Wal-Mart's Blatantly Racist Planet-of-the-Apes Page.

[yodermon]

Go to http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1596594
Look at "Similar Items"
Click "See more below"
:wow: :mad: :mad: :mad:
Words cannot describe.
Somebody archive/screenshot this before it is scrubbed

From firedoglake:
http://firedoglake.blogspot.com/2006_01_01_firedoglake_archive.html#113649719812273563

[Ian David]

1. Dude, you miss the point...

Planet of The Apes is an alegory about slavery.

Slavery, animal testing, racial equality...

Metaphors, dude.

[CatWoman]

4. Metaphors my ass!!!

[GrantDem]

20. WTF??

Does Tina Turner have to do w/ slavery?

[oasis]

24. Or Jack Johnson?

[madeline_con]

130. Ike did control her for a while.

I'm being a smart-ass. :hide:

[Richard Steele]

35. Here's a metaphor:

[robbedvoter]

57. And Introducing Dorothy Dandrige fits into those metaphors how?

As a sci-fi fan who gets metaphors, I would have listed stuff such as Alien Nation or Enemy Mine - not every merchandise there is STARRING BLACK ACTORS - because that's THE ONLY COMMON THREAD between those selections.

[helderheid]

2. OH... MY ... GOD.

[Ravenseye]

3. That's insane

When i read this I clicked thinking "here we go another overreaction to something" but....Oh.My.God.

[sugapablo]

119. OK, what was there? I don't see it.

I don't see what the poster mentioned. I don't see any similar items. They must've changed it.

What was there?

[Ian David]

5. How Planet of the Apes brought race relations into Pop Culture

Planet of the Prejudiced Primates
How Planet of the Apes brought race relations into Pop Culture

The Apes of Wrath
The radical political history of Planet of the Apes
By Alex Abramovich
Pulished in Slate magazine: http://slate.msn.com/id/112241/
Posted Friday, July 20, 2001

Many of the facts in this piece were taken from the book mentioned below: Eric Greene's Planet of the Apes as American Myth. However, inadequate credit was given to Greene's book at the time of publication, and the author and Slate apologize.

<snip>

But in an America rocked by race riots and sinking deeper into the quagmire of Vietnam, Rod Serling set out to make a different point: Maybe the monkeys could do better. Serling's experience with The Twilight Zone had taught him that "it was possible to have Martians say things that Democrats and Republicans can't say." His fantastically misanthropic treatment for a Planet of the Apes film shouted those things from the rooftops. The archetypal Aryan hero, played by Charlton Heston, is bound and gagged, caged and (nearly) castrated, and finally made to stand trial for humanity's crimes against the earth. "He is the perfect American Adam to work off some American guilt feelings of self-hatred on," Pauline Kael wrote in her review of the film, catching an early whiff of what, as the series progressed, became an orgy of self-loathing.

Planet of the Apes was anything but subtle. Its metaphors —for race relations, imperialism, and the Cold War—were broad enough to reach a wide audience, and the audience responded wildly; the film grossed $100 million (in today's dollars), spawned four sequels, a TV series, a Saturday-morning cartoon, a traveling theater troupe, and a slew of comic books (which, if childhood recollections serve me right, each came with their own 45 rpm record). But instead of marginalizing politics as it progressed, the franchise moved them to the fore.

Taken together, the films amount to a grand, if sometimes campy, tour of revolutionary and reactionary propaganda. "The only good human is a dead human," a Gestapo-like gorilla says, by way of explaining Ape Power. "It is our holy duty … to kill our enemies—known and unknown—like so many lice." {Correction: This line is from the screenplay and never made it to the final film.} Other films feature slave auctions, selection tables, concentration camps, and villages modeled on My Lai.

The index for one study of the series—Eric Greene's Planet of the Apes as American Myth—references anti-Semitism, Attica, David Ben-Gurion, Stokely Carmichael, the Coleman Report, The Confessions of Nat Turner, George Armstrong Custer, Moshe Dayan, Frederick Douglass, Medgar Evers, the House Committee on Un-American Activities, Kent State, Loving v. Virginia, Malcolm X, Manifest Destiny, Rosa Parks, Dred Scott, Watergate, Watts, and White Citizens Councils.

This isn't simply the work of an overheated academic pop-culturalogist; watch the films again, and you'll see that none of these interpretations are much of a stretch. Paul Dehn, who took over from Serling as the series' screenwriter, boasted that "they're all terribly like Bertrand Russell, my chimpanzees," noted in the margins of his scripts that slave apes were "to be whipped as the Negro slaves were," and explained that the ape insurrection in Conquest of the Planet of the Apes was based on the Watts riots.

More:
http://www.rodserling.com/potarr.htm

[Touchdown]

33. Good analysis, but NOBODY at the w-m site is using

political allegories when they categorize 1 of 70,000 DVDs by 5pm. This was deliberate.

[Ian David]

50. If they WANTED to be racist...

They'd link to these:

Birth Of A Nation, The


DVD, 175 minutes, DAVID SHEPARD
"The Birth Of A Nation" made headlines from the day it opened in Los Angeles on February 8, 1915. It became the most successful silent film ever made, grossing over $10 million in it's first run; and today, more than eighty years later, it remains America's most controversial cinematic landmark. From the start, the public and the press were fascinated by the audacity and bravura technical achievements of D.W. Griffith's film. Griffith had turned a lurid, negrophobic play called "The clansman" into a three-hour Civil War epic that in sweep and scope set a standard for film spectacle and absorbing historical melodrama. The accompanying publicity campaign set standards too- for flamboyance, race-bating and inventiveness.

More:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=1094719


King Kong (SE) (Special Edition)


The original 1933 classic, in glorious black and white, newly restored and digitally mastered.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4231544

[Touchdown]

55. So you say WM only employs film scholars. Right?

...and categorize everything by allegory. Right?

