America: land of the free, home of the brave, vacuous, greedy, selfish and self-gratifying masses. I gather whoever sees this will view it as a basic mockery, a documentary that slanders Wal-Mart for no clear reason, and I know to those short sighted, narrow-minded many, it won’t seem to be a credible complaint for this store that has taken toll on America, those who don’t seem to care that the employees are being shafted all in exchange for cheap merchandise, and is fueled by our need to gratify ourselves without any consideration to whom it may effect.
Before you make any assumptions against this film, be sure to watch it first. Now, for many calling Wal-Mart an evil corporation may seem like an exaggerated lie all to help further the agenda for people whom are against this franchise called Wal-Mart, but for some it’s an all too real and brutal prospect (Take for example, the Walton’s high security bunker). Greenwald’s tense documentary tracks many insults to our society from the workers whom aren’t worth promoting if they’re black or women, the high crime rate in Wal-Mart parking lots, and the other countries like China whose workers are paid literally close to nothing and kept under tight inhumane restrictions.
To be clear, this is not a leftist documentary speaking out against capitalism, it actually does pay homage to the few capitalists whom have given back like Bill Gates, it simply asks you to take in to consideration humanity and human suffering, and be you left or right, you can’t deny how much these people suffer. Perhaps Wal-Mart isn’t an evil corporation, but it comes pretty damn close. This isn’t Michael Moore though, there’s really no need to embellish when all the facts are there in our face. There’s no crafty editing, manipulative narration, or addition of news reports that are very old, Robert Greenwald interviews ex-employees and pretty much explains with clear focus what Wal-Mart is doing to this country, and to our economy. This isn’t progression, its consumption. The Walton’s the founders of Wal-Mart insist on taking and taking and give very little back, and Wal-Mart continues to rule by engulfing small towns and pushing out small business owners by force, intimidation, and manipulation.
Though “High Cost of Low Price” does tend to be melodramatic for a film about this corporation, there’s no denying the facts that really do shed new light on this company that has built a monopoly and continues to grow. Take for example the fact that they give their employees medical insurance, but the use of it comes from their own paycheck, how some have to choose between eating or healing their children, and how instead of helping their employees, they encourage them to go to public aide so they won’t have to support them, or, how they keep their workers under constant illegal surveillance. Greenwald doesn’t need to put a twist on these facts, yet he examines how most of what’s happened is our fault. Our lust for low prices, and values really have been the bane of these poverty-stricken workers lives, and Greenwald also explores how towns in America have rallied to keep out this corporation who in some respects tries to take small towns and build their own civilization, and push out these store owners. Approach this with an open mind; you’d have to be cold-hearted not to care for these affected people’s lives that Wal-Mart has little sympathy for.
