Panic in a Small Town

THE new movie WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price, directed by the Hollywood liberal activist Robert Greenwald, begins with the story of H&H Hardware, a small, family-owned business in Middlefield, Ohio. Aman named Don Hunter describes how he founded H&H in 1962 and how it grew until one day it filled an entire building. As sensitive, slightly elegiac guitar music plays in the background, Don Hunter introduces viewers to his son Jon, to whom he turned over the business in 1996. Jon runs a good store; the employees really know the hardware business, and they work hard to help customers find what they need. And make things comfortable, too-an employee sets up benches outside the store each morning, right after he proudly raises the American flag.

At that point, the movie abruptly cuts to a black screen. The guitar is replaced by an ominous synthesizer. Shots of giant earthmovers appear, with the full-screen declaration: “WAL-MART DESCENDS ON MIDDLEFIELD!” Just in case the viewer might have missed the change in mood, a bulldozer dumps a load of dirt right onto the camera lens, and the screen goes black again.

About the Author

Byron York

Byron York is a former White House correspondent for National Review.

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THE new movie WAL-MART: The High Cost of Low Price, directed by the Hollywood liberal activist Robert Greenwald, begins with the story of H&H Hardware, a small, family-owned business in Middlefield, Ohio. Aman named Don Hunter describes how he founded H&H in 1962 and how it grew until one day it filled an entire building. As sensitive, slightly elegiac guitar music plays in the background, Don Hunter introduces viewers to his son Jon, to whom he turned over the business in 1996. Jon runs a good store; the employees really know the hardware business, and they work hard to help customers find what they need. And make things comfortable, too-an employee sets up benches outside the store each morning, right after he proudly raises the American flag.

At that point, the movie abruptly cuts to a black screen. The guitar is replaced by an ominous synthesizer. Shots of giant earthmovers appear, with the full-screen declaration: “WAL-MART DESCENDS ON MIDDLEFIELD!” Just in case the viewer might have missed the change in mood, a bulldozer dumps a load of dirt right onto the camera lens, and the screen goes black again.