Consumerism Drives America
Kristyn Donnelly
Issue date: 5/10/09 Section: Opinion
"Stop shopping!" screams Reverend Billy and his loyal choir as they march through parking lots, mini-malls, Wal-Marts, and even Disney Land before being tossed out by security guards and often times even arrested. "Why stop shopping?" wonder many of the consumers that Reverend Billy is preaching to. Consumers wonder, "Isn't shopping what drives the economy?"
Well, that's the idea, but in a country so materialized and overwhelmed by consumer desire how is it that our economy is, and will continue, having such difficulty recovering? In order to even begin to think about such a difficult question it is important, first, to understand consumerism and, inevitably, anti-consumerism.
Consumerism is the idea that the commerciality and overall monopolization of the sale of commodities is beneficial to the economy. This idea has been developed to a point of exploitation in this country and is now engrained into the minds of our citizens and, even worse, our children. The average person is exposed to thousands of advertisements per day and the obsession with shopping has grown to a cataclysmic level.
This is exactly what Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping are fighting against. The "members of the church" dress as a gospel choir and sing songs that promote anti-consumerism while Reverend Billy, dressed in a white suit, preaches to shoppers his message of more conservative spending. The movement is somewhat satirical and very much performance based. When in costume Reverend Billy speaks in an Elvis-like accent and often sings, screams, and even shakes with excitement as he relays his message to the people who have given in to the obscene desire to shop, shop, shop. The group, based in New York City, has choreographed dance numbers, and has even gone Christmas caroling in wealthy neighborhoods, only slightly changing the words to carols like "Deck the Halls" in order to make a more socio-political statement than would the original versions.
Well, that's the idea, but in a country so materialized and overwhelmed by consumer desire how is it that our economy is, and will continue, having such difficulty recovering? In order to even begin to think about such a difficult question it is important, first, to understand consumerism and, inevitably, anti-consumerism.
Consumerism is the idea that the commerciality and overall monopolization of the sale of commodities is beneficial to the economy. This idea has been developed to a point of exploitation in this country and is now engrained into the minds of our citizens and, even worse, our children. The average person is exposed to thousands of advertisements per day and the obsession with shopping has grown to a cataclysmic level.
This is exactly what Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping are fighting against. The "members of the church" dress as a gospel choir and sing songs that promote anti-consumerism while Reverend Billy, dressed in a white suit, preaches to shoppers his message of more conservative spending. The movement is somewhat satirical and very much performance based. When in costume Reverend Billy speaks in an Elvis-like accent and often sings, screams, and even shakes with excitement as he relays his message to the people who have given in to the obscene desire to shop, shop, shop. The group, based in New York City, has choreographed dance numbers, and has even gone Christmas caroling in wealthy neighborhoods, only slightly changing the words to carols like "Deck the Halls" in order to make a more socio-political statement than would the original versions.
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