RRRRIIIIIIGGGGHHHHHT!:eyes:

BTW: I'm sure a lot of Arkansas rednecks know all about a silent movie made in 1915.:rofl:

[Ian David]

73. Why must we assume that Wal-Mart can't hire smart people...

to put together an effective list of anti-slavery-themed movies for Black History Month?

This wasn't done by Bobby the Stock Clerk. It could have been done by a redneck computer tech in the I.T. department. Or some guy in Pakistan.

Or it could have been done by a marketing group hired to compile a list of movies appropriate for Black History Month.

They have enough money to do that, you know.

Let's find out more before we go shouting "racism" from the hills.

[Atman]

83. Oh puh-leeze

Do you need to be whacked in the head with a 2x4 to see what this is?

I always assumed this shit was done via computer algorithms. But even then, SOMEONE had to enter the names of "similar" films into a database, at the very least.

At first glance I was in the "much ado about nothing" category. Upon further investigation, I am totally blown away. This is so blatantly racist, it is frightening. As if I needed yet another reason to hate Wal Mart.

[Touchdown]

101. You have been really reaching with this.

You...the one who said...

"But there are good reasons and there are lame ones.

Saying this is racist in intent is a huge, huge stretch."

Pot, meet Kettle.

Even if they hired a smart person for $7 an hour. That job entails data entry, and a following of corporate/management/supervisory rules. I'm quite sure that this person was NOT given the autonomy to make comparisons based on high minded political allegories and schoplarly symbolism in film. Corporations, especially fretail corporations do not allow freedom to be smart on their dime, for employees of this level.

To give them the benefit of the doubt, and say that it was done by a film afficianado is, as you say, a HUGE HUGE stretch, since none of these other films that are listed are allegorical.

If White Man's Burden, X-Men, Mississippi Burning or some other symbolic film dealing with racism was there, you would have a point. Movies about MLK, Dorothy Dandridge, and Tina Turner are obvious, and straghtforward biographies.

[madeline_con]

131. They also have enough money to

provide free health care to every employee. :eyes:

[Mutley]

117. Yes. But what does Tina Turner have to do with it?

[William769]

6. I don't get it. Sorry.

[atommom]

8. Scroll down to the "related items."

[sinkingfeeling]

15. How is 'Planet of the Apes' related to MLK and 'Unforgiveable Blackness'?

[KamaAina]

21. SOME "people" think that black people are related to apes.

It used to be that they'd keep those kind of opinions to themselves, at least until they got halfway down the bottle of Jim Crow, er, I mean "Jim Beam or Old Crow", but no longer. In the brave new fascist world, racism is "out, loud and".. well, not proud, but... :grr: :banghead: :nuke:

[REP]

25. We're ALL Related to Apes!

Distantly, of course; but related nonetheless.

[KamaAina]

30. Well, duh, but...

the bigots think that that's only true of black folk, all evidence provided by looking in their own mirrors notwithstanding.

[REP]

34. I Like Pointing Out That We're All Related To Annoy the Bigots

[bunkerbuster1]

103. I'm white, but since everyone's ancesters originated in Africa

I like to annoy bigots by claiming I'm African-American. And then informing them that they are as well.

It works, sometimes.

[madeline_con]

133. Let's run with that.

I'l interject that Gosh, Wally World is pissing off two groups at once!

They can be viewed as racist on one hand.

Or, the Freeky IDers can say they support evolution and go into boycott mode, bankrupting them.

:rofl:

[GrantDem]

7. Unbelievable..

Yet another reason for me to not shop there.

[slackmaster]

9. Wow

Like nobody thought that maybe, just MAYBE it would be more appropriate to include links to other science fiction TV series anthologies?

Land of the Giants perhaps? Space 1999? The Starlost? UFO?

:crazy:

I have to say, however, that it is often risky to attribute to evil intent that which could be the result of simple stupidity.

[Touchdown]

116. Or Buck Rogers. Exploring the second class status of

white women who wear loose clothing and live happy lives without BIG HAIR!

[leftstreet]

10. Close Movie Matches from Reel.com

http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=131733

Close Movie Matches

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Planet of the Apes (1968)
Starring: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner
Superior original features more thoughtful plot, more macho hero, less impressive apes.

Planet of the Apes Collection (1998)
Starring: Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall
Director: J. Lee Thompson, Don Taylor
Sterling compilation features entire original Apes saga.

Creative Movie Matches



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Army of Darkness (1993)
Starring: Bruce Campbell, Embeth Davidtz
Director: Sam Raimi
Hilarious time-travel fantasy/action/comedy follows another modern-day adventurer whisked back to primitive civilization.

Battlefield Earth (2000)
Starring: John Travolta, Barry Pepper
Director: Roger Christian
Mind-bogglingly awful sci-fi adventure has similar story, setting to Apes, far higher camp value.

Enemy Mine (1985)
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett Jr.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
All-but-forgotten sci-fi adventure sports similar production design, inter-species conflict.

Jurassic Park III (2001)
Starring: William H. Macy, Tea Leoni
Director: Joe Johnston
Similar high-tech thrill-ride has equally impressive artificial creatures, more humorous story line.

The Matrix (1999)
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne
Director: Andy Wachowski, Larry Wachowski
Far better sci-fi adventures features humanity battling more devious alien race — sentient machines.

[helderheid]

12. Shocking that "what's love got to do with it" didn't make that list

:sarcasm:

[leftstreet]

37. Yeah, really.

:eyes:

[madeline_con]

135. Enemy Mine rocked...

I highly recommend that flick.

[SeattleRob]

11. Crooks and Liars has the screenshot

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/01/05.html#a6587


This is outrageous!

