>Talking to the Wall

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Walmart just announced their intentions of destroying our Landmark Drive-in and building a huge super center! We say NO and are looking for all the help we can get! Our town needs to be educated and let them know what has happened to other small towns that have had walmart come and go! What happened when they left, etc... Any help is apreciated!
Grandview Drive-in <Grandview@bluefrog.com>
Angola, NY USA - Friday, December 08, 2006 at 13:59:11 (EST)

"Talking to the Wall" was a five-star hit with our Potsdam audience last night. You would have enjoyed the positive reactions as you introduced yourself, Al, and other Greenfield folk. The downtown scenes (both happy and sad) were powerful, and the horror shots (screamers) were really effective. The other horror shots of the big boxes got an audience reaction too.
North Country Citizens for Responsible Growth <info@nccrg.org>
Potsdam, NY USA - Thursday, May 18, 2006 at 17:32:49 (EDT)

Bucknell University's Students for Fair Trade showed Talking to the Wall for our campus to see as part of an anti-Wal-Mart campaign. The movie was a great addition to our campaign, allowing us to show our fellow students a more personal side of Wal-Mart's destruction. The movie made such an impact that we're planning to show the movie again this semester!
Hannah Irion <hirion@bucknell.edu>
Lewisburg, PA USA - Sunday, March 26, 2006 at 10:11:20 (EST)

Saw the movie. My uncle couldn't get me to change my mind on Wal-mart but this movie sure did. I recommend it to everyone. You are clueless until this film informs you!
Jan Norman
MD USA - Monday, January 09, 2006 at 23:54:05 (EST)

I am the President of the Affiliated Brookhaven Civic Organization, an umbrella group for individual civic groups in Brookhaven Township on Long Island. "Talking to the Wall" is an excellent resource film for civics and other individuals concerned with future development in their area. While many hamlets in Brookhaven are embracing the smart growth concept of walkable downtown communities, this film effectively documents how the introduction of a big box store can result in just the opposite. Ironically, there is a public hearing being held this coming Tuesday, December 6, at Brookhaven Town Hall, regarding large commercial centers. This legislation is being introduced as an attempt to limit the size and scope of "big box" stores. "Talking to the Wall" sheds great light on the Wal-Mart (big box) problem and is a must see for anyone feeling threatened by this type of development. Besides, as a Long Islander, I enjoyed the vintage footage of Long Island as it once was. Doug Dittko
Doug Dittko <dougo357@optonline.net>
Manorville, NY USA - Tuesday, November 29, 2005 at 21:20:01 (EST)

After what Wal-mart did in Quebec, I can say that they will not see my money in their till.
Alex
On. Canada - Monday, October 17, 2005 at 16:26:07 (EDT)

All of your false accusations towards the atmosphere of wal-mart are based on selfishness for your own pety small buisnesses(ma and pa shops)just so you can make a profit. The government is not minority over majority. Wal-mart is not evil it is a good thing for people of the lower class. why can't society just stop thinking of themselves.
Joey Burton <joey_52_620@hotmail.com>
Smithers, B.C. Canada - Thursday, August 11, 2005 at 00:21:24 (EDT)

wal-mart is cool G ! why everyone be hating? its cheap.......... Dale ehrstien
Dale Ehrstien <frostbite89@hotmail.com>
Smithers, B.C. Canada - Thursday, August 11, 2005 at 00:13:34 (EDT)

Great work!
Morgan Tyler <hen12@gmail.net>
NY, NY USA - Saturday, June 11, 2005 at 23:50:34 (EDT)

Hello we are a small mountain community facing the possibility of a Wal-mart coming. As a local filmmaker I would love to show your movie here. We don't have $250 to buy it, what are the other options Please help us. The community is mobilizing to resist every little bit helps everyone relates to the video media these days. Please get back to me with your input. Cheers Vesna Young
Vesna Young <jvmovie@yahoo.com>
Smithers, Canada - Tuesday, April 19, 2005 at 15:56:29 (EDT)

