Out-Marted

How Robert Greenwald's film is causing changes

by Martha Watterson

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price premiered in communities around the country in early November. Directed and produced by filmmaker Robert Greenwald and his company Brave New Films, this documentary brings together urban liberals and rural conservatives. Greenwald decided to make the film when one of his neighbors, unable to afford health care insurance as a full-time Wal-Mart employee, went on public assistance. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price has already begun to affect corporate healthcare reform.

Almost as interesting as its topic is the marketing and distribution of the film. It sidestepped Hollywood's traditional marketing and distribution systems by going straight to DVD and relying on the Internet as a marketing tool. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price opened at more than 6,800 venues, house parties, churches, and labor halls in early November, while showing at only a handful of movie theaters in New York and San Francisco.

Wal-Mart has huge amount of power in a number of markets. According to the LA Times, experts say Wal-Mart accounts for 30% of DVD sales nationwide. "Because the company controls sales of so many DVDs, books and albums, it's a (conservative) commissar of culture," said Greenwald. "Decisions it makes about what to stock affects what gets made in Hollywood." The DVD distribution and internet marketing allowed Greenwald to make an anti-Walmart film that would most likely never have been endorsed by Hollywood.

Wal-Mart and Small-Town America

Although most people have heard about the phenomenon of Wal-Mart moving into a small town, this film vividly illustrates the negative effects caused by the opening of the superstore. Besides harming downtown commerce and activity, community members discuss how Wal-Mart often builds a second, bigger store outside city limits. By moving within miles of its original location, Wal-Mart stores often avoid paying sales taxes. They leave large, empty Wal-Mart stores behind.

Wal-Mart and its Employees

Wal-Mart has been sued in 31 states by former employees who claim they were forced to work overtime without pay. The film suggests that this is a top-down management influence, not the decision of individual stores. Former workers talk about being forced to put in extra time on the job or being fired and replaced. Additionally, former Wal-Mart managers talk about how they were taught to work within the corporate system to squeeze more time from their staff and increase profits for the company.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price shows Wal-Mart with an aggressive anti-union stance. According to the film, any indication of union organization requires a manager to call the corporate office. One manager discusses how a team of three corporate executives flew in immediately via corporate jet and installed cameras in the store and parking lot, creating a culture of fear among employees.

There are profiles of employees who allege racism and sexism by the company. Additionally, the film asserts that Wal-Mart is turning a blind eye to poor working conditions in Asia and South America; a former factory inspector recalls sharing the information with Wal-Mart management and being shocked at their lack of support.

Wal-Mart has more employees receiving public aid in the state of Florida than any other corporation. This film estimates that Wal-Mart costs American taxpayers nearly $1.6 billion a year to support its employees through state programs.

Wal-Mart and Crime

According to Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, the company is also believed to be aware of crime in its parking lots without making efforts to implement any security measures. Many Wal-Mart stores provided no security in the parking lots, only anti-theft measures inside the stores. This lack of security has created an atmosphere in Wal-Mart parking lots which has led to crimes such as rape, abduction, and robbery.

Wal-Mart posted $285 billion in sales last year. According to Scripps Howard News Service, Wal-Mart owners, the Walton family, are among the ten wealthiest people in the US, together worth $102 billion. However, the Walton family gives less than 1% of their wealth to charity (as opposed to Bill Gates, who gives 58%). Additionally, Wal-Mart has a support fund for employees in need. Wal-Mart workers gave $5 million collectively last year to the employee support fund; the Walton family itself only gave $6,000.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price provides the sense of inspiration and hope; in a world where big business often calls the shots, individuals and communities still have a voice. While not exactly slick, the DVD is worth the $12.95 price tag and the discussion it creates. By the time the film is over, you will want to get up off your couch and get involved in efforts to make Wal-Mart and other large corporations more responsible to the towns they are serving.

In a recent email alert, Greenwald said that between the 100,000 DVDs and the 8,000 screenings worldwide, at least a million people have seen the film, and tens of millions more have been reached through all the media attention the film has received. In a January 5 article in the New York Times, Michael Barbaro reported that lawmakers in 30 states are preparing to introduce legislation that requires large corporations to increase spending on employee health insurance. Wal-Mart has just introduced what it considers more affordable health insurance for employees.

"Our goal isn't to close Wal-Mart down.   It is to make a better, more humane company toward its employees and the communities it is in," Greenwald told the San Francisco Chronicle.  

And perhaps he is succeeding.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price is available at http://www.walmartmovie.com/

FEBRUARY 2006

< HOME