[Ian David]

26. Some of the people posting on Crooks and Liars "get it"

<snip>

I don't know how Wal-Mart came up with such recommendations, and I haven't seen the TV series. But the movies, especially after the first, were very much allegories about racial politics (the apes become slaves and then pursue a civil rights movement, and justifiably riot in the American cities). The race politics aren't what they could/should be, but the movies are about race, so there may be some smarts in the recommendation.
Al | 01.05.06 - 5:00 pm | #

<snip>

Have you ever watched Planet of the Apes? Guess what? It turns the racism/slavery thing around so that Caucasians are the slaves and the apes are the masters. It's all about making "the man" see himself in the same position as those he persecuted. Can liberals "think" at all? Of course Martin Luther King and other docu-dramas involving blacks are on Wal-Mart's list. They are all along the same line of thought: Racism, bad, tolerance, good. Use the gray matter between your ears, caveman.
Kevin Mark Smith | Homepage | 01.05.06 - 5:21 pm | #

<snip>

*waves back* at Snowwy! Great minds think alike!

This is a non-issue. They've got "race relations" or "racism" or somesuch listed as a keyword for Planet of the Apes, which is totally valid.

Admittedly, your main demographic buying Planet of the Apes isn't looking for a lecture on racism. But hey, they're getting it without realizing it! That's the great strength of Science Fiction. Social commentary snuck in subliminally.

This simply isn't evidence of any conspiracy.
Jeremy | 01.05.06 - 5:38 pm | #

More:
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/01/05.html#a6587


Those guys "get it." They are "it" getters.

Is Wal-Mart evil? Yes.

Should we boycott Wal-Mart? Yes.

Should we scream and yell about what they're doing with Planet of The Apes? No.

That will only make us look as foolish as when the fundies screamed and yelled about Barbie's website trying to confuse children about gender.

CWA Says Barbie Website Promotes Gender Confusion
Topic started by norml on Jan-03-06 12:53 AM (70 replies)
Last modified by Realityhack on Jan-05-06 05:30 PM
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2017360

[Touchdown]

41. Nobody at WM looked at the message of POTA...

and compared it's allegorical context to these other films, especially WLGTDWI. Some $8 an hour data processer is not going to waste time looking at central messages to 35 year old TV shows, when they want to get to the pizza joint for a beer and video game. Unless there are other films about white women who's been wife beaten, there is no mistaking what they're doing here. Tina Turner's story has nothing to do with slavery, only a small portion of racism, and a helluva lot about wife beating, which isn't in any POTA film.

You are the one who gets the message of the franchise, but not WMs recommendations. Nobody at WM is that cognizent of political satire or art.

[The Doctor.]

65. Sorry IanDB1... but I think it's reprehensible...

Everyone here seems to understand that POTA is a metaphor for civil rights and slavery.
But there are many other films which are great metaphors for something but are not correlated accordingly.

See here;
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=3610659

Notice that "Dune" is not correlated with books on the ME even though Dune is a blatant metaphor for Oil wars.

[EarlG]

13. Wow, that's messed up

Here's the screengrab:

[theHandpuppet]

79. This page has been changed

I just went there and the page showed "Everybody Loves Raymond" and other assorted TV pablum as "similar items".

[Touchdown]

118. Hear that IanDB1?

They changed their page, and went into cover your ass mode. Still maintain that they are categorizing by "metaphors"?

None of those other films were about slavery. None were allegories, or metaphors for race relations, animal testing, or nuclear armament. They were biographies of 3 black entertainers and 1 black civil rights leader.

[Ian David]

125. Yes, I see that. Wal-Mart did NOT group films by anti-racist metaphors

Either there was a stupid, racist asshole that did it, or else it was an honest "technical error" and coincidental.

Knowing Wal-Mart's history, I'd put my money on "racist asshole."

But "OPERATIONMINDCRIME" seems to think it might actually be just a random technical eror:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x62119

The important thing is that it is looked into and investigated before someone goes shouting for blood.

I don't know what the truth is (I haven't been online to research it yet) but I don't mind admitting being wrong (which is, 1/12 of the time).

MindCrime apparently did the research. Please thank him.

[Rex]

14. According to Wal-Mart, there is a correlation between Tina Turner

and Planet of the Apes? Yeah, that is some racist shit.

[Ian David]

18. Planet of the Apes is a metaphor about race relations, slavery...

animal testing, religious fundamentalism, etc.

Damn it, don't you people ever watch Star Trek?

Metaphor.

"Morality Plays"

Come on, surely you've seen episodes of The Twilight Zone?

Do you read or watch ANY science fiction?

[Rex]

27. Defend Wal-Mart if ya want to.

I still say it is racist. FWIW, I will school you on sci-fi. :P

[Ian David]

58. I come not to honor Wal-Mart but to bury Wal-Mart

I don't think I'm defending Wal-Mart. I'm making sure that the anti-Wal-Mart Army doesn run up a blind alley.

And believe me, you don't need to school me on either sci-fi or movies.

I am sure that there is rampant racism at Wal-Mart among all its other problems, but I do not think that this Planet of The Apes thing is evidence of that.

Please, go forth and do battle against The Wal-Mart. But make sure you're armed with the right weapons.

Unless someone at Wal-Mart confesses that they wanted to be racist and had no clue that Planet of The Apes was an anti-racist series, then this is nothing.

[Rex]

93. I do and here is why.

Why is it that they didn't 'link' to the zillons of other sci-fi movies? Surely people like other sci-fi movies that like Planet of the Apes. It might not be intended to look racist, but it is.

[madeline_con]

137. I fear there will a worse come in its place. n/t

[helderheid]

28. OK - I MIGHT buy that - but "What's Love Got To Do With It"??

About the Movie


Experience for yourself the powerful true-life story of Tina Turner -- rock 'n' roll's remarkable and talented superstar. Laurence Fishburne ("The Matrix") and Angela Bassett ("How Stella Got Her Grove Back") deliver winning performances as Ike and Tina Turner -- whose turbulent relationship eventually forces Tina to leave and face the fear, pay the price, and find the courage to believe in herself.
Experience for yourself the powerful true-life story of Tina Turner -- rock 'n' roll's remarkable and talented superstar. Laurence Fishburne ("The Matrix") and Angela Bassett ("How Stella Got Her Grove Back") deliver winning performances as Ike and Tina Turner -- whose turbulent relationship eventually forces Tina to leave and face the fear, pay the price, and find the courage to believe in herself. Don't miss "What's Love Got To Do With It" -- the amazing and uplifting story of one of the world's most exciting, high-energy entertainers!


and

About the Movie


DVD, FOX
Based on the enormously popular and successful "Planet Of The Apes" movies, the 1974 TV series has become a true cult classic. Now all 14 episodes (including "The Liberator," which never aired during the show's original run) have been compiled and are available to own for the first time. After their spacecraft travels through a time warp, two astronauts (Ron Harper, James Naughton)from 1981 crash-land back on Earth in the year 3085 - a time when intelligent apes rule and humans have been reduced to servants or pets. Captured by the apes and sentenced to death, they are saved by a curious chimpanzee named Galen(Roddy McDowall). But now all three are on the run, trying to keep one step ahead of the gorilla army led by General Orko (Mark Lenard), who is determined to kill the renegades.

