The Shopocalypse Is Upon Us!

Morgan Spurlock, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite people, recently released a new film called “What Would Jesus Buy?“

From the movie’s website:

“What Would Jesus Buy? follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt!”

I haven’t had a chance to see the film yet (unbelievably, it’s not currently playing in Los Angeles — Iowa City and Lawrence, KS, but not L.A.), but the more innundated I become with marketing which insists Christmas=Debt, the more I’m drawn to a different message.

I also came across this interview with the Reverend Billy himself. In the interview, I found this part to be especially interesting:

INTERVIEWER: Do you consider yourself a religious or spiritual person now?

REVEREND BILLY: I’ve just kind of moved beyond calling myself labels. I think a part of resisting consumerism and giving people the example of resisting consumerism is to stop imitating products. That’s why we don’t get any money from foundations. Are we political? Are we religious? Are we artistic? Those are three labels that would come to us from the foundation world. Well, the political foundations think we are clowns. And the artistic foundations think we are political. And the religious foundations think we are atheists. So the thing that makes us powerful to people is also the thing that makes it hard to define.

Related Reading:
Creative Cures for the Common Christmas (by Shane Claiborne)

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