I wanted to let you know about your film. We had about 100 people see the film. We showed it at the library and there was not enough parking. Everyone really appeared to enjoy it. We did not have a Wal-Mart supporter in the house. Thank you for making such an informative and entertaining film. Our group may decide to show it again, if so I will let you know. Thank you for the flyers and your help.
Georgia Michalec <gmichalec@yahoo.com>
Stafford Springs, CT USA - Thursday, March 31, 2005 at 18:06:41 (EST)

I recognize that your movie cost a lot to make, however, I don't have 250 bucks and would like to see it. Do you know anyone in FL who might have it?
Henry Stowe <sunfish69@excite.com>
Orlando, FL USA - Friday, February 11, 2005 at 00:13:48 (EST)

I was so affirmed and inspired by seeing your documentary, "Talking to the Wall." Having grown up as a military brat and lived in places all over the world, I am forever intrigued by issues of place and community. Your use of big-box retailer "Walmart" hits at the heart of how these issues play out in American communities. Kudos to you for visually articulating these issue that are important to me. Your work deserves to be seen by many. I count myself lucky to have seen it before wide distribution.
Tanisha <tanishas@hotmail.com>
Lewiston, ME USA - Friday, December 03, 2004 at 15:02:54 (EST)

saw a great report on Frontline about Wal-Mart. The impact the store has had on its suppliers and the working class is nothing short of "immoral". And maybe this issue is indeed just as much about values and morality as it is about economics. I'm never shopping there again! They are nothing more than a bunch of modern-day robber barons!
George Arndt <curiousgemini25@hotmail.com>
Kent, OH USA - Friday, November 19, 2004 at 18:55:41 (EST)

I just watched Talking to the Wall at the first evening of our Better World Film Festival in Bellingham, WA. I really enjoyed it and thank you for all the effort that went into it. This is such a crucial issue, and as you say, the sprawl across our nation will have an irreversible and adverse impact on our lives. In the last year or two I watched Store Wars on PBS, another documentary about a small town facing the ruthless onslaught of the Wal-Mart machine. This film looked more at the nitty-gritty aspects of Wal-Mart's strategy and the townspeople's struggle against the giant corporation, a struggle which ultimately failed. Why I find your film more effective is because it tackles the same issue with a delightful humor, tells us about the seriousness of the problem and its pervasiveness across America, gives us a good feeling when Greenfield prevails against Wal-Mart, and yet leaves us with the sense of a dark corporate shadow creeping across the land, reminding us that we must remain ever vigilant. It is shocking to me that the vote in Greenfield wasn't much more one-sided against Wal-Mart. With so many of their stores already within easy driving distance and such overwhelming evidence from destroyed nearby communities like Orange, how can people not see what will be lost by letting Wal-Mart in? Here in Bellingham we have a Wal-Mart, and yet through much local effort our downtown area has survived. Your film not only makes me more determined to support the aspects of a local community which, like you, I value dearly, it also makes me want to awaken others to the issue. Thanks again for your great work.
Richard Whittaker Richard Whittaker <rwcfn@nethere.com>
Bellingham, WA USA - Tuesday, October 19, 2004 at 10:44:58 (EDT)

Steve Alves presented Talking to the Wall in Vernon, Connecticut on October 1, 2004, and answered questions from the enthusiastic audience. The film was quite relevant because a developer had recently submitted a proposal to build a Wal-Mart supercenter in Vernon, but was denied by the Inland Wetlands Commission after significant community opposition. This event was the Connecticut premier of Talking to the Wall.
Jack Summers <info@smartgrowthforvernon.org>
Vernon, CT USA - Friday, October 08, 2004 at 11:47:56 (EDT)

My 6 year-old daughter, after seeing the film, still pokes fun at Wal-Mart every time we drive by one. Now that's progress!
Eric <eric@pennyfarthinginvestment.com>
Belchertown, MA USA - Thursday, September 02, 2004 at 17:32:40 (EDT)

My home town (Sacramento, CA) is being destroyed by this type of development, and the same thing is happening in my current town, but it took your movie to connect the dots for me. Every American should see this movie to learn about the real costs of our favorite American pastime--shopping. I hope enough people see it and take action before it's too late.
Jade <jade@hadleyneighbors.org>
Hadley, MA USA - Monday, July 26, 2004 at 23:42:09 (EDT)