One of my friends described SXSW Interactive as a pilgrimage, and that's the best description I've heard yet. Amazing things tend to go down, and I was lucky enough to catch one of the most interesting protests with the video clip function on my digital camera. I saw a man in a white suit leading a choir dressed in red robes.
They were on a mission to prevent the Shopocalypse -- overconsumption and bastardization of Christianity in America. I dabbled on this point in my I'll Show You a War on Christmas post back in December 2005.
Check out the video below. I continue to experiment with the pretty awesome SplashCast player below. The video is actually on YouTube, but SplashCast lets me add some cool transitions and explanatory posters around the video. Even though I told no one about the YouTube link, it's received an Honor in the News & Politics section.
Watch the video, and read more below after you finish
The protest was led by Reverend Billy who is featured in a new documentary produced by Morgan Spurlock of Super Size Me fame. The film debuted at SXSW, but I missed the first showing. I'm gonna try like mad to make the next one. According to superblogger and friend Liza Sabater, it's off the hook.
I saw Spurlock speak about the film in a panel, and he just makes you want to rise up and take over some ish. The idea of using art as an agent of change or at least raising awareness is right where he's at. He's trying to help the medicine go down, and judging from what I saw, America is set to receive a heavy dosage.
p.s. if you want to grab the YouTube link, go ahead, but try using the SplashPlayer for your embeds. It's just prettier.
Technorati Tags: consumerism, documentary, morgan spurlock, politics, starbucks, sxsw, war on christmas, what would jesus buy