"Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" = Must See Film

In late October I wrote a harsh post criticizing Ron Galloway's film "Why Wal-Mart Works and Why That Makes Some People Crazy." Ron responded with a kind of thumb-on-the-nose, who-are-you-to-talk-about-things-you-don't-understand defense which I wasn't buying. I responded. Well, I haven't seen it yet as I refuse to purchase it and give my buddy Ron my hard earned scratch so I'll have to wait until I can rent it or catch a free viewing. But I did see Robert Greenwald's film "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price," the catalyst for the rivalry between Galloway and Greenwald (for the record, Galloway's film was planned and released after Greenwald's film and can thus appropriately and accurately be called a reactionary film). I didn't really talk about Greenwald's film because it made sense to me that someone would eventually create a documentary that explored the vile depths of the mega chain, ultimately confirming our worst suspicions.

So, as I've said, I finally watched his film and let me say this: You have to watch it too. Sure, there are plenty of anecdotes, figures and percentages that you can throw at your barber, your morning coffee guy, whomever. Some of them will actually make your brow furrow and your jaw drop. All of that is to be expected. But this is a film that examines not just Wal-Mart's impieties and social injustices that adorn the path of destruction it has paved across the American landscape, but also looks at the global ramifications. Interviews with workers in China shed light on a shadowy underbelly of the mega chain's manufacturing process. You’ve heard stories about poor working conditions and whip-cracking shift supervisors but that's just the beginning. The focal manufacturing facility of the film looked eerily like a (mostly) female prison.

Perhaps what makes the film most powerful however, are the stories of how Wal-Mart's expansionist efforts to infiltrate every town and community across America really effects small, family-run businesses. Hearing the words from these people's mouths actually makes the blood in your veins pump faster, your teeth and fists clench, and your stomach knot. This is but a fleeting sensation, for one need only see the pain and hardship that befell a man like Red Esry, owner and creator of the now defunct Esry's Grocery in Hamilton Missouri, as those feelings of anger subside and give way to compassion and sympathy (empathy if you’ve been there too).

Just when you think you know all there is to know about Wal-Mart, Greenwald throws another fastball of truth right at you. Critics of the film have attacked Greenwald's fact-checking (which is to be expected), but it's hard to argue against first-person narratives and personal accounts from former Wal-Mart employees, people who have done the dirty deeds and seen the dark, inner workings of the machine. Unfortunately, no current Wal-Mart executive would be interviewed for Greenwald's film, refusing to give the filmaker an opportunity to ask them the questions that really need to be asked. They were, however, willing to be interviewed for Mr. Galloway's film (again, no surprise). The questions, no doubt, will hardly scratch the surface and the responses from self-satisfied and self-righteous white men, offering confounded stats and subjective interpretations, are bound to require the viewer to have a vomit bucket at the ready.

I stand by my initial assessment of Ron Galloway's film and suspect that it will be an excellent promotional video and/or an abysmal documentary that somehow attempts to justify Wal-Mart's success under the guise of capitalism. I don't care how many interviews there are with Wal-Mart employees who say they are just so happy to be working for such a wonderful company, the truth is in the figures and the figures don't lie. Wal-Mart is driven by money, bottom line.