Entertainment
Netflix's Perfect, Offbeat Documentary Is A Masterclass In Undetected Living
By Robert Scucci
| Published
With rent prices spiraling out of control, the average person has to figure out how to be thrifty enough to survive in this brutal economy if they want to maintain a comfortable quality of life. Personally, I freelance full time because it allows me to work from home and keep a flexible schedule. That lifestyle choice lets me stay home with my kids, saving a ton of money on child care. I’m also saving hand over fist on car maintenance and fuel costs because I don’t have a commute. In a past life, I remember dropping about 10 grand a year just getting to and from an office setting that made me miserable, so I don’t do that anymore, and my wallet thanks me for it.
Most importantly, I like staying home so I can actually enjoy what my rent pays for. I’ll stand in the vacant corner of the living room that we don’t quite know what to do with yet, simply because we’re paying for every single square inch and might as well use it. When my wife asks what I’m doing, I tell her I’m getting my money’s worth and enjoying my rent. While this behavior sounds a little silly, it’s nothing compared to what’s uncovered in the 2024 documentary, Secret Mall Apartment.
It’s Exactly What It Sounds like
If you’re wondering what Secret Mall Apartment is about, there’s no need to read between the lines. It’s about a collective of Rhode Island-based artists, led by Michael Townsend, who secretly lived inside the Providence Place shopping mall for four years without being discovered. What began as a creative solution to displacement ultimately became a long term, living art installation and a quiet protest against gentrification. Along the way, the documentary also makes a strong case for using art as a way to reclaim your life, which might be exactly the kind of inspiration you’re looking for right now.
It all started in 2003, when Michael Townsend and his friends Colin Bliss, Adrian Valdez Young, Andrew Oesch, Greta Scheing, James Mercer, Emily Ustach, and Jay Zehngebot needed a new base of operations after the dilapidated Eagle Square district, which functioned as a creative hub for local artists, was leveled to make way for the sprawling shopping center. Providence Place mall was never exactly welcomed by longtime residents, largely because it was seen as a development that would drive up costs and push lower income families out of the area.
While reluctantly wandering through the mall to see what all the hype was about, Townsend discovered a chunk of unutilized space where several structures intersected. That discovery sparked the idea to slowly transform it into a hidden apartment. With the help of his friends, they turned the space into a modest but functional living area of roughly 750 square feet. Using a Pentax Optio camera, they documented the entire process, from sneaking furniture into the space to tapping electricity from a nearby store. They even hauled in dozens of cinder blocks to construct their own wall and a locking door, all without drawing attention from security.
Technically Theft And Trespassing, But Also A Living Art Installment
Townsend was eventually discovered, cited for trespassing, and evicted from the secret mall apartment in 2007. Even so, it’s hard not to admire the initiative behind the whole thing. As the documentary makes clear, Townsend is the kind of person who sees art in everything, and transforming the space was simply another creative challenge. While living inside the mall, the group continued to work on ambitious projects under the radar, including contributing to an elaborate 9/11 memorial in New York City and creating large scale tape murals at children’s hospitals, more often than not working tirelessly for free.
Between these demanding projects, the group returned to their secret mall apartment to talk shop, plan their next ideas, and unwind by playing video games, watching TV, and simply having a place to exist without paying rent. The stunt itself is impressive, but it also functioned as a pointed commentary on gentrification. Providence Place was a massive development designed primarily for tourists rather than locals. After the construction of the 1.4 million square foot mall displaced a thriving underground art community, Townsend felt reclaiming 750 unused square feet was a fitting way to push back.
Secret Mall Apartment is a satisfying watch because the apartment represents more than just a clever place to live. It stands for reclaiming autonomy through unconventional means and tells a genuinely inspiring story about eight people who followed a strange idea because it felt like their calling at the time. Every person who lived in the secret mall apartment still works in the arts today. Meanwhile, the mall itself is currently under state receivership, which feels like an ironic footnote in a story about creativity outlasting corporate progress.
If you’re looking for a feel-good documentary that might spark something in your own creative life, or if you’re just looking for some thrifty interior decorating tips, you can stream Secret Mall Apartment on Netflix.
Entertainment
Super Bowl LX performers: Who is singing the anthems
The Super Bowl LX halftime show featuring Bad Bunny and the Super Bowl pre-show featuring Green Day may be taking up all the attention when it comes to Super Bowl performances — and rightfully so! Everyone is looking forward to what the internationally known artists will do or say regarding President Trump and ICE.
However, other musical artists are performing at this year’s Super Bowl as well.
