|
Do you cringe when you see the Christmas decorations on the shelves right
after Halloween? If so, then you’re not alone. According to this film’s
statistics. 3/4 of Americans dread the holiday more than they look forward
to it. It’s no wonder when seasonal shopping is such a hassle and we’ve
been trained to equate presents with love – there’s a lot of pressure to
buy the right things and enough things, especially when so many households
are living paycheck to paycheck.
The over-commercialization of Christmas has become big business – to the tune of half a trillion dollars! We are a nation of consumers – the most amazing statement is that more people visit the Mall of America each year than the Capitol, Mount Rushmore, the Grand Canyon and Disneyland combined. One man, Reverend Billy, has decided to get the message out about going back to the simpler spirit of Christmas – all you have to do is stop shopping and you’ll be happier.
This documentary follows Reverend Billy and his Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a 30-day tour across America on a mission to save us all from the Shopocalypse. They preach and sing outside Wal-Mart headquarters, Toys R Us, down the hollowed halls of the Mall of America, and along Main Street USA at Disneyland. They get thrown out of many places and arrested in a few. But they believe that their message can make a difference and not even snow storms or an accident will deter them from their crusade.
They may have an unconventional way of getting their word out, but it is interesting. To back up their story, they use everything from Christmas presents’ effect on global warming to the child slave labor conditions in Bangladesh to the mounting personal debt. The movie also throws lots of statistics at you - the numbers are staggering, but the documentary gets a little carried away trying to include all this information to make their point.
The movie focuses on other families (admitted shopaholics) and TV commercials
as well, but most of the time is spent with Reverend Billy. Sure, his enthusiasm
is contagious and his silliness is entertaining for a while, but he gets
a little repetitive city after city. The graphics are clever and amusing,
we just wish the whole package were good enough to recommend as a gift
to give yourself instead of another hour and a half at the mall.
Home
|
