viewers today.

MALL CITY

Was it the curiosity of exploring another world, much like the the early adventurers making contact with another civilization? Or it was the pursuit of a new form of journalism, breaking away from the documentary film norms of the time. Or maybe it was experimenting with a totally new hybrid; a song inspires a documentary that inspires a music video.

The documentary film Mall City has become an internet phenomenon and a favorite among fans of cultural studies and 80’s nostalgia. Directed and produced by Hugh Kinniburgh, a native New Yorker, this film has an amazing longevity.

Mall City was originally a short twenty minute film that included only a few interviews and concluded with a music video based on the song of the same name. Now, over three decades since the original footage was taped, Kinniburgh took the entire stock of raw footage from ancient betamax video tapes and brought new life to the film. Based on the previous shorter version, he expanded the film into a full length feature that is a time capsule of a particular moment in our culture. Today, we have the opportunity to step back in time and be immersed in a day at the mall, circa 1983.

It was the challenge to break barriers that drove Kinniburgh, then a film student at New York University, to take a safari into the depths of Long Island venturing out to study the culture of the people of the mall.

“I was in a band at the time and recorded a song called Mall City. It was a reflection of my experience hanging out at my local suburban mall. I wanted to make a music video for the song. Around the same time I had to produce a documentary for my film class at NYU. I thought, let’s combine the two and actually go to the real Mall City. My classmate David lived near the Roosevelt Field Mall in Long Island. At the time it was known as the purest example of a suburban mall, at least on the East Coast”. So the safari team loaded up the gear and headed to the Eldorado of malls.

“I was a big Hunter S. Thomson fan and understood the basis of Gonzo journalism. It’s quantum physics. The observer influences what they are observing. To me, it was a simple step to have myself and my crew on camera as part of the experience” tells Kinniburgh.

The natural, conversational style of interviewing was practically unheard of at the time. “I wanted the viewer to feel like they were with us as we explored this environment. The casual, familiar tone came naturally to myself and my crew.” By using this technique, the team captured honest responses from real people. “Remember, back then people were not used to having a camera in their face. We were really way ahead of our time.”

Teenagers hanging out at the mall playing video games, meeting potential dates, shopping for record albums - all seems like ancient history. Old folks and youngsters mingling. Taking in the styles of times just by watching other people. Smoking indoors. Meeting friends face to face. Mall City is a film that is a unique time capsule and a document of a period of American Culture that we may never see again.

The film has been a huge hit on Youtube. The comments are all positive, encouraging and above all nostalgic.

“I wonder where all those people are now,” muses Kinniburgh. “The kids must be in their late 40’s and 50’s. The old folks are gone. Record stores, the music store, video arcades..all just memories now. I’m glad we captured an essential part of east coast American life.”

And we are thankful as well. Be sure to check out Mall City on YouTube.

VIEWERS COMMENT

The community speaks. Love and Nostalgia.

saramations

This documentary is gold. It captures the consumerism boom of the 80s so well. What a time capsule.

aldeshsa

I appreciate so much that a few chose to document the state of mall/ pop culture of the day. Such forward thinking was so ahead of it's time. A video time capsule to be cherished.

CanadiAnnie

I miss the mall days of the 80s..all day Saturdays with friends, records and tapes, making mixed cassettes, arcades, eating in the food court, the best days! Gone forever. 🇨🇦❤️

마리야ᄏᄏᄏ

Such a weird concept that the people who made this video had at the time

As if he knew that people in the future would be interested about 80's mall culture

Todd Mastrianna

It`s ironic that we have the internet to thank for showing us how much better life was before the internet

rangers199487

Excellent video. Brought me back in time. The girls with the feathered hairstyle and the guys with the shag haircuts. Members Only jackets, denim jackets, army fatigues. The Long Island accents. Record stores. The horrible eyeglass frames.

S Luzardo

This is a well made piece of history. Amazing that you kept it all these years. It is pretty clear for its' time and not rushed. Captures the feeling of the decade really well.

Mike Wurn

This is like a bizarre time capsule for the culture of the 80's. Kind of freaked me out a bit coming from this generation myself.

Jason Huffman

I'm a child of the 80s and miss mall culture so much. It was such an innocent time. I'm 46 now and my friends and i still HANG at the mall. We shop, eat, talk to people, have fun, and we absolutely still have fun there. We interact with people, with each other, with mall employees. Can't have that experience online. Amazon will never and has never been able to replicate our human experience when we hang at the mall.

Brad the Pitts

This video was WAY ahead of its time. Street interviews with real people. Since most people in the area were white, they seem to have tried to be inclusive by proportionally including black, Puerto Rican, senior-aged, and even handicapped people. In any case, it's interesting to see how people were not used to speaking on camera in 1983.

ღMs Sinocentღ

LOVED this video. Brought back so many fun cool memories of when I was a kid at the mall.

Eric Gordon

Great video! They should show this on PBS. I was 11 when they made this. The interviews are great but the last three minutes with that punk rock band it’s just an excellent throwback.

the eye in the sky

Wowww!! This is the coolest video I've ever seen on malls. This stuff is great! We love it! It should be in a film fest!

Tara Hunsaker

I’m absolutely obsessed with this video. I can’t stop watching it. Ah childhood... I was 7 in 1983 but I remember these times as clear as day. I wish we could know where these people are today. Thank you for creating this and sharing this!

saramations

“This is my first year in this country" Goes on to explain how his grandparents hung out in central park and things he did as an American kid

Melissa Service Pack 7

OMG!! This is sooooo awesome!! I remember this mall when I was a kid. I was about 6 years old in 1983. My grandparents used to take me here all the time!

ziggy morris

Holy blast from my past lol. The “Time Out” arcade, Sterns, Gimbels, the green “Spirit of St.Louis” biplane that used to be suspended from the ceiling near the cafe, it was also where they set up Santa Claus during Christmas.

Highly Relevant Commenter

Makes me want to put on a Member's Only jacket and smoke a cigarette!

ABOUT

The journey through time and back again.

Winter 1982

The Song is Written

Mall City is originally a song penned by Hugh Kinniburgh and David Yaphe then known as Grubeck Truk. The pair brings the song to the legendary rock 'n roll mansion Hargrovia where they form the first lineup of The Rawtones and film the song.

Spring 1983

Film Production

The band needs a music video for the song. Hugh has to produce a film documentary for NYU. The film crew travels to Roosevelt Field Mall for the shoot. The documentary/music video hybrid Mall City debuts June 1983.

Fall 2016

Tapes Rediscovered

The original short form edit and the camera master footage of Mall City is found on four Betamax tapes. The tapes are digitally remastered and imported into an Avid editing system.

Spring 2017

Redux Edit and Release

The definative edit of Mall City is re-created from the camera master footage. Vintage titles and remastered original music added. The original footage from The Rawtones session is remastered. The film is released on YouTube. Over 35,000 people have traveled back to 1983 and left over 800 comments.