Pro-Wal-Mart Film Premieres in Rogers

“Why Wal-Mart Works, And Why That Makes Some People C-r-a-z-y,” a 72-minute documentary film by Ron and Robert Galloway, premiered Nov. 14 at the Malco Towne Cinema 12 in Rogers.

The film is in response to Robert Greenwald’s “Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices,” which was released Nov. 13 and is critical of the Bentonville-based retailer.

Eric Parkinson, president of Hannover House, a DVD distribution company in Fayetteville, said he took an interest in the Galloways’ film and decided to distribute it because Greenwald “purposefully excluded anything good about Wal-Mart.” Hannover House DVDs are distributed through Wal-Mart.

Neither film will have a regular theater run, but both are for sale on DVD.

Parkinson said the DVD of “Why Wal-Mart Works” went on sale Nov. 15 for $15 at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and through several other retailers, but not Kmart, Target or Best Buy.

“When I called, it wasn’t a favorable response,” he told the crowd before the premiere.

As of Nov. 15, Wal-Mart had not decided to sell the “Why Wal-Mart Works” in its stores or on its Web site.

The film featured several experts on Wal-Mart and retailing. In the film, William Anderson, assistant professor of economics at Frostburg State University in Maryland, touted Wal-Mart’s overseas manufacturing because it makes goods affordable to Americans.

“I suspect some will accuse me of being a shill for Wal-Mart, but that is not the case,” Anderson said via e-mail the day after the premiere. “Most people, including most economists, do not see the larger picture of how retailing affects the entire economy. We hear so much of this nonsense of ‘Wal-Mart destroys communities’ when, in fact, Wal-Mart keeps communities together.”

The event also kicked off the official fundraising campaign for the proposed Northwest Arkansas Museum of Science and Technology. The Smithsonian-affiliate museum has been in the planning stages for the past three years and more than $100,000 has been raised so far, said John Lewis, former president of The Bank of Fayetteville N.A.

“We’re right on the cusp of making it a reality,” Lewis said. “I’d like to start this by saying I like Wal-Mart, too. I’ve owned their stock for a long time. I’ve seen what kind of positive influence they’ve been to this part of America.”

Ron and Robert Galloway spent $85,000 of their own money to make “Why Wal-Mart Works.” They also produced “Oflag 64: A P.O.W. Odyssey,” a World War II documentary that aired on PBS.