11 Scenes From a Mall on Black Friday
Published Friday, November 25, 2011 at 04:00:00 AM
Every year of my life, I've spent Thanksgiving in very cold Cleveland, Ohio and faced down Black Friday sales starting at 4 am. This year I'm in not-freezing Los Angeles and the sales started at midnight. My girlfriend and I decided to head to a local mall to witness the hype firsthand.
Here are 11 random scenes from the mall on Black Friday.
This list was published on Friday, November 25, 2011 at 04:00:00 AM under the category Misc.
It currently has View Comments.
Published Friday, November 25, 2011 at 04:00:00 AM
Every year of my life, I've spent Thanksgiving in very cold Cleveland, Ohio and faced down Black Friday sales starting at 4 am. This year I'm in not-freezing Los Angeles and the sales started at midnight. My girlfriend and I decided to head to a local mall to witness the hype firsthand.
Here are 11 random scenes from the mall on Black Friday.
- Lines like the DMV-meets-Soviet Russia.
I tried to get as high as possible (physically in the mall -- not on, like, peyote) to capture the scene, but it was almost like trying to show the Grand Canyon in one photo. Basically, in this picture, taken around 11:55 pm, every level and almost every inch of the mall contains a line. The majority of the people in here are waiting for Target and Old Navy (guess they wanted a $4 shirt for $3.50?), but even less popular stores were drawing crowds...
- Even the Disney store?
I really thought all the Disney stores went out of business 15 years ago. And this one had a modest line. Maybe these people confused it with Disneyland?
- It's a stampede!
Most stores had fairly regulated lines. Not Macy's. Around 12:03 am they just opened up this garage door and a mass of humanity flooded inside. We were part of that mass of humanity because my girlfriend wanted to buy boots. My agenda was to take photos of madness; hers was getting a crazy deal. That seems just about right.
- Smell this shoe.
When we found the shoe department, it was already overrun. This photo is about 300 people in a shoe department designed to handle about 30. There wasn't even really room to try them on. My girlfriend did not find boots.
- Accio Black Friday deals.
I strongly suspect this guy did not really go to Hogwarts.
- Did Brookstone do something to offend you?
Brookstone was empty. I think it was the only empty national-brand store in the mall. Those two women inside are the two staff members, confused as to why every other store in the mall is jumpin' jumpin' and they're standing there with a warehouse of iPod docks and personal massagers and no customers.
- In L.A., apparently Black Friday features concerts from early 2000s pop stars.
I didn't get a good angle from the front, but the girl in the blue and chartreuse is Jojo. Not from K-Ci and JoJo. Jojo from two pop hits seven-ish years ago. And she actually sang those hits while that decent-sized crowd went crazy. (Although I'm not sure the mall fully thought this through -- do you really want the lyrics "Get out! Leave! Right now!" reverberating through the mall during the biggest shopping hour of the entire year?)
- Even the goth kids love Black Friday.
Blackness fills the day.
I am alone.
In pain.
Friday. Of black.
Suffering.
In a wasteland.
Target is too crowded. - Police out in full effect in front of Best Buy.
There were only two stores in the mall that still had massive lines at 1 am. Best Buy and Target. Here, outside of Best Buy, FIVE cops stood there to regulate. Which is good, I guess, since word was spreading that there was a fight at a Walmart in the Valley where a woman pepper sprayed a bunch of people over an XBox. But perhaps they were doing TOO good of a job regulating...
- Best Buy was NOT filled to capacity.
In fact, Best Buy was so carefully regulating its customer flow that it actually appeared to be fairly empty from the outside. I took this picture at 1:00 am, when there were still 500 people in line. It was just like a hot club that keeps a giant line outside and only lets 20 people in. On this night and this night only, Best Buy IS that hot club.
- And finally...
"Sam, do NOT put that picture on your website, I am making a really bad face."
This list was published on Friday, November 25, 2011 at 04:00:00 AM under the category Misc.
It currently has View Comments.
Did you enjoy this list?
11 Points is a one-man operation that relies on word-of-mouth & repeat readers.
So please consider sharing this list using the social media icons in the box, and/or joining the 11 Points mailing list, Facebook fan page and Twitter feed.
11 Points is a one-man operation that relies on word-of-mouth & repeat readers.
So please consider sharing this list using the social media icons in the box, and/or joining the 11 Points mailing list, Facebook fan page and Twitter feed.
11 Famous Bands Who Used to Have Very Different Names
Published Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 11:00:00 AM under the category Music
11 Worst Fast Food Restaurants - 11 Points Countdown
Published Monday, May 14, 2012 at 11:00:00 AM under the category Countdown
11 Really Old Actors Who Played Teenagers on TV
Published Friday, May 11, 2012 at 11:00:00 AM under the category TV
11 Best Cheap Ways to Get Drunk - 11 Points Countdown
Published Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 11:00:00 AM under the category Countdown
11 Random Thoughts on The Avengers
Published Monday, May 7, 2012 at 11:00:00 AM under the category Movies
11 Most Depressing Place Names In the US
Published Friday, May 4, 2012 at 10:00:00 AM under the category Travel
Full Archive
Published Wednesday, May 16, 2012 at 11:00:00 AM under the category Music
11 Worst Fast Food Restaurants - 11 Points Countdown
Published Monday, May 14, 2012 at 11:00:00 AM under the category Countdown
11 Really Old Actors Who Played Teenagers on TV
Published Friday, May 11, 2012 at 11:00:00 AM under the category TV
11 Best Cheap Ways to Get Drunk - 11 Points Countdown
Published Wednesday, May 9, 2012 at 11:00:00 AM under the category Countdown
11 Random Thoughts on The Avengers
Published Monday, May 7, 2012 at 11:00:00 AM under the category Movies
11 Most Depressing Place Names In the US
Published Friday, May 4, 2012 at 10:00:00 AM under the category Travel
Full Archive
11 Points is comprised entirely of (theoretically) humorous 11-item lists covering a giant swath of topics.
It's composed entirely by this stern-
faced goon to the right. His name
is Sam. Screw Flanders.
It's composed entirely by this stern-
faced goon to the right. His name
is Sam. Screw Flanders.
11 Points Mailing List
updates, contests, exclusives
updates, contests, exclusives
(advertisement)
Friends, Bloggers and Well-Wishers
(Meaning they wish me no specific harm.)
(advertisement)
(Meaning they wish me no specific harm.)
(advertisement)
11 Points is a collection of exhaustively-researched, meticulously-written, theoretically-humorous 11-item lists, covering topics ranging from TV and movies to the Internet and video games to food and dating to politics and race relations.
It's all written by Sam Greenspan, a Midwest-born, classically-trained journalist who now tries to make a dollar out of 15 cents in Los Angeles. (It's hard to be legit and still pay the rent.)
Read more about 11 Points and Sam here.
For information about reprinting 11 Points content, or for quotes/interviews for your newspaper, magazine, website, TV program, or radio show, contact Sam via e-mail at
It's all written by Sam Greenspan, a Midwest-born, classically-trained journalist who now tries to make a dollar out of 15 cents in Los Angeles. (It's hard to be legit and still pay the rent.)
Read more about 11 Points and Sam here.
For information about reprinting 11 Points content, or for quotes/interviews for your newspaper, magazine, website, TV program, or radio show, contact Sam via e-mail at