Charlie Puth to sing national anthem
Kicking the show off with the U.S. national anthem “The Star-Spangled Banner” is the Grammy-nominated singer Charlie Puth. Puth’s debut single, “Marvin Gaye,” featuring Meghan Trainor, was a Billboard chart hit upon its 2015 release. Puth has since had other hits, including “We Don’t Talk Anymore (feat. Selena Gomez),” “Attention,” and “Nothing But Trouble.”
Mashable Top Stories
Brandi Carlile to perform patriotic song
Next up, singing “America the Beautiful” is singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile. Carlile has a whopping 11 Grammys and two Emmy awards. Her biggest hit was 2007’s “The Story,” but she is also known for songs like “Broken Horses” and “The Joke.”
Coco Jones to sing Black national anthem
Grammy Award-winning R&B artist Coco Jones will sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” has become a Super Bowl staple since 2021, when Alicia Keys performed it at the event. Singer and actress Ledisi performed the song at last year’s game.
Entertainment
How A Star Wars Set Malfunction Caused A Cast Member To Meet Jesus
By Chris Snellgrove
| Updated
Would you believe that arguably the most recognizable figure in the entire Star Wars franchise once ran into Jesus? This was no Jedi, although it’s admittedly fun to imagine what the Son of God might have had to say to someone else who could come back from the dead as a powerful ghost. No, the Star Wars character in question was R2-D2, and he had an accidental meeting with the divine when a remote control malfunction sent him to the set of Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth tv movie!
A long time ago (1977, to be precise), in a desert far, far away (Tunisia), two very different filmmakers were working on two very different projects. Franco Zeffirelli (best known for his Oscar-nominated Romeo and Juliet) was working on Jesus of Nazareth, which blended the four Gospels of the biblical New Testament into a single TV movie. Meanwhile, fresh off the success of American Graffiti, rebel filmmaker George Lucas was working on Star Wars, a movie that would effectively define his life while reshaping pop culture history as we know it.
Meeting The Maker
Aside from the involvement of James Earl Jones, these projects didn’t have much in common, and Lucas and Zeffirelli generally stayed out of each other’s way despite their sets neighboring one another. That all changed thanks to a scene requiring R2-D2 to be piloted using a remote control. While actor Kenny Baker was often inside the droid for scenes where R2 had to stay relatively still, there were some scenes in which George Lucas simply needed to move the little astromech from Point A to Point B.
In this case, Lucas intended for R2-D2 to exit a scene by rolling out from behind a sand dune. To do this, they intended to use a remote control, but the unit malfunctioned. Therefore, instead of stopping where the filmmakers intended, R2 just kept going until (as if guided by a higher power) he ended up on the set of Zeffirelli’s Jesus of Nazareth.
Fortunately, the runaway astromech didn’t cause any damage to the set of the Jesus TV movie, something that we can only assume would be some kind of sin. These days, the whole incident has become a bit of amusing trivia for Star Wars fans to share among themselves. At the time, though, R2 encountering a savior from heaven was just one more reason that filming this sci-fi blockbuster had become a living hell.
When Droids Move In Mysterious Ways
Reportedly, this is one of many incidents in which the droids weren’t doing exactly what the filmmakers needed them to do. On top of that, the droids were powered by exotic batteries that were hard to replace, and those batteries were soon drained in the hot Tunisian sun. Making matters worse, the truck storing R2-D2 and other droids once caught fire, damaging valuable props and costing George Lucas money he couldn’t really afford to spend.
Fortunately, it all worked out: after all these onset issues, Star Wars became one of the most successful films ever made. There are many reasons for this, including its perfect cast, killer effects, and charming story. However, we can’t discount the possibility that the movie’s success is a product of divine intervention; after all, his excursion to meet Jesus proves R2-D2 is a droid with friends in very high places!
Entertainment
Who is the Super Bowls Black national anthem singer Coco Jones?
“Lift Every Voice and Sing,” also known as the Black national anthem, has been sung at every Super Bowl since 2021, when Alicia Keys performed the song.
This year, at Super Bowl LX, Coco Jones will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
So, who is Coco Jones?
Mashable Top Stories
Coco Jones is a Grammy Award-winning R&B artist. In 2024, she was nominated for 5 Grammys and won one award for Best R&B Performance for her platinum-certified song “ICU.” She earned two more Grammy nominations in 2025 and was nominated for Best R&B Album at this year’s award show.
The artist’s father, Mike Jones, is a former pro football player. Jones was an NFL linebacker who played for the New England Patriots, St. Louis Rams, and Tennessee Titans.
If you’re not familiar with Coco Jones as an R&B artist, she might look familiar to you if you watched the Peacock series Bel-Air. Jones is the actor who played Hillary Banks on the drama that reimagined the Will Smith sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. As a child actor, she was also a well-known Disney Channel star, appearing in So Random!, Good Luck Charlie, and the Disney Channel Original Movie Let It Shine.
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