While consumers across the country flocked to malls this past Black Friday, "What Would Jesus Buy?," an anti-consumerism movie, hit the theaters in limited release. Described as a "docu-comedy," it follows the adventures of The Rev. Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping and his mission to fight what he calls the "shopocalypse," the buying frenzy Americans indulge in every holiday season.
As a performance artist and activist in real life, Rev. Billy, aka Bill Talen, has been preaching against consumerism since 1997. Among other incidents, Mr. Talen and his flock has exorcised cash registers, staged "interventions" at retailers such as Victoria's Secret, set up makeshift confessional booths where consumers can discuss their shopping sins, and even baptized babies to keep them safe from consumer culture. Not surprisingly, he has been arrested dozens of times, and banned from both Starbucks and Disney's properties.
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| Photo courtesy of www.revbilly.com |
Sporting a platinum pompadour, a white suit and the flamboyant manner of a televangelist, Mr. Talen and his group sing humorous songs, tell jokes and are clearly meant to entertain. But the underlying activism message is real.
Talen began his crusade in the nineties when he moved to New York and found chain stores replacing eclectic Mom & Pops. Noticing that only sidewalk preachers were protesting against consumerism, he began parodying one and eventually toured the country railing against the destruction of neighborhoods by malls and chain stores. His message: people should spend less and give more time and thought to loved ones over the holidays.
"Christmas has become the annual repetition of the message, 'If you love your country you'll go out and shop,'" Mr. Talen recently told the San Jose Mercury News.
The movie was created by Morgan Spurlock, the director and star of "Supersize Me," which parodied America's poor eating habits. In that Academy-award nominated film, Mr. Spurlock gained 24.5 pounds in 30 days and became ill by subsisting entirely on food and items purchased from McDonald's.
"What Would Jesus Buy?" follows the congregation on a Thanksgiving-to-Christmas tour around the U.S., including Wal-Mart's home office, the Mall of America and Disneyland. Like "Supersize Me," the film uses humor to score somber anti-consumerism points. Among the statistics cited in the film is one that says average Americans spend more than five hours a week shopping, while children spend less than 40 minutes a week engaged in meaningful conversation with their parents.
In its review, The New York Times wrote, "Reverend Billy is zany and energetic enough to hold the attention of those he's preaching to - average to extreme shoppers, many clueless as to what globalization means - long enough for them to consider his crusade. At the very least, the film might make a viewer think twice about that next purchase at the Gap."
Discussion Question: Do you see any signs of an anti-consumerism movement emerging? What are the implications for retailers and consumer brand marketers?