Robert Greenwald’s Documentary, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price

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Are corporations such as Walmart the driving force in the inevitable destruction of the American dream? Are the low-wage providing employers really to blame, or is it because they can not afford to pay their employees with higher wages and proper benefits such as health care and 401Ks? Or is it something as simple as greed for the wealthy that holds the poor’s head under the water of poverty? In Robert Greenwald’s documentary, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, the American dream is challenged by a relentless behemoth of a corporation to which there seems no stopping or slowing. Livable wages are something that every human being is entitled to, no matter what race, gender, or nationality they are. However, in Greenwald’s film, the largest corporation in the world is put to the test. But is it simply propaganda? The film seems to tug at all of the proper strings at seemingly the right time.

families losing their businesses, unaffordable health care, gender and racial discrimination, and of course the overseas workers who live in unbelievable conditions; the film is an emotional roller coaster which paints a successful picture that Walmart is an evil entity.

One of the most difficult things to do while watching the documentary is detaching yourself from the people who are interviewed. The goal of the documentary is to gain the support of the middle class Americans who work their entire lives to achieve the “American Dream.” There are many Americans who will be able to easily relate their families to the grandfathers who own their own businesses, and it is quite clear that is what Greenwald had intended. Unfortunately for the two poster child family businesses in the film, neither of them survived the “neutron bomb” that is W...

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...iews/lichtenstein.html>.

Mishel, Lawrence, and Matthew Walters. "How Unions Help All Workers." Economic Policy Institute. 26 Aug. 2003. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. .

Pier, Carol. "Discounting Rights: Wal-Mart's Violation of US Workers' Right to Freedom of Association." Human Rights Watch, 30 Apr. 2007. Web. 08 Oct. 2011. .

"Portions of Our Annual Report to Shareholders." U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 31 Jan. 2011. Web. 12 Oct. 2011. .

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. Dir. Robert Greenwald. Brave New Films Disinformation Company, 2005. DVD.

"World's Most Admired Companies 2011." CNNMoney. Fortune, 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2011. .

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