|
The ethics of big business come under the spotlight in this
enlightening documentary about the working practices of Wal-Mart,
the world's largest supermarket store. Owners of Asda stores
in the UK, this $100 billion American retailer has been expanding
its operations globally and despite being one of the most
powerful corporations in the world, it is also heavily criticised
for business ethics. This film interviews workers and campaigners
along with comments from Mal-Warts CEO...
Mal-Wart:
The High Cost of Low Price is
an interesting documentary will make you think enlighten you
about greedy supermarket business practices - although to
be honest its unlikely to make you change the way you shop.
While I've been aware for years that Tesco (nothing to do
with Wal-Mart, but it is the UK's largest retail supermarket
chain) have been squeezing manufacturers to bring cheap goods
to the consumer, and trying to provide a one-stop-shop for
all your needs (be they banking, insurance etc) and slowly
expanding the remit of what they do sell, I was never overly
bothered.
If
farmers have a problem with the low price point they get for
selling milk to Tesco, then maybe they should not sell to
them and look to sell elsewhere. Surely if all dairies said
"No!" to the large supermarkets they wouldn't be
able to sell things so cheaply.
I
also didn't have a problem with large supermarkets coming
into towns and putting all the local traders out of business.
It may sound harsh, but that is how the times are changing.
You can't stand in the way of progress. Did manufacturer's
of horse and carts start getting all huffy when motor vehicles
were introduced? Well, probably, but the fact is that people
like the convenience of being able to buy all their weekly
shopping under one roof. And, if it's cheaper than local independents,
then so be it - that's competition.
But,
I was equally aware that once the local business go out of
business that, in the future when the supermarkets are used
for everything - holidays, car sales etc - that the price
can quite easily climb very steeply as consumers come to rely
on the supermarkets if they have squeezed all the competition
out of the market. This is not something this DVD touches
upon, but it does look at how Wal-Mart harms, rather than
benefits small towns.
This
DVD is, obviously, aimed more at the American market. However
it takes a global look and shows how Wal-Mart is penetrating
the UK (thanks to it's purchase of the Asda chain) as well
as other areas of the world. And it also examines some of
the countries it exploits to make its cheap products.
The
way that large corporations come in, practically use slave
labour, exploit loopholes so that the government pay health
insurance, and generally act as parasites is frightening stuff.
It really is the stuff of bleak futuristic sci-fi movies.
Ironically
this release is launched (24 July 2006) as an Asda store (owned
by Wal-Mart) is in the process of being built in Newton Abbott,
Devon, not that far from our offices. It's pretty obvious
that part of their pitch involved promising the council that
they would build a new road layout system to ease congestion
(incidentally that's not necessarily the case as already we've
noticed that the traffic lights are not designed to keep the
traffic flowing as smoothly as they could be) and to get the
locals on their side they are already proudly advertising
the fact that they are footing the bill for this year's Christmas
lights.
So,
I was pleasantly surprised to see that Asda is actually stocking
this DVD on it's website. However it describes the movie in
ways I'm sure Wal-Mart will not approve of:
"This
expose of what can be only be [sic] described as a corporate
monster in [sic] fascinating and terrifying in equal measure."
Interesting
to see that Asda describes its owners in those terms.
Extras
on this disc include Deleted Scenes; Behind the
Scenes featurette (16:30); Victory for Queens Market
(4 mins featurette that interviews UK market traders after
it's revealed that Wal-Mart's Asda will not be closing down
their market); Robert Greenwald Interview (23 mins
featurette that reveals many interesting facts. My favourite
being the reluctance of Wal-Mart to participate in the film,
yet once it was released they attacked it for it's once sidedness);
and original theatrical trailer.
The
Deleted Scenes are split into England, Canada and Sermons
sub sections and I was surprised that some of these scenes
were cut. For example, in the England section we learn that
when a supermarket offers you a 2-for-1 offer it's not them
being generous - they only pay the manufacturer for 50% of
their stock. This is made even more sickening when you think
of the number of people who don't see the "2-for-1"
offer and only purchase one. I've done that myself a few times.
To
be quite honest, this is nowhere near as shocking, or hard
hitting as Super
Size Me
or any of Michael Moore's movies, and at times I felt for
the director - there were so many points to raise that it
was obviously difficult for the production to know where it's
focus was.
There were so many points raised that I would gladly have
sat through a 3hr+ version of this movie.
Everyone
should watch this movie. It may not change the way you shop
(we are all lazy gits at heart) but it will certainly make
you think.
Darren
Rea
Buy
this item online
We
compare prices online so you get the cheapest
deal!
Click on the logo of the desired store below
to purchase this item.
|
|
|
£14.99
(Amazon.co.uk) |
| |
|
|
|
£14.99
(Blahdvd.com) |
| |
|
|
|
£12.89
(Thehut.com) |
| |
|
|
|
£14.99
(Moviemail-online.co.uk) |
All prices correct at time of going to press.
|
|
