HARRY POTTER AND THE DARK LORD WALDEMART [NR]
There is nothing wrong with a few getting a few laughs while getting more socially aware, like when watching this short Harry Potter spoof, courtesy of the folks at WalmartWatch.com. Not only is it a clever parody (that unlike MAD Magazine, does not change most of the names), but it also lays out the disparities between the comparatively benevolent Wal-Mart that Sam Walton founded and the company it has become since diverging from that path. And of course, in the tradition of Shakespeare, Uncle Miltie and Monty Python, Hermione is a guy in drag. The site goes further, paralleling Hermione’s efforts to liberate house elves through S.P.E.W. with the need for humane treatment of workers, comparing the oppressive Dolores Umbridge to Wal-Mart anti-union forces and dark “Lord Valdemort’s” disdain for those not of pure blood with Wal-Mart’s discrimination against women, minorities and the handicapped. Click on the above title or photo of “Harry” and “Hermione” to check it out for yourself. –Elizabeth Meyer