This film‘s title alone intrigued me. And as I continued reading about it on Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff’s website, I found it even more interesting.
"What Would Jesus Buy?" appears to be an appropriate holiday movie for the church’s First Tuesday Social Action Film Festival. The synopsis states that it: "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!" It’s probably not only holiday appropriate but also appropriate for our current economic climate.
Another interesting tidbit: The producer of this "docu-comedy" is Morgan Spurlock, the man behind the movie documentary "Super Size Me" and the more recent FX series "30 Days".
The film’s website is definitely worth clicking through, with plenty to keep visitors entertained. I clicked on "About Us" and found a statement about Rverend Billy’s beliefs that seemed to mesh well with the Oak Cliff philosophy:
"Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping gospel choir believe that Consumerism is overwhelming our lives. The corporations want us to have experiences only through their products.
Our neighborhoods, ‘commons’ places like stoops and parks and streets and libraries, are disappearing into the corporatized world of big boxes and chain stores. But if we ‘back away from the product’ — even a little bit, well then we Put The Odd Back In God!
The supermodels fly away and we’re left with our original sensuality. So we are singing and preaching for local economies and real — not mediated through products — experience.
We like independent shops where you know the person behind the counter or at least — you like them enough to share a story.We ask that local activists who are defending themselves against supermalls, nuke plants, gentrification — call us and we’ll come and put on our ‘Fabulous Worship!’"
