Andres Rivera
Staff Writer

The Cabaret Theatre was filled with about 50 people Tuesday night to see the screening of “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price,” a documentary which further exposes the negative attributes associated with Wal-Mart stores. This screening was one of over 3,000 scheduled screenings to be held across the nation for the movie’s premiere week.

“There are over 3,000 screenings arranged this week,” Elizabeth Pietrzak, theatre manager, said.

In order for a screening to be held, the film needed to be purchased for $12 through the Web site, www.walmartmovie.com. The film came with a press package that contained posters and other handouts.

The film, directed by Robert Greenwald, journeys across the nation and even over seas to unmask the apparent injustices that the Wal-Mart corporation is responsible for through the lives of families that have been effected as well as former employees, managers and business executives.

“I knew it was bad, but all the numbers they gave hit home,” said Jessica Wetzel, junior liberal studies major.

The documentary compares the company’s commercials and speeches from CEO Lee Scott with the solemn tales from families, which contradict what the company says they are doing. It touches base on most of the common criticisms that anti-Wal-Mart supporters use.

The film gives examples of small businesses going under, employees with insufficient benefits and low wages, the lack of unions, overseas employees with harsh working conditions, high crime rates in store parking lots and environmental problems as a result of Wal-Mart’s negligence.

The film starts with the Hunter family of Ohio who were forced to close their hardware store after 43 years in operation. Viewers learn about the inner-workings from ex-employees and managers like Weldon Nicholson and Josh Noble.

Many statistics are shown with dramatic music after each segment. At times, patriotic songs play in the background to connote a false sense of patriotism on the company’s part. Wal-Mart’s lack of patriotism can best be shown through the union segment. Ex-managers expose the company of doing anything possible to stop its employees from being unionized.

“That is so un-American,” Wetzel said after reflecting on Wal-Mart’s anti-union tactics.

Continued images of families losing their businesses and struggling to afford a comfort?able life with positions lacking in benefits are shown.
These images are over-dramatized by the music at times, which managed to force some laughs out of the audience, and the video is not the best in quality.

The Walton family is portrayed as paranoid and money hungry, which may be so.

Their personal bunker complete with helipad, built after Sept. 11, 2001, is shown along with their lack of charity.

Towards the end, the documentary becomes light-hearted with the introduction of people that are fighting Wal-Mart who seem to be succeeding.

The film focuses on two communities, one being Inglewood, Calif., that were challenging the construction of a Wal-Mart.

In the end, leaders from different communities around the nation are shown winning against Wal-Mart stores making the inference that fighting the company is patriotic and beneficiary.

“I didn’t know so many cities won the battle against Wal-Mart,” Katie Sims, junior sociology major, said.

A discussion was planned to follow the movie, but since the movie ended so late, the discussion was cancelled.

Even though the crowd left rather quickly, there was a significant turn out.
“It was really nice to see all these people, a lot of people from the community,” Pietrzak said.

Andres Rivera can be reached at arivera3@ulv.edu.