(no subject)
OMG YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE!!!!111%^&?~^#...
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
If there is, was, or will be a Wal-Mart near you, you should see this movie.
If you're a U.S. citizen, you should see this movie.
If you form part of the global economy, you should see this movie.
Incoherent hyperbole aside, the documentary does have its faults--I think they overstated the connection between underfunded schools and subsidies to Wal-Mart; the editing was occasionally annoying; as with any strongly polemical piece, there were statistics flung about that could easily be picked at.
Nonetheless, this ranks with Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Corporation as a call to action. Prepare to be shocked, repelled, and nauseated by the stories former and current Wal-Mart employees have to tell about intimidation, discrimination, and outright being cheated out of pay; punishment for whistleblowing; and more. Then there's the environmental devastation, the abuse of workers in Latin America and Bangladesh and China, the skyrocketing crime rate in unguarded immense parking lots, the crushing of small-town businesses in the United States.
The filmmakers interviewed German employees of two companies taken over by Wal-Mart; fortunately, they were able to stay unionized. One woman said, sincerely baffled: "I don't see why the American workers put up with this, why they can't have a Workers' Council, if Wal-Mart's supposed to be all one big family." You and me both, friend!
The movie is definitely aimed at an American audience. There's several clips where interviewees say things like, "I don't want anything to do with socialism, BUT..." "I'm all for free enterprise, BUT..." It frustrates me that so many people in the States, when making mildly progressive comments, seem to feel the need to preface them with, "I'm not really a leftist/liberal/pinko/Commie! I'm a true-blue American!"
However--if such disclaimers help more people connect with the message of the film, I'll grit my teeth and bear it.
In other news: I stayed out way past my proper bedtime, drank a whole glass of Woodchuck hard cider and talked shop with the librarian I went to see the movie with, and now I'm trying to type with a heavy cat draped over one arm.
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
If there is, was, or will be a Wal-Mart near you, you should see this movie.
If you're a U.S. citizen, you should see this movie.
If you form part of the global economy, you should see this movie.
Incoherent hyperbole aside, the documentary does have its faults--I think they overstated the connection between underfunded schools and subsidies to Wal-Mart; the editing was occasionally annoying; as with any strongly polemical piece, there were statistics flung about that could easily be picked at.
Nonetheless, this ranks with Fahrenheit 9/11 and The Corporation as a call to action. Prepare to be shocked, repelled, and nauseated by the stories former and current Wal-Mart employees have to tell about intimidation, discrimination, and outright being cheated out of pay; punishment for whistleblowing; and more. Then there's the environmental devastation, the abuse of workers in Latin America and Bangladesh and China, the skyrocketing crime rate in unguarded immense parking lots, the crushing of small-town businesses in the United States.
The filmmakers interviewed German employees of two companies taken over by Wal-Mart; fortunately, they were able to stay unionized. One woman said, sincerely baffled: "I don't see why the American workers put up with this, why they can't have a Workers' Council, if Wal-Mart's supposed to be all one big family." You and me both, friend!
The movie is definitely aimed at an American audience. There's several clips where interviewees say things like, "I don't want anything to do with socialism, BUT..." "I'm all for free enterprise, BUT..." It frustrates me that so many people in the States, when making mildly progressive comments, seem to feel the need to preface them with, "I'm not really a leftist/liberal/pinko/Commie! I'm a true-blue American!"
However--if such disclaimers help more people connect with the message of the film, I'll grit my teeth and bear it.
In other news: I stayed out way past my proper bedtime, drank a whole glass of Woodchuck hard cider and talked shop with the librarian I went to see the movie with, and now I'm trying to type with a heavy cat draped over one arm.