[Lars39]

42. Still no answer....

[Ian David]

44. Laurence Fishburne and Roddy McDowall each had 2 movies with Kevin Bacon

[Crunchy Frog]

48. Don't you see?

Planet of the Apes is also a handy metaphor for oppressive gender relations. Especially for those that just happen to occur between black people. I still don't get why anyone thinks this is racist.:sarcasm:

[Lorien]

52. *Crickets*

They also had "introducing Dorothy Dandridge" up there; three bios about African Americans, and not ONE Sci-Fi film which "deals with race relations and slavery" (as many episodes of Star Trek, among others, do). I saw "what's Love got to do with it" recently; it's about Tina Turner surviving spousal abuse and other challenges to triumph later in life; race is a minor issue in the film (gender issues play a much larger role). This crap from Wal-Mart is BLATANT racism and should absolutely NOT be excused!

[Ian David]

85. Results 1 - 20 of about 2,910 for "Dorothy Dandridge" "Planet of the Apes"

Results 1 - 20 of about 2,910 for "Dorothy Dandridge" and "Planet of the Apes". (0.51 seconds)
http://www.google.com/search?num=20&hl=en&c2coff=1&safe=off&q=%22Dorothy+Dandridge%22+and+%22Planet+of+the+Apes%22&spell=1

Results 1 - 20 of about 356 for "Dorothy Dandridge" "Planet of the Apes" "what's Love got to do with it". (0.51 seconds)
http://www.google.com/search?num=20&hl=en&lr=&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=%22Dorothy+Dandridge%22+%22Planet+of+the+Apes%22+%22what%27s+Love+got+to+do+with+it%22&btnG=Search


I'm just using this message post as a "scratch pad" while I look around to see if anybody has publicly posted a list of anti-racist movies grouped by metaphor.

[Touchdown]

43. So what's POTA got to do with wife beating?

...other than the wife being beaten in one film is black?

[Beaverhausen]

54. Slaves were beaten too

and many wives - including Tina Turner - are "slaves" to their husbands.

[Touchdown]

59. So where's Farrah Fawcett's "Burning Bed".

Any reason for that to be omitted, other than she's white?

[Beaverhausen]

60. I don't know...is that even out on DVD?

[AspenRose]

16. Just in time for MLK commemorations coming up

Spread this far and wide. These you-know-whats are getting VERY bold. They're going to cost Wal-Mart some serious money.

[helderheid]

17. that screenshot is going out to everyone I know

[Ian David]

19. That will make you look foolish. Very foolish. n/t

[helderheid]

22. care to tell me why?

[Ian David]

31. I just posted some good reasons elsewhere in the thread. hit "view all"

You may have to re-vist my prior posts.

I've also made edits.

[helderheid]

32. post #28 is my response.

[Touchdown]

47. I just posted some reasons why you give WM too much credit

Why don't you revisit my replies? WM's website is not a 3 credit film appreciation class...even at a community college.

[SoCalDem]

29. Click this link and look at the "related items"

notice a difference?? If you don't , look again


http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4300798

[Ian David]

38. I'm supposed to be shocked not to see anti-nazi movies there?

Look, I hate Wal-Mart.

I want everyone to hate Wal-Mart.

But there are good reasons and there are lame ones.

Saying this is racist in intent is a huge, huge stretch.

So, in preparation for Black History Month someone went in and worked extra-hard to make sure there were some good movies linked together.

If we want people to hate Wal-Mart, we have to look smart about it, and once we start spouting lame crap like this it only makes us look less credible. And then people might stop listening to us.

There is nothing to see here. Please move on.

There is plenty of good ammunition to use against Wal-Mart:
http://wakeupwalmart.com/

Why Wal-Mart Must Change

Wal-Mart has become much more than just a small corner store in rural America. In the past 10 years, Wal-Mart has grown into the largest retailer in the world -- number 1 among the Fortune 500 -- and is America's largest employer. With more than 1.4 million employees and over $10 billion in profits, Wal-Mart is a giant company with giant responsibilities. First and foremost, Wal-Mart has a responsibility to all Americans to set the standard for customers, workers and communities, and to help build a better America.

The truth is that Wal-Mart has let America down by lowering wages, forcing good paying American jobs overseas, and cutting costs with total disregard for the values that have made this nation great. Wal-Mart has needlessly exploited illegal immigrants, faces the largest gender discrimination lawsuit in history, forced workers to work in an unsafe environment, and -- incredibly -- broken child labor laws.

America's largest employer must reflect America's values. But, Wal-Mart will never change on its own. Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's CEO, mistakenly thinks he only answers to a few wealthy shareholders who own Wal-Mart stock. Lee Scott is wrong. Wal-Mart and Lee Scott must answer to the American people.

We are the ones who shop at Wal-Mart.

Together, we have the power to change Wal-Mart.

Together, we can hold Wal-Mart accountable and improve our America.

More:
http://wakeupwalmart.com/change/

[crispini]

66. Dude, you're delusional.

There is no way on God's green earth that the people at WAL-MART are classifying movies based on a fucking METAPHOR.

