Introduction
Wal-Mart, the high cost of low price, is a documentary film released in the year 2005. The movie, directed by Robert Greenward, presents the unknown or hidden businesses of one of the world’s largest corporations (Wal-Mart). The picture is made real through interviews with former employees as well as small business entrepreneurs that were associated with the business practices of Wal-Mart. The movie tries to make the viewer understand the impact of the retail giant on people’s personal lives.
The director’s message (point of the movie)
According to the director (Robert Greenward) of the movie Wal-Mart the high cost of low prices, the point he was trying to pass across is that not all that glitters is gold. This is because consumers of Wal-Mart products are some of the most satisfied. This is because they get the best goods, services, and even in some cases, the best after-sales services. However, what is hidden from the ordinary eye are the processes that are involved in bringing about these products as near to them as possible. The director wanted the people to see and hear for themselves firsthand how the operations of Wal-Mart do even affect their lives indirectly in a negative manner.
Analysis
The movie starts with the company’s CEO, lee Scott addressing a convention of company employees. In this address, the CEO praises the company employees for the ‘good job they have been doing. The director tries to portray the impact of the retail giant’s business practices on the general population as well as the environment not only in America but on a global scale.
Among the issues that come up in the ensuing interviews include the issue of poor workers’ rights administration, poor environmental protection policies as well as anti-union tendencies.
Among the concepts /themes found in this film that are found in Schaefer’s and Haaland’s book include the issue of the relation between the firms, the community, and the environment. In this perspective, the movie analyzes the impact of Wal-Mart’s operations on the environment that the people live in (2002).
The concept of pollution is clearly espoused as one of the most adverse that affects the environment of the same consumers of the company products. The issue of land contamination, air pollution, and water pollution are clearly highlighted, especially in Latin America, where the company sources some of its textile products.
In the case of Wal-Mart, it looks like the major role the environment plays’ using Dunlap’s analysis is that of a waste repository center. Thus the issue of environmental justice seems not to have been done since the company activities affect all and sundry. The concept of defended neighborhood environmental justice (Richard T. Schaefer, Bonnie Haaland, and Chapter, p. 15) can serve as an efficient instrument for the realization of the damaging effect of Walmart activities on the populace. According to this concept, environmental justice is a crucial right of the community members, and it must be enforced through legislation and human rights advocacy. But as movie scenes show, it is quite difficult to enforce laws on the capitalist moguls.
Another concept/theme that arises is that of the relation between the government and the private sector. It is argued that the role of the government is to provide the greatest happiness to a majority of the populace(John Locke). Looking at the activities of the Wal-Mart corporation portrayed in the movie, the director leaves us pondering the question of whether our governments are working towards making us happy or not. This is because the government has also failed to protect the small-scale businesspersons who endlessly have to lock their doors whenever Wal-Mart shows up around the corner.
This is even why at the closing moments of the movie, the director attracts the imagination of viewers by putting on community leaders who have vehemently refused the setting up of Walmart stores in their localities and who advise others to do the same.
In turn, it raises a very important issue of monopoly. According to Baran’s (1966) analyses of American society, monopolization is an inevitable characteristic of the economy. The role of the state in curbing monopolization is limited because usually, it represents and protects their interests. It is important to note that the globalization of Walmart activities in the third world countries, depicted in the movie, contributes to the diminishing of the national agriculture sector and the development of the informal economy.
According to Butler (2003), the formation of the informal economic sector has a damaging effect on women, who became the main victims of exploitation. The feminist approach to this matter supposes that the main motor of changing the situation is curbing monopolies by women empowerment and emancipation.
Critique
Although the film does show the negatives of wall-mart, it does less to show us the other side of the story. Although wal-mart does destroy the environment, at least it does have some environmental protection policies. What the director fails to point out is that everyone does disgrace the environment in his/her own way. Even the small-scale producer who is portrayed as the victim is actually not a victim per se since they also contribute to exploitation since, surprisingly, their prices are usually higher than those offered by Wal-mart are. In addition, the director does not show us a sample of the people whose lives may have been positively impacted by the operations of wall-mart.
Conclusion
The movie itself is well directed. It took a lot of analysis to make the movie as real as possible. This is the reason why the director ensures that most of the scenes within the movie encompass former employees who have had it with Wal-Mart. In addition, he incorporates people whose business operations have been affected by the operations of Wal-Mart. In addition, the thaw movie presents the real picture that the audience was required to see.
References
- Baran, A. Paul. Monopoly Capital: An essay on the American economic and social order. New York: Monthly Review Press, 1966.
- Butler, Judith., Beck-Gernsheim, Elizabeth. et al. Women & Social Transformation. New York: Counterpoints, 2003.
- Jeffrey, H. Rattiner Getting Started as a Financial Planner. Bloomberg Press, 2005
- Richard T. Schaefer, Bonnie Haaland. Sociology: a brief introduction. McGraw-Hill: Ryerson, 2003
- Spotts, Greg. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. New York: Disinformation Company, 2005