'Store Wars': Small Town Vs. Megastore

A documentary chronicles the clash between a quiet town's residents and Wal-Mart, sparked by a proposal to build a megastore in Ashland, VA.

1 minute read

June 4, 2001, 2:00 PM PDT

By Abhijeet Chavan @http://twitter.com/legalaidtech


"[In] 'Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town,' a documentary that really isn't about coffee or cookies or even Wal-Mart. The real subject is homogenization, and whether a town benefits more from preservation or change. Will building a Wal-Mart ruin Ashland, Va., (population 7,200) financially and aesthetically, forcing businesses to close and creating traffic jams and eyesores with its bland, boxy architecture? Or will it, as the Wal-Mart people promise, enrich the community with jobs and one-stop shopping with lower prices?"

Thanks to Abhijeet Chavan

Monday, June 4, 2001 in The New York Times

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