What, did you fall off a turnip truck yesterday? Racism is alive and well in the US of A, and this is somebody in the back office at Wal Mart's idea of a little funny joke. Where's Wal Mart's corporate HQ? Arkansas, dude, not exactly a bastion of liberal thought or film criticism.

Is it their corporate policy? No. Is it some asshole individual's idea of humor? Probably yes.

[Richard Steele]

77. And even WalMart says he's wrong.

They just changed it, calling it a "mistake".

See OPERATIONMINDCRIMES post below.

[Ian David]

80. Yes, it COULD be some racist asshole's idea of humor, but...

before we start sending angry press releases around "the internets" we really need to find out more information.

The whole idea is that a racist asshole linked to a movie as a racist joke not knowing that it was an anti-racist movie.

I will admit that this is possible.

And Wal-Mart certainly has a history for this sort of thing:

ADL Letter to Wal-Mart
RE: The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion
http://www.adl.org/misc/wal-mart-protocols-ltr.asp

I suggest we try and find out what really happened here before we go on the attack.

Wal-Mart is racist and evil. But they also have enough money to pay someone to put together a list of movies for Black History Month based on metaphors.

[KamaAina]

23. Suppose all the "related items" were to start shopping elsewhere?

What would that do to Sprawl-Mart's business, particularly in the urban areas where it prides itself on being such a great corporate citizen just because it goes in there and hires everyone away from the mom 'n' pops at minimum wage?

[KingFlorez]

36. Wow, that's really something

Doesn't surprise me coming from a Republican slave labor company

[Ian David]

40. Wal-Mart is an evil, company that must be destroyed but NOT for THIS

THIS is NOT racist.

Planet of The Apes is an anti-racist Progressive/Liberal metaphor

Go HERE for the REAL reasons to hate Wal-Mart:
http://wakeupwalmart.com/change/

[KingFlorez]

45. I don't buy that

This is clearly racist and I don't think their progressive or liberal enough to use a metaphor

[Ian David]

72. For all we know they hired a consultant to or hired a focus group...

to compile a collection of movies together for Black History Month, and they decided to "look at the metaphors."

If I were planning a film festival for Black History Month, I might include Planet of The Apes in the line-up.

Who is to say that Wal-Mart didn't follow the same logic?

I will admit that this MIGHT be worth a POLITE inquiry, but we should reserve our outrage for later lest we look silly.

We can't just assume that a multi-billion dollar corporation is too stupid to put together a collection of anti-racism movies by metaphor.

Let's find out some more first, okay?

[Lars39]

87. If you want to see a list of movies more appropriate for linkage,

see Lorien's post #68.

[crispini]

56. Look, I have a real problem believing that WalMart is

making movie classifications based on METAPHOR. That's pretty sophisticated.

FYI, "Related Movies" from Netflix:

Planet of the Apes
Beneath the Planet of the Apes
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
Battle for the Planet of the Apes

Genres:
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Classic Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Action Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Sci-Fi Adventure

Enjoyed By Members Who Enjoyed ...
The Time Machine
Lost in Space
Batman & Robin
Hollow Man
Mission to Mars
Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace
The 6th Day
Jurassic Park III

And from Amazon.com:

Soylent Green
DVD

2001 - A Space Odyssey
DVD

Beneath The Planet Of The Apes
DVD ~ James Franciscus

The Omega Man
DVD

The Time Machine
DVD

The Day the Earth Stood Still
DVD

Logan's Run
DVD

Escape From the Planet of the Apes
DVD

Ben-Hur (Four-Disc Collector's Edition)
DVD

Genres: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

Plot Keywords

Cryonics | Cryogenics | Twist In The End | Spacecraft | Astronaut | Evolution | Captive | Religion | Statue Of Liberty | Ape | Domination | Based On Novel | Barbarism | Communism | Gun | Horse | Hunted | Hunter Quarry | Hunter | Hunting | NASA | Net | Ostracism | Racism | Science | Socialism | Post Apocalyptic | Animal Rights | Cult Favorite | Blockbuster | Dead Child | Male Nudity

Ok, "racism" is in the Amazon.com plot keywords but it is a TINY TINY part of the plot keyword list. ALL of the ties to "recommendations" are to Sci-Fi, NOT to any kind of civil rights movies.

Honestly, I think you are being a bit naive.

[Ian David]

64. Then why aren't there links to other movies about monkeys and apes?

Gorillas in The Mist?
Project X?
The Man from C.H.I.M.P.?
Bedtime for Bonzo?
Any Which Way But Loose?
The original King Kong (which actually had a pro-racist message)

Just thinking of some off the top of my head.

Do a Wal-Mart search on "Monkey":
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/search-ng.gsp?search_constraint=4096&search_query=monkeys&Continue.x=37&Continue.y=15&Continue=Find&ics=20&ico=0

[Catherine Vincent]

39. What the...!!!

:wtf:

[Crunchy Frog]

46. If anybody is interested

you can go here to send your feedback to Walmart headquarters

http://www.walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=221

There is also a page for phone numbers and snail mail addresses.

http://walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=224

I can't even believe that there are people posting on this thread who don't think this is racist.

[Touchdown]

53. Screw Wal-Mart. We need to call CBS, NBC, ABC

...and BET!

[redherring]

49. At first it screamed racism

Then I realized that it's probably a flaw in the algorithm.

[Catherine Vincent]

51. We can't blame Al Gore for this!

(just kidding)

[LostinVA]

61. No, but I'm sure it's Clenis' fault somehow

[crispini]

62. That's interesting, none of their other DVD recommendations

appear to have this problem.

Similar to Angel: Season 1:
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Complete Third Season
Buffy The Vampire Slayer: The Complete First Season

(Nothing about any other kinds of "angels" there)

Similar to Cinderella
The Disney Songbook
$12.88
Bambi Special Edition (Platinum Collection, Special Edition)
$19.88


Similar to Charlie And The Chocolate Factory
Charlie And The Chocolate Factory (DE) (Widescreen, Deluxe Edition)
$18.86
Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (2001 Edition) (Full Frame)

Honestly, this really does kind of smell of somebody in the corporate HQ's idea of a practical joke. Especially since the HQ is in Arkansas.

