What Would Jesus Buy? is a 90 minute film is well worth viewing. It began with a man who had a passion to wake up Americans about their out of control shopping. The concept grew in New York City. And he used a parody of preaching carry his message. He spoke to groups and at shopping settings. The church of Stop Shopping is a group of social activist with a timely message. The film deals with a month long journey across the country that climaxed on Christmas. It shows what they experienced along the way.The facts and figures of our collective addiction to consumerism were presented in a humorous and awakening way. It would be wise to view this as an individual, family and small group before the shopping madness leading up to Christmas. See the video here for free with a few short commercials http://snagfilms.com/films/watch/what_would_jesus_buy/3 Website for the movie http://wwjbmovie.com/ Trailer http://wwjbmovie.com/trailer.html The website of Rev. Billy http://www.revbilly.com/about_us/ Especially recommended for Any American, Parents, Pastors, Teachers, Those with credit card debt troubles

I have a lot of respect for this film and for the "Stop Shopping" crew. This activist group has an incredible amount of heart and a good sense of humor even though their battle is a difficult one. Consumerism is as ingrained into our society as our gender roles or even our sense of right and wrong. And as Rev. Billy writes on his website, even our government representatives tell us to go out and shop. Prying the toys and useless junk out of peoples hands won't happen over night but the message is an important one; don't mindlessly consume.If the issues discussed in this documentary concern you, make sure you pass the message (or the DVD) on to others. Word of mouth can be a very powerful thing.

What would Jesus buy? Having written to my local preacher at the tender age of 16 (to renounce formally any connection with a faith that I find repugnant), my answer would probably be, "I couldn't give a monkey's." But lest you be put off this rather entertaining documentary, let me reassure you it is not really about religion. Reverend Billy, its key protagonist, is not really a Reverend. And the Jesus catchline is simply to question your unserving faith to the more mundane god of cash-registers.Think Michael Moore, Ali G, Aaron Barschak, or Super Size Me. Reverend Billy is a character created by actor-comedian Bill Talen, often accompanied by his accomplished artist-wife Savitri Durkee (Director of the 'Church of Stop Shopping'). Then there's the acoustically accomplished 'Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir'. Think protests in Starbucks, Walmart, Times Square and Disneyland. Rage against globalisation. Consumerism. The ever-increasing debt. Use the feelgood singalong style of modern Jesus-music-churches. Find a tagline line such as 'the true meaning of Christmas.' Get taken seriously faster than you can say, "thanks for the donation" (Billy's organisation is tax-deductible – yes, really).Reverend Billy has even started to believe in himself. But is the message any good? Before we answer that question, let's ask if it is entertaining. The answer has to be, yes. Bill Talen is no Aaron Barschak, causing public disruption for the sake of it or begging for recognition. Firstly, he's actually funny. An accomplished entertainer, his puns and loaded lines are devilishly perfected. Visually, he looks like a slightly scary caricature of Elvis, shock of blonde hair balancing precariously on a less than angelical face. Wife Savitri coaches him before delivering the gospel: "Keep your eyes open really wide as you say that . . ." Secondly, he can persuade people he loves them before tearing them to shreds. A sort of Ali G on coke. Let us sing to the Lord, he exhorts on people's doorstep at Yuletide. He hands them a carol sheet. After a traditional start, they realise the lyrics they are singing have been altered. Firstly to damn with praise, then to excoriate. Big businesses, and the shopping sprees that support them, cast into hell. His tour bus meets local churchmen who think he's a holy crusader. Disneyworld-goers think he's part of the entertainment - till he gets arrested. Billy has been arrested many, many times.Thirdly (just like the many churches, sceptics might argue), he pulls people in with enough factoids to convince them he knows what he's talking about. Slave labour in China. The horrors of globalisation. Families facing life-ruining debt brought on by merciless advertising. "Give something that costs nothing!" he exhorts. The highly simplified arguments are enough to arouse the emotions of the Outraged Campaigner in any of us. Enough to grab the brain as it hesitates precariously between thinking and laughter.Billy walks into a shop and does a 'Laying of Hands' on the cash register. In confessional, he tells a girl she did the right thing for taking a pair of scissors to a dress she was trying on in a store ("It didn't fit"). He 'exorcises' a local Walmart from the nearby graveyard. It's very funny to watch . . . but let's face it, we're laughing at other people's expense. People who are mostly too polite to be as rude as he is to them. Do you want someone disrupting your hard-earned day out at Disneyland? When you're shopping for your kids' Christmas presents, presents you might be lucky enough to afford, do you want a preacher-lookalike telling you it's evil? There is a deep synergy between the Church, Christmas, and the commercialism that mutually reinforces that date in the calendar.But to more serious issues for a moment. Reverend Billy (or Billy Talen) has his heart in the right place, but this stuff about boycotting goods from sweatshops abroad . . . It has been extensively proved, by trial error sadly, to do more harm than good. It tends to close the sweatshop and drive employees into begging and prostitution. Answers, sadly, are more complex than this juvenile barrage of love-and-peace would have us believe. They involve economic and ethical strategies, not a simple cutting-off of offending parties. Debt reduction is not about preaching the real meaning of Christmas (which Talen, as a strictly lapsed believer, is less than convincing about), but more about education and counselling. His point on 'giving something that you have created, or a song,' maybe gets close. Putting more love than just cash into presents. But his roadshow may be too commercial to sway most film-goers' hearts.I would hate to be one to judge the Reverend Billy. He might do a Bono and or really make a difference. Or he might just be the lever that lets an ever bigger business concern reinvent itself. That concern, of course, being one of the most powerful financial conglomerates in the USA and the world today: Jesus' church itself.

I just got home from the world premiere of WHAT WOULD Jesus BUY at SXSW. It received multiple standing ovations, especially when the audience was treated to a song by the Stop Shopping Choir. It wasn't just because of Morgan Spurlock, a festival favorite, was a producer. The film stands on it's own as a world class fun and informative documentary on the cancer of consumerism.Focusing on the anti-consumerism crusade the Church of Stop Shopping, director Rob VanAlkemade focuses on the irrepressible Reverend Billy while touching on the facts. At first Reverend Billy simply seems outrageous, but he quickly brings his message home, using comedy. VanAlkemade uses several experts, and even allows Wal-Mart representatives to counter points.This film is a Must-See before any shopping splurge. And you'll likely find you're going to spend more time researching where you shop and what you buy. Go out of your way to see this one!