There’s an anonymous Instagram account roasting Bentonville.

The account NWA Heretic (@get_bent_onville) has grown to about 7,500 followers.

It mostly posts memes lampooning local figures and institutions, with frequent jabs at Walmart and the Walton family.

One recent post pairs headlines about Walmart scaling back DEI initiatives with a photo of the Momentary’s “You Belong Here” sign. Overlaid on the images is a clip of comedian Tim Robinson asking, “You sure about that?”

Another post shows a street curb with the message “money can’t buy culture.”

Are the posts social commentary, mean-spirited, or a bit of both?

We asked the account moderators a few questions. Their answers, of course, reflect their own opinions — not ours. 

So, what’s the problem with Bentonville?

Some of our content is just for fun, but some memes speak to real frustrations and concerns. Bentonville’s ripe for critique. So much of it is plastic. It’s a place that didn’t and couldn’t happen organically. A company town that had the mind-boggling good fortune of being where the world’s largest retailer decided to pump money for decades — instead of being one of the thousands of other towns siphoned by that retailer. It’s an incredibly surreal place that wants to be cool so badly (in an effort to attract more people and further enrich shareholders), but can’t buy culture. Which, on its own, is reason enough to focus on Bentonville, but to so many people, this discussion is almost sacrosanct. We get joy out of pointing out the emperor has no clothes and knocking self-important folks down a peg or two.

Do you think your memes qualify as art?

Absolutely! We’re not saying our work belongs in the Louvre, but some of the best art gets people talking and we’ve certainly experienced that. In general, memes can kick-start a more meaningful exchange. If someone shares a meme with controversial or nuanced undertones, it’s immediately a discussion forum. That might be a little generous for some of the “discussions” you’ll see out there, but memes can still be a pop-up town square, in that sense. They’ve become a medium for sharing ideas in a way we used to not have.

What inspired you to start the account? 

We joked about starting an NWA-themed account for a couple of years before we went through with it. When Format Festival relocated leading up to their second (final?) festival, we felt like that fiasco was very on-brand for NWA: struggling/fumbling as they tried to grow into something more. It was a prime opportunity to jump in. We didn’t aspire to be viral and we still don’t. We’re glad that we resonate with a lot of people, though, that’s been very rewarding. And even as an anonymous voice, we’ve developed some great relationships through the account.

Who runs this account? Why stay anonymous?

There are two people behind the account. Most of the content is ours, with occasional ideas, input or content from others (DM us!). We stay anonymous because our content often goes beyond general topics into issues very specific to NWA — and some people really get in their feels when they hear anything critical of NWA. If you read our DMs, you’d understand that anonymity is a non-negotiable. We like things uncomplicated, and anonymity allows us (and our collaborators) to speak freely. Also, we’re not interested in monetizing our account or making it about personal gain. So it makes sense to just focus on the memes.

Your posts seem directed toward Walton family members’ activities sometimes. What’s going on there?

We didn’t start the account with the Waltons in mind, they just come with the territory. As a company town, you can’t talk about Bentonville without talking about the Waltons. And they’ve got their fingerprints all over NWA, both visibly and behind the scenes. We don’t punch down, so the richest family in the world is going to be a common target.

What’s something about Bentonville that you genuinely love, despite the memes?

Underneath the veneer, Bentonville and NWA have a great community spirit. We’re talking about neighbors helping neighbors. We’ve seen NWA rally around each other countless times over the years. Lots of places have a strong sense of community, but it’s still a positive thing, and we shouldn’t take it for granted! If we as residents don’t look for ways to participate and to continually enhance that sense of community, it won’t last. It takes a village, not local billionaires.