[redherring]

81. It might be racism

I don't really know what sort of algorithm they use. For instance, what are some of the criteria used to come up with the "items similar to this" list? Maybe a Walmart employee, who happens to be a racist, was playing a prank. It's possible. But in all likelihood, it was just what the algorithm spit out, in my humble opinion.
I might of course be wrong, but that's what I'm speculating.

[KingFlorez]

63. They fixed it?

Everybody Loves Raymond and Friends are up there.

[helderheid]

88. That was fast!

[SaveElmer]

67. I think its been cleaned...

Or I am missing something...

Can someone fill me in ?

[KingFlorez]

69. They changed it

[Lost-in-FL]

71. They cleaned it...

Now similar items list: "Friends", "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Star Wars". Check the link for Crook and Liars screen shot pre-cleaning job

[Crunchy Frog]

99. Look at this post for a screen shot.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=61145&mesg_id=61221

[Lorien]

68. Related films according to Netflix:

Planet of the Apes
Add Planet of the Apes
Click to rate the movie "Really Liked It"

This remake of the 1960s camp classic starring Charlton Heston (who makes an appearance here) is anything but monkey business. After flying through a space "worm hole," astronaut Mark Wahlberg crashes on a planet where simians rule over humans. Aided and abetted by a sympathetic chimpanzee (Helena Bonham Carter), Wahlberg leads a small band of rebels against their captors. The finale's a doozy.

Soylent Green
Add Soylent Green
3.3 Stars

The year is 2022, and New York City is on the verge of complete disaster. Forty million people are crammed into this heavily polluted city, living only on Soylent Green, a soybean-lentil concoction that serves as the single source of food for everyone. Charlton Heston plays Thorn, a police detective trying to keep the peace and investigating the death of the director of Soylent Green's manufacturer.

Behind the Planet of the Apes
Add Behind the Planet of the Apes
2.5 Stars

Roddy McDowall hosts this documentary that takes an exclusive in-depth look at the five Planet of the Apes films, along with the television series and the animated cartoon inspired by the films. Stars Charlton Heston and Kim Hunter give viewers an insider look at the classic sci-fi film, and fans can learn how makeup was used to transform human actors into realistic-looking apes.


Add All Planet of the Apes: The TV Series (4-Disc Series)
3.0 Stars

This hit 1974 television series -- based on the much-loved cult film - follows the adventures, successes and failures of two wayward human astronauts who must make their way in a future Earth dominated by apes. Their situation is eased when a sympathetic chimp befriends them, but the humans must still learn to survive and thrive in a world that is decidedly different than the existence they left behind.

The Omega Man
Add The Omega Man
3.3 Stars

In this cult sci-fi hit, Robert Neville (Charlton Heston) is one of few remaining survivors of a hellish germ-warfare doomsday, having injected himself with an untested vaccine. But he's far from safe, as he must battle a band of infected mutants who stalk at night and are determined to decimate any human left standing. Rosalind Cash co-stars.

Westworld
Add Westworld
3.3 Stars

Classic science fiction tale. Adults enter a futuristic amusement park and get to live out a favorite fantasy. The imaginary places they vistit are serviced by life-like robots. All's well until the robots begin to malfunction.

Fantastic Voyage / Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
Add Fantastic Voyage / Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea
3.0 Stars

This sci-fi double feature will take you places you've surely never been: Fantastic Voyage (which received Oscars for Best Color Art Direction and Best Visual Effects) follows a medical team as its members miniaturize themselves to repair a brain clot that threatens to kill a scientist. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea features a submarine crew working to save the Earth by extinguishing the Van Allen radiation belt before the planet burns to a crisp.

Fahrenheit 451
Add Fahrenheit 451
3.0 Stars

Ray Bradbury's cautionary near-future parable of a society where books are banned and firemen start fires was the only English-language film from French auteur François Truffaut. Oscar Werner is the conflicted fireman Montag, and Julie Christie has a dual role. The score is by Truffaut favorite Bernard Hermann, of Psycho fame. For an extra level of subtle satire, look closely at the carefully chosen book titles.

The Time Machine
Add The Time Machine
3.3 Stars

In this film based on the classic novel by H.G. Wells, a scientist (Rod Taylor) invents a time machine that allows him to explore the Earth's distant future -- a place of idyllic beauty that also harbors a sinister evil. Co-starring Yvette Mimieux as a docile inhabitant of the future, The Time Machine won an Oscar for its trippy special effects. Beware the Morlocks!

12 Monkeys
Add 12 Monkeys
3.3 Stars

In the year 2035, convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time by scientists to 1996 to discover the origin of a virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population. When Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital, where he meets a psychiatrist (Madeleine Stowe) and the son (Brad Pitt) of a famous virus expert (Christopher Plummer). Terry Gilliam directs.

Dark City
Add Dark City
3.5 Stars

John Murdoch (Rufus Sewell) awakens in a hotel room to find he's wanted for a series of murders he doesn't remember committing. Murdoch encounters the Strangers, a group of ominous beings with a collective memory who can stop time and alter physical reality. He begins to piece together his memories -- childhood, love for his wife (Jennifer Connelly) and the key to the murders -- all the while trying to avoid the underworld of the Strangers.

A Clockwork Orange
Add A Clockwork Orange
2.5 Stars

Teenage miscreant Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell) wanders aimlessly amid a bleak, futuristic urban landscape. Along with his fellow thugs, he drinks drugged milk and listens to Beethoven -- that is, when he's not stealing or raping or beating people in nihilistic orgies of violence. A Clockwork Orange, based on Anthony Burgess' novel, is as powerful as when it was released in 1971.

