In Theaters Now: What Would Jesus Buy?

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is proud to be a partner on the new film What Would Jesus Buy?, a serious docu-comedy about the commercialization of Christmas. Produced by Super Size Me's Morgan Spurlock (winner of CCFC's 2008 Fred Rogers Integrity award) and directed by Rob VanAlkemade, What Would Jesus Buy? follows Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir as they go on a cross-country mission to save Christmas from the Shopocalypse: the end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption, and the fires of eternal debt! Funny, provocative, and inspiring, What Would Jesus Buy? is a  journey into the heart of America - from exorcising the demons at the Wal-Mart headquarters to taking over the center stage at the Mall of America and ultimately heading to the Promised Land - Disneyland. The film includes a lot about the impact of commercialization on children, including interviews with kids, parents, and CCFC's Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint. For more information,  and to find a screening near you, visit http://wwjbmovie.com/.

National Action Against Obesity Joins CCFC

A warm welcome to our newest organizational member, National Action Against Obesity (NAAO). NAAO is a non-partisan, all-volunteer advocacy group whose mandate is to expel junk food from schools and daycare, eliminate obesity- and disease-accelerators from the U.S. food supply, and to break the Secondhand Obesity cycle--obesity passed down from one generation to the next and across the culture. NAAO believes reversing the obesity crisis is hinged upon America's 0-5 year olds and fostering a new generation called "Gen-H" for Healthy.   For more information, please visit http://www.actionagainstobesity.com. 

CCFC Asks National School Boards Association to Disavow Report on Social Networking

With marketers seeking twenty-four/seven access to children, it is more important than ever that advocates for children maintain their independence from the corporations that seek access to the lucrative kids market. That's why it is so disappointing that the National School Boards Association partnered with News Corporation (owners of MySpace) and Microsoft (part owner of Facebook) to produce a report on the educational potential of social networking sites. Not surprisingly, the report reads more like industry PR than an objective look at the sites. The report makes no mention of the fact that the primary purpose of the leading social networking sites is to generate advertising revenue or that marketing for fast food, violent media, alcohol and tobacco is rampant on MySpace. It also urges local school boards to school boards to reconsider any rules against using commercial social networking sites in classrooms.

You can read more about CCFC's concerns in our press release or this article in the LA Times. And if you haven't yet done so, please take a moment to tell the NSBA to Stop Selling Kids on MySpace. Local educators need objective, honest information - not marketing hype - to guide their efforts toward helping students grapple with the current unprecedented convergence of sophisticated, ubiquitous media technology and unfettered commercialism.

Just added to CCFC's all-star summit  lineup: 

-Rob Williams, Action Coalition for Media Education. Always a CCFC summit favorite, Rob will lead a workshop on using ACME-style media education to turn citizens into 21st century activists.

-MeMe Roth, National Action Against Obesity.  MeMe, a nutrition advocate and pubic relations expert, will lead a workshop on using the media to promote your advocacy agenda.

And a special Friday night event:

Only Children: A Concert Reading and Roundtable Sex Sells. Who's Buying? Your Kids.  

See excerpts from this new musical, in which three seventh graders struggle to come of age in contemporary Suburbia, where sex and commerce collide.  The performance will be followed by an interactive roundtable discussion involving the playwrights, parents, youth, and other experts and a reception hosted by Wheelock College.

To see the complete summit lineup and to register at special early bird rates, please visit http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/events.htm.