SHORT FEATURE: THE EGGS-O-CIST

Considering some of the movies reviewed here, it should be obvious that shame is not really a big concern. That being the case, I am unashamedly ripping off this video which just showed up over on Kindertrauma. Enjoy…. The Eggs-O-Cist!

What the…? So you mean to tell me that Father Merrin & Father Karras died for nothing? All little Regan really needed to get over her affliction was just to get hooked on an hour long infomercial? I knew it! Buying new crap solves everything.

Or maybe it doesn’t.

As Pope John Paull II noted in his encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, “we find ourselves up against a form of superdevelopment… contrary to what is good and to true happiness. This super-development, which consists in an excessive availability of every kind of material goods for the benefit of certain social groups, easily makes people slaves of "possession" and of immediate gratification, with no other horizon than the multiplication or continual replacement of the things already owned with others still better. This is the so-called civilization of "consumption" or "consumerism," which involves so much "throwing-away" and "waste." An object already owned but now superseded by something better is discarded, with no thought of its possible lasting value in itself, nor of some other human being who is poorer. All of us experience firsthand the sad effects of this blind submission to pure consumerism: in the first place a crass materialism, and at the same time a radical dissatisfaction, because one quickly learns - unless one is shielded from the flood of publicity and the ceaseless and tempting offers of products - that the more one possesses the more one wants, while deeper aspirations remain unsatisfied and perhaps even stifled.”

Papal encyclicals aren’t necessarily infallible, of course, but science seems to back up the Pope on this one. Andrew V. Abela, assistant professor of marketing at the Catholic University of America, writes that “the empirical evidence… indicates that consumerist attitudes are associated with reduced consumer well-being. People who are more consumeristic tend to have lower satisfaction with their lives, a greater tendency to compulsive spending, higher incidences of depression, and also lower ethical standards. Tim Kasser, in his recent book summarizing research in this area, concludes that there are “clear and consistent findings” that people who are focused on consumerist values have “lower personal well-being and psychological health than those who believe that materialistic pursuits are relatively unimportant.”

Given that our economy isn’t doing so well right now, I don’t suppose it’s a popular notion to suggest that we refrain from buying new stuff to replace the old stuff that still works. But if JPII was right, and evidence says he was, maybe we should at least consider it. Me, I was finally thinking about giving in and going Blu-Ray this year as the recent release of The Exorcist in that format is very tempting. But I think I’ll skip it now and stick with my perfectly fine DVD. Besides, do I really need to see every pore on Max von Sydow’s nose or be able to count every chunk in Linda Blair’s vomit? Nah, I think I can find a better use for that money.