2001: A Space Odyssey
Add 2001: A Space Odyssey
3.0 Stars

Based on Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Sentinel," Stanley Kubrick's quiet masterpiece probes the mysteries of space and human destiny. In the years between primitive man's discovery of lethal weapons and the birth of the star child, astronauts David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) confront HAL-9000, the computer operating their ship. Nominated for four Academy Awards, Kubrick's epic won for its stunning special effects.

THX 1138: Special Edition
Add THX 1138: Special Edition
2.8 Stars

George Lucas based his first feature film on an award-winning short he lensed while in college. In a future where sexuality is banned, drugs are used to control people's minds and citizens are stripped of their individuality, THX 1138 (Robert Duvall) and LUH 3417 (Maggie McOmie) rebel against the status quo. When LUH winds up pregnant and THX is jailed, only a fellow prisoner (Donald Pleasence) can help THX escape and reunite with his love.

Gattaca
Add Gattaca
3.6 Stars

A young man, born in the 90s, is vulnerable to emotions he's not supposed to feel in the 21st Century where perfection is made possible by genetic science. Sci-fi thriller about an all-too-human man who dares to defy the system.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Add A.I. Artificial Intelligence
3.0 Stars

Director Steven Spielberg's A.I. propels you into a futuristic world where humans share every aspect of their lives with sophisticated companion robots called Mechas. When an advanced prototype robot child named David (Haley Joel Osment) is programmed to show unconditional love, his human family isn't prepared for the consequences. David soon embarks on a spectacular quest to discover the startling secret of his own identity.

Alien: Collector's Edition
Add Alien: Collector's Edition
2.8 Stars

Sigourney Weaver shines as the most stalwart crewmember of a space freighter that inadvertently takes on an unwanted visitor. As the bloodthirsty beast stalks the crew (including Tom Skerritt, John Hurt and Yaphet Kotto), they begin to realize they're pitted against a malevolent monster that's perfectly evolved to annihilate humankind. Both the theatrical and director's cut versions of this Oscar-winning film are included on this DVD.

The Fifth Element
Add The Fifth Element
2.8 Stars

New York City in the 23rd century is a madhouse of flying taxis, street gangs and media overload. Cabbie Bruce Willis is a regular guy ... and the universe's last hope for survival as he helps the embodiment of love and life (Milla Jovovich) fight the darkness unleashed by the crazed Zorg (Gary Oldman). Director Luc Besson's vision of tomorrow has all the right elements.

Papillon
Add Papillon
3.3 Stars

He was called "Papillon", meaning "butterfly." Unable to fly, Henri Charriere virtually willed himself free. He did the impossible: escaped Devil's Island. It was the greatest escape. Steve McQueen in one of his greatest roles.

Existenz
Add Existenz
3.0 Stars

Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the world's leading designer of virtual reality games, is testing a new prototype when an assassin wielding a daunting organic weapon (a "gristle" gun) attacks her. She survives the assault and with help from her marketing assistant turned bodyguard (Jude Law), she "portals" into her own games..

[China_cat]

70. Now it shows

Everybody Loves Raymond
Star Wars
Friends

[robbedvoter]

75. Had to have been very recent. Saw the original 10 minutes ago

Maybe our friend Ian will explain to us how "Everyone LovesRaymond" fits into that methaphor that none of us comprehends?

[sniffa]

82. that was quick

good work on the screen shots.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

74. PLEASE SEE THIS THREAD!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x61637

[Ian David]

89. I was wrong! Thank you for researching this and settling the matter

Okay, Now we can all scream and yell at Wal-Mart.

I am, after all, wrong 1/12 of the time.

Still, it is good to be skeptical and make sure one is correct before galloping up to the internet and sending hundreds of angry emails.

I have now been convinced-- a racist asshole at Wal-Mart was too stupid to know that POTA is an anti-racist movie.

Die, Wal-Mart, Die!

[Touchdown]

122. Good for you!

:hug:

[theHandpuppet]

76. I'm not seeing the "See More Below" items

Has it already been scrubbed?

[Atman]

78. They cleansed it.

It now features "Everybody loves Raymond" and "Friends" as similar items.

One more reason to hate those fuckers at WalMart.

[Check12]

84. Page from Amazon.com similar items

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/sim-explorer/explore-items/-/B00004TS0K/0/101/1/none/purchase/ref=pd_sexpl/103-8445804-8551805

This is what I would expect the search engine to come up with.

[robbedvoter]

96. That's precisely what makes it suspect - there's a long list of movies

with similar titles - how did they miss all of these? BOTH TIMES????

[daleanime]

86. Oh the power...

of DU.

[donheld]

90. Any doubts Wal-mart is racist should have vanished

long ago.

[Ian David]

92. I had no doubts Wal-Mart was racist, just doubted THIS was evidence of it

Wal-Mart says this was "a technical error," meaning somewhere a "technical person" is about to hit the unemployment line for being a stupid, racist prick.

[robbedvoter]

95. I do so hope you are sarcastic...

They replaced a mixture of black actors flics with another illogical white actors stuff - still unrelated to the topic. That to me is whitewash.

[donheld]

111. I am not being sarcastic in the least

Yes I believe Wal-mart is racist to the core.

[robbedvoter]

112. Then we agree

[sendero]

91. Well...

.... someone, or more than one person perhaps, should lose their job over this.

There is just no excuse for it, none. And there is no possible way that these items could be related (the original, on the site are only some tv series now, I'm glad someone saved the screenshot), which is generally done by using a database algorithm that generates these matches based on other purchases.

Unless you think that scads of people who bought "Planet of the Apes" also bought MLK documentaries.

Pathetic.

[Ian David]

94. I never doubted someone intentionally linked them "by hand"

Someone at Wal-Mart has not only been very bad, but also very stupid.

[Kingshakabobo]

104. Which post changed your mind? Just wonderin.

:-)

[Ian David]

105. This one

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x61637

[helderheid]

120. that has been self deleted?

[Starkers]

97. Walmart

What are you talking about? I go to your link (The Walmart one) and in similar DVD's they list Everybody loves Raymond and the Star Wars Trilogy.

