“The Shopacalypse is coming. Changelujah!”—Reverend Billy What Would Jesus Buy? is a smart and savage satire. Like the Reverend Billy, it keeps viewers off balance. Are we watching performance art that mocks religion? Or are we following the struggles of a nascent church? The answer is, “Yes.” What Would Jesus Buy? challenges, disturbs and energizes. It made me long for Christmas and question my spending. It got into my wallet and into my head.
What Would Jesus Buy? is a ‘Warrior Poets’ production. Director Rob Alkemade uses his camera as a social scalpel, taking on our most sacred holiday traditions. Where would America be without day-after-Thanksgiving sales? How would our economy survive without our annual Christmas splurge? And most of all, who pays for our excess? Producer Morgan Spurlock set his sights on McDonald’s in Super Size Me. What Would Jesus Buy? goes after equally established corporations—Wal Mart, Starbucks, and Disneyland—with equally humorous results. Like Spurlock, Reverend Billy turns his life into art. While Spurlock sacrificed his body, Rev. Billy submits to the local authorities, getting arrested for disturbing the peace in malls and coffee shops across America. In between the corporate interventions, What Would Jesus Buy? pauses long enough to profile some average consumers. We meet a wife who hides her credit card debt from her husband. We empathize with a local merchant suffering under Wal-Mart’s success. We follow teenage girls who learn to connect their designer labels with the countries that actually produced them. What Would Jesus Buy? longs for an economic system that is fair, equitable and local. Cries to turn back the clock may seem pollyanna given the complexities of globalization. Not every garment is borne out of sweatshop labor. American companies can bring much-needed jobs to emerging countries. Yet, What Would Jesus Buy? does a great job of questioning our assumptions. How has a religious occasion morphed into a rush for Cabbage Patch Kids? Reverend Billy calls us back to fiscal and Christian responsibility.
In a world of look-alike stores with identical inventories, What Would Jesus Buy? is an American original. It will be attacked and ignored by corporate interests. Theaters may be threatened with economic boycotts for screening it. So take this rare opportunity to join the choir, singing a song of warning. The Shopacalyse is coming. Make your plans for Buy Nothing Day before it is too late. Changelujah viewers! Reverend Billy wants to break the chains that bind you to Starbucks. He wants to free us from 18% interest. Receive the good news by Stop Shopping long enough to remember the original gift. Jesus’ crib didn’t come from Babies ‘R Us. His swaddling clothes carried no label. And he turned out just fine. What Would Jesus Buy? A ticket to this riveting, rollicking movie. Craig Detweiler is a filmmaker, author, and cultural commentator who's been featured in The New York Times, CNN, and NPR. Films he has written include The Duke (1999) for Disney's Buena Vista and the comedic road trip, ExtremeDays (2001). His one-hour documentary, Williams Syndrome: A Highly Musical Species (1996), premiered at the Boston Film Festival, won a Cine Golden Eagle, the Silver Award at WorldFest Charleston, Best Documentary at the Carolina Film and Video Fest, and the Crystal Heart Award at the Heartland Film Festival. Craig co-directs the Reel Spirituality Institute at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. His first book, A Matrix of Meanings: Finding God in Pop Culture, connects the dots between movies, music, TV and the divine. It has been adopted as the standard text in the field of theology and pop culture on college campuses around the world. Craig grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. He's a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Davidson College and earned an M.F.A. from the University of Southern Californiaʼs School of Cinema/TV. Craig just completed his Ph.D. in Theology and Culture from Fuller Seminary. His dissertation, Soul Meets Body: Faith in the Internet Movie Database, will be published in 2008. Craig and his wife, Caroline, live in Los Angeles, with their children, Zoe and Theo. Panelists: Rob Van Alkemade, Savitri Durkee, Fr. David Gufffey
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The white suit, the bottle blonde hair, and the booming voice echo the worst of televangelist excess. Reverend Billy has the cadence we’ve come to expect. His congregation sways and moves with every word. But instead of passing the plate, Reverend Billy implores his followers to “Stop Shopping Now.” And the only demon he wants to cast out is rampant consumerism.
Reverend Billy is the stage persona of Bill Talen, a New York actor a long way from his heartland roots. What began as a recurring character has become an accidental movement. Bill’s partner onstage and off is artist/activist Savitri Durkee. She combines the civil disobedience of Ghandhi with the technique of Stella Adler. The talented rabble rousers comprising the Church of Stop Shopping Choir complement Reverend Billy’s sermons with pointed musical commentary. They turn What Would Jesus Buy? into a gospel rave up.
What Would Jesus Buy? contains elements of traditional documentaries. It trots out experts to discuss the reasons behind our materialism. Yet, the emphasis never strays too far from edutainment. The title cards that bracket each segment work as their own independent commentary. The retro soundtrack features all kinds of obscure Christmas chestnuts. (A Johnny Cash song adds a particularly somber note to the holiday season). Yet, whenever our American excess threatens to overwhelm the proceedings, the Church of Stop Shopping gets our toes tapping and our spirit’s soaring.