The Fog of More

In the past month I have watched a plethora of docs on the state of consumerism/warism of the United States (and by default N. America): The End of Suburbia, Why We fight, The Age of Walmart. I've reached a definite satiation point where I cannot endure further tales of mass destruction and consumption, critiques that neatly apply to both topics: the rampant consumerism and consequent destruction of the environment and health, and war-mongering and the military industrial complex that fuels it.

But I can't stop with the docs. Grizzly Man helps to alleviate some of the activist ennui by allowing me to pretend I too can escape the pitfalls of modern life and commune with teddy bears. I poke at their noses as though they are puppies, and tell them I love them in an oddly high-pitched sing-song voice. I have theories about the sensual connection of bears and humans, dating back from reading Anne Cameron's Daughters of Copperwoman when I was fourteen, and Marion Engel's bestial Bear in my undergrad. Though these tales are concerned mostly with the intuitive and loving connection between women and bears, I was inspired to see Timothy Treadwell show how possible it is to commune with a wild animal. If you're that committed.

But back to Walmart, the company with the GNP of a country. The proprietor Alice Walton, the second-richest woman in the world, recently dropped $35 million to hoard away the classic Durand 1849 painting "Kindred Spirits", meanwhile getting the state of Arkansas to pass legislation specifically for her to save on taxes-- about $3million. For an in-depth analysis of Ms. Walton's hypocrisy in her choice of the painting, see Rebecca Solnit's rich article Alice Walton's Fig Leaf.

I recently watched the CNBC doc on Walmart, courtesy of Peter. I don't think I learned much that I didn't already know, other than the Execs prudently keep their two-story office building modest with quasi-seventies decor. Presumably they've never re-decorated or renovated since Sam started the ball rolling. (No $35 million paintings will hang on these exemplary walls). I did not however find out how much the CEO earns in a year. I'm curious.

What I did get from the doc was a revelation about gender-based employment inequality. We've all heard of the class-action suit currently filed against the company, brought forth by six women, and supported by a slew of current and former female employees. I seriously doubt there is an official policy on the part of Walmart to systematically underpay and overlook female employees. The problem lies with the reality of operating thousands of stores, with thousands of managers. Walmart is a microcosm of the American way, in every way. We finally have a lense through which we can fully examine the state of part time and full time female workers, and single mothers. Their treatment is symptomatic of the makeup of society as a whole, of the undervaluing of women's labour by every business, not just Walmart. This suit provides an opportunity to see the larger picture: we've never before been able to hear a unified voice from the hundreds of thousands of underpaid working women. Is it possible to file a class-aciton suit on behalf of all women in North America, against Capitalism? Imperialism? I'm being silly, but I wish I wasn't.

In the meantime, I can rest assured that Walmart will never carry Engel's "Bear".