While South Park is not a perfect representation, it does do a remarkable job of illustrating how small towns can be affected by big, cheap, corporate companies. The social commentary draws on similar parallels of what we talked about today in class. Notice that the elderly are a big part of their work force and the level of discontent those shopping there feel. The prices simply keep them from stopping to go. You also get a good look of what happens with other competitors in town.
Take it with a grain of salt, but South Park does do a great job with social commentary.
Although this episode is very eccentric, I think this is a good way to show the epidemic of Wal-Mart. This episode reminded me of my small town. About five years or so ago a Super Wal-Mart was built in our town. It was a pretty big deal to a lot of people and eventually other small stores on main street closed. Just as the episode shows, a lot of the elderly community members were working as greeters.
ReplyDeleteThe interesting part about the episode is how "we are Wal-Mart." I found this interesting because from my house to Wal-Mart is a longer drive than it would be to Safeway, yet I still take the extra time to go to Wal-Mart. I really do feel bad about the smaller local stores in town, but I still can't help but shop at Wal-Mart.