[Junkdrawer]

98. Here's a link to the pre-scrubbed story...

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2006/01/05.html#a6587

[Check12]

100. Walmart is not racsist..

They are equal opportunity exploiters.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

102. NEW THREAD ON WHY WALMART MAY BE INNOCENT!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=62119&mesg_id=62119

[Ian David]

106. Oh, come on. You're not going to make me think AGAIN?

My brain is tired now.

[Deja Q]

107. firedoglake has the original screengrab. But walmt's updated "similar"

items bear nothing to PotA Series (1974). Friends? Everybody Loves Raymond?! These are sci-fi?! Star Wars Trilogy is just dumb luck.

[Rex]

109. You must have missed

'Everyone Loves Dr. Zaius' and the sequel 'Primates'?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

110. My Call To Their Corporate Web Master Prompted The Change.

I don't think it was intended racially anymore, and think it may have in fact been innocent.

[BuyingThyme]

108. ON ONE OF THE DVDs in this box set, there is discussion about

how urban audiences viewed the original movie, as opposed to how suburban audiences viewed it. In urban theaters, audience members openly cheered for the apes, relating with their plight. It's right there on the DVD, and it's not at all racist. It's a response to racism.

If this has already been covered, I'm sorry. I didn't feel like reading the entire thread.

EDIT: Actually it was not the original (first) movie, it's the first one in the chronology, where the people train the apes to work for them. The guy who effectively helps the apes take power is, by no coincidence, a black guy.

Watch the DVDs.

[Catherine Vincent]

113. Well, they BETTER had correct that.

Or else I would act a fool up in heyah! :)

[Rex]

114. I will say this much about Wal-Mart

They did move fast to move an obviously racist connection (albeit maybe a truer meaning if you think Wal-Mart employees muse about using simile and metaphor in category selection). I still think they are an evil empire with death star power! Real people actually do work at Wal-Mart, people who have to scratch out a living. Hell my first job was with Mc Donalds!

[Touchdown]

123. C'mon! They're covering their asses here.

If they were truly sorry for this to happen, they would've issued a statement and an apology to anyone who might be offended on their home video homepage. They didn't. They buried the evidence and are pretending the event never happened.

I won't give them credit for anything about this.

[Ian David]

127. Wal-Mart has the resources to do that IF THEY WANTED TO

Their database isn't run by stockclerks.

They are a multi-billion dollar corporation with an army of marketing and public relations people.

If they wanted to, they could put together a list of movies for Black History Month.

They may be evil, but they're not stupid.

Even I could put together a list like that.

The important thing is, that now we have more information to reach a conclusion, thanks to OperationMindCrime.

What do we think now?

[Rex]

129. We thinks we gets your bold type.

nt

[Ian David]

134. Thanks

What about now?

ITALICS!

[crispini]

115. Update: Forbes article posted in LBN

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2006/01/05/ap2431560.html?partner=alerts

[Ian David]

128. It's starting to look like it MIGHT be an innocent glitch...

<snip>
"To further illustrate the bizarre nature of this technical issue, the site is also mapping movies such as `Home Alone' and `Power Puff Girls' to African-American-themed DVDs," Williams said.

A documentary about surfers, "Riding Giants," links to the same list of seemingly unrelated fantasy films as the King biopic, including "Polar Express" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

More:
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2006/01/05/ap2431560.html?partner=alerts

Although "Charlie and The Chocolate Factory" could be a racist reference to the color of Martin Luther King Jr.'s skin.

Alright, group.

We now have enough information to create an informed opinion.

Some of us may disagree, but at least now we know enough facts to argue our points reasonably.

Was this a deliberate racist act, or was it an innocent computer glitch?

[Loonman]

121. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" called up similar results

Your premise and conclusion are faulty.

[Crunchy Frog]

124. I got a response back from Walmart.

Thank you for your message.

We are heartsick that this happened and are currently doing everything possible
to correct the problem. The offensive combinations that have been identified
have been removed from the site as of January 6th. However, with thousands of
movie items available, there is an almost endless number of possible
combinations. Because of that, we will be shutting down our entire movie
cross-selling system until the problem is resolved.

Our system, like those of most other on-line buying sites, refers buyers
interested in a particular movie to other movies through a technical process
known as "mapping."

Walmart.com's item mapping process does not work correctly and at this point is
mapping seemingly random combinations of titles. We were horrified to discover
that some hurtful and offensive combinations are being mapped together.

We are deeply sorry that this happened.




For further correspondence regarding this issue, please reply to this email.

Maybe their own acknowledgement that there was something wrong about this will put a stop to people's claims on here that it was really nothing, or that they were just trying to be really sophisticated about putting together a thematic assembly for Black History Month.:eyes:

[Ian David]

126. I'd bet money on racist asshole run amok in the database because...

it's Wal-Mart and we all know their history.

See what OperationMindCrime has to say about this, and tell me what you think:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x62119

On edit: just read the Forbes article, and now I'm "on the fence" about this. What do you guys think?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x64644

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

136. Hi Ian, I'm still on the fence myself unfortunately.

I did more analysis into this than you could imagine, and each time I thought I reached a conclusion something else would turn up. I was gonna post again last night but figured I flip flopped enough already.

I have good reason to believe it was in fact innocent, but also equally have good reason to believe it wasn't.

Unfortunately I think the only way to be completely sure in the end is to have been able to see the mapping code itself, which I'm sure is unavailable to anybody. Short of that, I think it is just up to reader perception.

Sighhhhhh, it was a long night for me last night. I wish I had something more solid, but in the end the back and forth within my brain continues.

On a cool note though, the WaPo article had mention of the reporter that called Walmart that prompted their removal of the link. That was me!!!! LOL And I'm no reporter, but I did attempt to come across as professionally as possible, and did start off by saying I was investigating this breaking story. But still, to see my event of calling them yesterday in a major wapo article was pretty damn cool.

[Ian David]

138. You've done an amazing job. Thanks! N/T

[AZBlue]

132. "Similar Items" link has been completely removed now. (n/t)