Filmmaker and community activist Steve Alves showed Tufts students the real-life effects of what he called "overcommercialization" on Monday evening when he showed his film on the battle over a new Wal-Mart store in Greenfield, Mass.
Alves spoke after a screening of his hour-long documentary "Talking to the Wall," which depicted a close-knit small town that became bitterly divided when retail giant Wal-Mart tried to build on a site that contained remains of the Native Americans.
The film depicted the downtowns of cities that became deserted after regional shopping centers opened nearby. "Downtowns were killed by people who would rather go to shopping malls," Alves said.
"It's really quite unique to be able to go downtown, do your shopping, and have all these familiar faces, most of which you like and are happy to see," Alves said.
He pinned the blame for the demise of the familiar "American Main Street" on chain stores, which use their bulk-buying power to negotiate discounts with suppliers. These discounts allow them to sell items at lower cost and higher profit than their smaller, privately-owned competitors -- though this sometimes at a higher social cost to the community, Alves said.
The film offered the example of the Ingersoll-Rand manufacturing plant near Greenfield. The plant produced Craftsman tools for Sears and employed thousands in the community but Sears constantly threatened to cancel the contract with Ingersoll-Rand if manufacturing costs were not lowered.
Ingersoll-Rand was forced to keep cutting jobs in attempt to keep costs down until eventually Sears found a lower-cost supplier, and Ingersoll-Rand had to close their plant, leaving thousands in the Greenfield community unemployed.
According to Alves, the argument that Wal-Mart helps the poor by providing low-cost merchandise and jobs is false. "It's not the poor that stand up and say that," he said.
"Wal-Mart is seeing opportunities to provide a bargain for townspeople who don't have very much money," but in fact, according to Alves, the reason for their poverty could be due to unemployment caused by the devastating effects of a retailer with a "virtual monopoly."
The opening of a new store was a "modern 'let them eat cake,' where instead of helping [the poor], let's give them a 150,000 square foot Wal-Mart," Alves said.
Though shopping at Wal-Mart may offer an immediate bargain to consumers, it weakens a "community concept" by introducing a national retailer who then takes control of purchasing power and wages. "In the long run that'll come back and bite your tail," he said.
People must "understand there's a connection between the money you spend and the environment in which you live," Alves said.
The film was originally broadcast on PBS. Its presentation at Tufts was sponsored by the University College, the Department of Economics and the Department of Urban and Environmental Planning.<$>
@jump:See WAL-MART, page X<$>
@conthead:Filmmaker discusses overcommercialization<$>
@contjump:WAL-MART<$>
@contpage:continued from page XX<$>
needs student quote
<$>
Edits: KC, DP, sld, jt
The film focused on the changes a new Wal-Mart would bring to Greenfield's small-town character.
Alves' obsession with corporate sprawl began at a young age, when he began filming what he considered to be the overcommercialization of the American landscape. Pieces of these early 16mm films were included in "Talking to the Wall."
Alves also refuted the idea that prices are lower at national chain stores than at local retailers. "Most chain stores offer loss leaders," which are specific cheaper items meant to draw customers into the store while "the other stuff is similar in price," he said.
According to the filmmaker, he never intended to create a documentary on Greenfield's battle with Wal-Mart; most of the film consisted of video clips from town meetings and rallies that he had recorded for community access television.
Alves credited his small town connections for helping to finance the film. He received funding from friends, community organizations and the local bank president, who gave him an interest-free loan.
